Volkswagen said Monday it's offering a goodwill package to current owners of its 2.0-liter diesels in the U.S. Puerto Rico. Volkswagen acknowledged in September that the vehicles don't meet U.S. 500 dealership card and free 24-hour roadside assistance for three years. People who own one of the 482,000 affected vehicles in the U.S. Nov. 8 are eligible. Affected models are 2.0-liter turbodiesel versions of the 2009-2015 Jetta, 2009-2014 Jetta SportWagen, 2010-2015 Golf, 2015 Golf SportWagen, 2012-2015 Beetle and Beetle convertible and 2012-2015 Passat. The 2009-2013 and 2015 Audi A3 is also affected. HOW DOES IT WORK? Volkswagen will notify owners starting Monday; Audi will launch its program Friday. Once the gift cards arrive, in approximately four weeks, they must be taken to a dealership to be activated. DOES THIS REPLACE OTHER LOYALTY OFFERS? 2,000 loyalty bonus for customers who trade in affected diesels, among other incentives. CAN OWNERS USE THE DEALER GIFT CARD TO GET THEIR EMISSIONS SYSTEMS REPAIRED? No. Volkswagen is still figuring out how to repair all the affected vehicles. The gift card can be used for other things, like a down payment on a new car, an oil change or a set of tires. CAN OWNERS WHO TAKE THE OFFER STILL SUE VOLKSWAGEN? WHY AREN'T OTHER DIESELS INCLUDED IN THIS OFFER? The U.S. government last week said Volkswagen's larger, six-cylinder diesels 鈥?used in VW and Audi SUVs 鈥?also cheated on emissions tests. But the company is still meeting with the government to figure out what test procedures were used.
And those 35-years are honored in one of the trim options for the 2019 VW Jetta GLI. And, it just so happens that, my test-driver was a 35th Anniversary Edition GLI. So here鈥檚 the cool comparison I鈥檓 going to give the 2019 VW Jetta GLI 35th Anniversary Edition and the 2019 Golf GTI Rabbit Edition. Volkswagen鈥檚 stylish, yet in-the-know and subtle seat tags. Okay, one other comparison, with the GTI and the GLI both being the sporty trims, is the very cool red line across the grills of both vehicles. It鈥檚 in all sorts of pics. BTW, wondering what GTI and GLI stand for? Those are acronyms for Grand Touring Injection and Grand Luxury Injection. So to put the comparisons of the Jetta GLI and the Golf GTI to rest, at least for this post, the Golf is going to be sportier and a hatchback. Whereas the Jetta GLI is a sedan and slightly less aggressive.
The 鈥?9 VW Jetta GLI is offered in three different trims. As always, don鈥檛 worry about the MSRP鈥娾€斺€妋anufacturer鈥檚 suggested retail price鈥娾€斺€奻or two reasons. First, you need to get your 鈥?9 VW Jetta GLI equipped to your specifications. And more importantly, go see my friends at Ontario Volkswagen. Beyond putting you in the car you want and at the best price, they鈥檙e not going to play any of the old school (or new school!) games. The guys and gals at Ontario Volkswagen are my friends and I鈥檓 happy to personally introduce you. Volkswagen鈥檚 2019 Jetta GLI comes with the same engine across all three trims. That鈥檚 a 2-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder that puts out 228-horsepower with 258 lb-ft of torque. The 鈥?9 Jetta GLI comes standard with a 6-speed manual transmission. And I love driving manual on open roads and low-traffic conditions. Of course, here in Southern California, we鈥檙e hardpressed to find either of those settings.
So the optional 7-speed automatic transmission is probably the way to go. My test driver hand the automatic transmission option and it鈥檚 Tiptronic shifting offered the fun and control of manual while delivering the convenience of automatic. What鈥檚 even better are the paddle shifters. Even in normal drive mode, I spun the tires with the paddles. In sport mode, you can easily smoke the rubber. And with the 2019 VW Jetta GLI still being a Volkswagen, great fuel economy comes standard. All the trims and engines are rated the same at 25-miles-per-gallon in the city and 32-miles-per-gallon on the highway. Like usual, the Ontario Volkswagen team set me up in a gorgeous, well-equipped test driver. The 35th Anniversary Edition is super-eye-catching, especially in the Pure Gray color they gave me. But really, you can鈥檛 go wrong with any of the colors, (red, white, black, gray, & silver) VW offers for the 鈥?9 Jetta GLI.
