Our choice of cars was between the Audi A3 S line 2.0 Tdi, Seat Leon FR 2.0 Tdi and the GTD after much head scratching and test drives we both wanted the golf.

After securing a great deal on Carwow, 12 weeks later we picked up our car and drove it back home. Its now 6 weeks later and 4300 miles on the clock so here are our thoughts so far, actually more mine....

Its maybe spending my life dreaming of Golf GTI's that may have influenced our decision but I am not dissapointed in fact that our high miles meant the petrol GTI was simply out of the question.

This diesel engine is smooth and quiet on one hand yet free revving and lively which is not quite what you expect from a diesel engine. It will pull hard to the red line if needed but more importantly build speed from low revs with very little hint of lag which affected my previous Leon 2.0 tdi FR. Overall I cannot fault the engine. Economy so far 57mpg at 70 mph (constant cruising), 50 mpg mixed every day and from new its life avg. is 53.4 mpg (95% of these miles the car is in eco mode).

Handling, If I am going to talk about this then I need to say what I have driven before so you know where I am coming from (performance cars only) Honda Crx, Civic Type R, Polo Gti 1.4 tsi, Mr2, 206 gti and Leon Fr tdi. With the heavier Diesel up front it was never going to be straight comparison to the GTI although I feel its pretty damn close and you would have to push both cars to the point you could end up in court or a tree to find any short cummings compared to the GTI! This GTD is very good, not very good for a diesel but very good full stop. In all weather's it inspires confidence the ride is firm yet compliant enough to cover huge distances, for me the perfect compromise.

The interior is of very high quality with alot of little nice touches although the fabric seat colours have had to grow on us they are very comfortable and supportive. The lay out is perfect for all controls altough we are still getting use to the sat Nav's quirks (route options) everything else is as expected or above. I do personally like Vw's interiors buts that's my personal taste and probably why we have the GTD.

Looks, For me the GTD was the best looking of the bunch we chose Tornado Red and I,m still smiling every time I look at it. The wheels are particularly attractive the std 18" tires are very grippy in all conditions and very quiet at motorway speeds.

Whilst we were in the market looking for a new car VW upped the spec of the GTD and included Sat Nav, Winter Pack and Key less entry a total of £1700 free of charge these are now included on the GTD and quite rightly so for this type of money!

General niggles- The boot is smaller than I expected compared to my last Mk5 golf, Fuel tank is slightly smaller, GTI seats get a red contrast, GTE gets a very nice blue line the GTD gets grey....erm....they have grown on us and that is my biggest gripe so as you can see its not much really.

Problems- None......updated at 24/12/15, 5700 miles.

Overall- we chose the perfect car for us yes I know the Leon is cheaper but I preferred the looks of the golf and it's interior. I was put off by Audi's lack of std equipment and dealer experience (3 separate dealers). All the VW and seat dealers we attended were all friendly and polite. I have based my manufacturer score on the vehicle and its supply and not included the emission's debacle. The GTD is Euro 6 cat and is not included in the recall.

The GTD is a brilliant car and we wouldn't change it.