Just outside of Los Angeles the all-new 2019 VW Jetta was celebrated at a launch party hosted by Ontario Volkswagen. Ontario, CA resident Michelle Bentley took one of the all-new Jetta鈥檚 for a test drive and shared her review in this iDriveSoCal Podcast. Michelle Bentley: The features they have on the 2019 is like night and day, because they added so much technology. I really like the ambient lighting and that you pick what color it is. I like the sunroof a lot, because it鈥檚 huge. I like the headlights. The taillights as well so just the all-around lighting on the car. Tom Smith: Welcome to iDriveSoCal, the podcast all about mobility from the automotive capital of the United States: Southern California. I鈥檓 Tom Smith, and today we鈥檙e out at Ontario Volkswagen in the Los Angeles suburb of Ontario, California for the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta launch party. The party to celebrate the all-new Jetta from Volkswagen, and with me is Michelle from Riverside, thank you so much for joining me. You just got back from a test drive, and I saw you in there kind of tinkering with the interior and all the buttons and switches.
Tell me what you thought about the car. Michelle Bentley: Yeah, I really like the car a lot. Just the interior, like Apple Car play and the ambient lighting. Even the headlights, because not every Jetta comes with nice headlights, but these ones do and it鈥檚 awesome. Usually, you have to pay a lot more to get nice headlights, but not for the new Jetta, which is really awesome. Michelle Bentley: I have a GLI, so it has nice headlights, but those are a lot more expensive than a regular Jetta, you know? Tom Smith: Sure. You think it鈥檚 pretty. Michelle Bentley: It is! Tom Smith: It is a pretty car, I agree. Michelle Bentley: It has really nice lines. Tom Smith: Yeah, it does. It absolutely does. I can tell you鈥檙e a car girl. Michelle Bentley: Yeah. I love cars. Tom Smith: That鈥檚 cool, that鈥檚 cool. Tom Smith: You have a GLI and a GTI?
Tom Smith: So you鈥檙e a Volkswagen chick. Michelle Bentley: Yeah, I like Volkswagen. Tom Smith: Where鈥檚 the VW tat? Michelle Bentley: I know, I don鈥檛 have one. I don鈥檛 have any. Tom Smith: Well, you know what? We do something on the iDriveSoCal podcast where we do vehicle reviews, and I think you might be a good candidate for this one. Tom Smith: Because when we do the vehicle reviews, we talk about them. We talk about the inside, we talk about the outside. We talk about the technology and innovation. You鈥檝e kind of covered all that already, but then we also throw it down and get specific. What鈥檚 your top three things? Michelle Bentley: My favorite things about the car? Tom Smith: Yeah, so Michelle from Riverside, what are your top three things about the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta? Michelle Bentley: I really like the ambient lighting and that you pick what color it is. It鈥檚 really awesome. I like the sunroof a lot, because it鈥檚 huge. It鈥檚 really big, it鈥檚 the biggest one I鈥檝e seen on a sedan anyways. I like the headlights too, they鈥檙e really nice. The taillights as well so just the all-around lighting on the car. Tom Smith: Alright, fantastic! Well, Michelle, thank you so much for joining for iDriveSoCal. I appreciate your input. Thank you for coming out to the Ontario Volkswagen Jetta launch party. Michelle Bentley: Yeah, no problem. Tom Smith: I appreciate you joining us for iDriveSoCal. I鈥檓 Tom Smith. As always, thanks for listening.
One of the Jetta GLI's biggest benefits over the GTI is its available tech, including Volkswagen's superb Digital Cockpit. This excellent tech is only available on the range-topping Autobahn trim, however, as is an 8-inch touchscreen running VW's MIB II infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Lower-spec GLIs make do with a 6.5-inch touchscreen running a less-robust version of this system. The GLI Autobahn offers two USB ports for front seat passengers, while lower models only get one. More tech comes courtesy of forward collision alert with automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, all of which are standard. Sadly, if you want adaptive cruise control on this Jetta, you're out of luck. 895 for destination. That gets you a base S model with a manual transmission. 6,000 less than a GTI Autobahn, and gets you Digital Cockpit. However, the GTI offers adaptive cruise, plus a little more functionality. Ultimately, we still prefer the Golf GTI to the Jetta GLI, at least after this brief initial test. But we're happy Volkswagen is committed to building this sporty sedan -- not everyone wants a hatchback, after all. With great driving dynamics and excellent infotainment tech, the 2019 Jetta GLI makes a stronger case for itself than ever before.
