Quote: posted by JMcQueen on 22/11/2004 20:50:43
Its to do with heritage.
The GTI has always been a FWD 4 cyclinder petrol and always should be.
And it should have poor crash protection, no airbags, have high emissions, no air-con and skinny tyres..!! [

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As great as these cars are/were, the game has moved on, and we will never see the likes of the MK1/2 again.
The genie is out of the bottle with the GTI, started by the MK3 I suppose and made worse by the VW UK marketing team with the MK4! The MK5 petrol looks like a return to form, but the market will demand a "GTI" Diesel, and why not?
A MK5 diesel GTI would surely make a better fist of things than the MK4 2.0 8v petrol? As long as it has the dynamics of a GTI, why should it matter what fuel it runs on? Engine note has never been an issue until the MK5 came along.
IF the public want it, and there is deemed a market for it (and the huge demand for diesels in Europe will see to that), then VW will build it!!
Having said all that, I'm not sure that 160bhp is enough, and 180bhp would be more in keeping.
I think the only reason that you haven't seen a diesel 911 so far, is because Porsche have quite rightly deduced that their core buyers just don't want such a vehicle and it would actually damage the image/heritage of the 911 (and the Porsche marque, come to think of it). But, the 911 has been around 40 years and is much more of a niche product than the Golf, which I don't need to remind anybody is a mass market product, even in GTI form.
As a previous GTI owner, admittedly Mk3 and 4, I don't think most Golf buyers are so fussy!! "GTI" on the boot will do it for most people...
I think it's sad though, that things have got as confused as they have. As long as they develop it properly, there should be no reason why the Diesel GTI shouldn't continue this new attempt at making GTI mean something again, IMO of course!!
If you want a MK2 style GTI (and I like em!) then I respectfully suggest that people go out and buy one, but don't think for a minute VW can turn the clock back!
"Puts on tin hat and awaits the onslaught"! [

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