Fancy a new Golf GTI but your fleet manager won't sanction it? Then this new 167bhp, 2.0-litre turbodiesel Golf GTD might be just the thing to get on the company scheme instead. With more tax-friendly 139g/km CO₂ emissions and pump-friendly 53.3mpg, this is one sporting Golf that won't hit you too hard in the pocket. It's not quite as quick as its GTI relative - taking 8.1 rather than 6.9 seconds to reach 62mph - but with a whopping 258lb.ft of torque from its 2.0-litre TDI engine it should be just as quick as its petrol relative through the gears.

Fast but not too flash though: the GTI's red pinstriped grille is played down for the GTD. It gets a chrome surround instead, the rest of the front being the same as its iconic relative. That means some technical looking headlamps, a honeycomb grille and a more aggressive front bumper with integral fog lamps. The alloys are different though and instead of two fat tailpipes either side of the car - as in the GTI - the GTD's twin pipes exit together a bit less showily on the same side.

Inside, the diesel GTD is a touch more sensible too, the red stitching of the GTI's steering wheel replaced by more sober grey. The same is true of the red pin-striping in the tartan seats, Volkswagen clearly thinking diesel drivers have as big an aversion to redlines as their engines do. As with the GTI, the GTD comes pretty well equipped. You'll get dual-zone climate control and enough airbags to lift a shipwreck from the bottom of the ocean. You can specify VW's impressive DSG twin-clutch auto and variable damping control with DCC, but we'd spend the money on things like Bluetooth and satnav instead.

Prices have yet to be officially confirmed by Volkswagen but the firm anticipates the GTD to retail for less than £22,000. Sales of the new hot, frugal Golf will commence this June.

Kyle Fortune - 27 Mar 2009