Knoxville, TN - We traveled to this neck of the American woods at the invitation of Volkswagen for the occasion of the launch of its new 2019 Jetta GLI. The chosen environment for us to discover the car was a section of the Smoky Mountains that straddles Tennessee and North Carolina. We know the Jetta itself quite well by now, of course. We鈥檙e also well-familiar with its GLI variant, which is celebrating 35 years of existence this year. What鈥檚 also no secret is how difficult life was for the last edition of the Jetta GLI. Essentially, 2019 represents a second chance for the variant, and mindful of that Volkswagen has boosted its product offering. This is an improved product we were introduced to - though that doesn鈥檛 mean the battle is won. Grand Touring Injection), the two don鈥檛 resonate with the public the same way. Mention the Golf GTI and people tend to get all excited.
Slip Jetta GLI into their ears, and you get raised eyebrows. The GTI letters have made their reputation, in other words, while the GLI ones not so much. This of course makes life more complicated for the new variant we were being introduced to, despite its many qualities. To win over consumers, it needs more than the letters attached to it. And it doesn鈥檛 really get that 鈥渕ore鈥?from its exterior shell. The GLI version does sport a distinctive black front grille with a bee鈥檚-nest motif. It also gets side skirts, exclusive 18-inch wheels and a few other accents here and there, but the overall effect is not really apt to turn heads. We can say it respects Volkswagen traditions, but is that enough? It works wonders in the case of the GTI, less so with the GLI. For the moment, only a hawk-eyed Volkswagen lover will readily tell it apart.
Methinks Volkswagen missed an opportunity to make a bolder statement with the styling of this variant鈥檚 new edition. I mentioned earlier that in this respect Volkswagen has made upgrades. To that, I should add that the company鈥檚 engineers also simplified the offer. 400 gets you the automatic transmission. 3,300 from the asking price. Why, you might ask, thus looking a gift horse firmly in the mouth? Well because the GLI version didn鈥檛 sell much, representing only 5% of overall Jetta sales. The company is hoping to increase that to 10% with this new version, hence the more attractive price point. That anniversary edition, by the way, it gets prettied up with a few additional black accents, grey wheels accented with a red strip and special badging. Just under 1,000 units of this special edition have been reserved for Canada, and they鈥檙e already at Canadian dealerships. 995. It includes automatic high beams, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control and forward collision alert with emergency braking.
Blind spot monitor with rear transversal traffic detection are already included with the GLI as standard equipment. It adds up to, well, a lot. Buyers get good bang for their buck. It鈥檚 just a shame it鈥檚 wrapped up in a humdrum package. On this day we drove the U.S.-spec version of the 2019 Jetta GLI, and it actually is less-generously equipped than the variant we鈥檙e getting north of the border. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, heated front AND rear seats, Volkswagen鈥檚 virtual cockpit (with 10.25-inch screen), 8-inch multimedia screen, Beat audio system, panoramic roof, remote starter and ventilated front seats. Oddly, though, there鈥檚 no heated steering wheel, which seems to be a pretty big oversight for a model that鈥檚 supposed to include everything a Canadian motorist could need in their car. Under the hood of the 2019 GLI sits a 2.0L 4-cylinder turbo engine with an output of 228 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque.
And that unit makes its presence felt when at the wheel, in a good way. For the transmissions, as mentioned there鈥檚 a manual in the product offering as well as an automatic. The first is a well-spaced 6-gear unit, while the second is a 7-speed DSG transmission. Models equipped with the latter unit bet push-button start. What鈥檚 maybe more interesting than any of that, given the car鈥檚 mandate, is in regards to the chassis. It includes a multi-link rear suspension and VAQ limited-slip differential designed to reduce under-steering at the onset of turns taken at speed. The system works in conjunction with the XDS system for locking the differential. An adaptive suspension, combined with the drive modes that can be chosen from, allows for adjusting the stings to fit the mood or driving situation. The model also comes with ventilated front disc brakes and solid disc brakes in back, both sets getting snazzy red calipers. Once you take it on the road, the Jetta GLI reveals itself to be a serious driving machine.
