Volkswagen Golf GTI DSG Cabriolet (Part 1)
GTI, sportsmanship and history together now with the wind and the sky like great travel companions. What is tempting this tasty cocktail with ingredients so succulent? The history of the Volkswagen Golf is even bigger with this special version Cabriolet, pure passion and essence on wheels. The image of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Cabriolet betrays him and much of the war paint of the closed roof version inherits this glamorous convertible variant. Among its sportswear, highlight the front grille in honeycomb design gives Honeycomb and small red profiles, a bumper forward slightly oversized rear air diffuser, chrome tailpipes, side skirts and typical alloy wheels 17 inches five radios. See it on the outside and the color black fabric hood true to the tradition of the Golf Cabrio is a pleasure. More still needs to be lead. Let's get to it. We started to move and from the outset the Volkswagen Golf GTI Cabriolet positively surprised us the great job of soundproofing done in the cockpit.
It鈥檚 now standard on the SE for 2017, and it鈥檚 a joy to hold. Thanks to changes in recent years, the Jetta鈥檚 engine lineup now is state-of-the-art. The 170-horsepower, turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder that was added for 2014 powers the SEL; 2016 brought a sophisticated new 150-hp, turbo 1.4-liter inline-four for the base S and the SE we drove. That punchy little turbo proves that an economy compact鈥檚 base engine doesn鈥檛 have to be coarse, noisy or unsatisfying. Its 184 pounds-feet of torque comes on with gusto at a low 1,400 rpm, and the six-speed automatic seems well-tuned to exploit its available power for a nimble feel. Shifts were positive, though kickdown to lower gears was sometimes a little rough. A five-speed manual (not tested) is available on the S and SE. Also not tested was the upscale GLI鈥檚 powertrain. That鈥檚 the performance choice: a 210-hp, 2.0-liter turbo four mated to a six-speed manual or six-speed dual-clutch automatic.
The SE with the 1.4-liter is the pick if gas mileage is a priority. With the automatic, it鈥檚 EPA-rated fuel economy 28/38/32 mpg city/highway/combined 鈥?substantially higher than the SEL鈥檚 1.8-liter (available only with the automatic) fuel economy, which is rated 25/35/29 mpg. Compare all Jetta powertrains here. The Volkswagen Jetta SE finished in the middle of the pack among eight rivals in our 2017 Compact Car Challenge real-world mileage drive without resorting to the less satisfying continuously variable automatic transmission used by three of them. People don鈥檛 buy Jettas looking for sports cars, but the Jetta plays above most compact sedans, which generally range from acceptable to sloppy. It feels planted and composed in corners, and steering is precise and not overly boosted. In fact, for driving fun, the Jetta challenges the Mazda3, which is arguably the compact sedan to beat. It鈥檚 held back only by its high-mileage but low-grip Bridgestone Ecopia tires.
And the Jetta is a more practical package, with much more rear-seat and trunk space than the Mazda. The Jetta SE doesn鈥檛 make you pay in terms of ride comfort: Its suspension and high-sidewall 205/55 tires on 16-inch alloy wheels soaked up the bumps. The SEL gets 17-inch wheels, while the GLI comes with 18-inchers plus a sport suspension. One low-tech nit to pick: While the rest of the world has mastered designing a little door to cover the 12-volt power port, Volkswagen continues to plug the hole with a lighter-shaped (remember lighters?) plastic knob. If it rattles around while you use the outlet, don鈥檛 worry; you鈥檒l eventually lose it. But there鈥檚 a lower-tech plus for those of you still carting around retro music or books on CDs: Jetta鈥檚 updated system still has a slot for you, bucking the trend. 23,000 for our 2017 Compact Car Challenge. The Jetta holds up well against mostly newer competitors that deliver more style and more upscale interior bits (at least for this category). The Jetta delivers more driving satisfaction than most, plus a grown-up backseat, a mid-size car鈥檚 trunk and newly competitive multimedia technology. Compare it with compact sedan sales leaders, including the Civic, Corolla and Cruze, here. As for which Volkswagen Jetta offers more value, the Challenge showed the SE to be a solid choice among affordable compacts. 3,000 bump from an SE with 6-speed automatic transmission to an SEL (automatic standard) seems a reasonable trade up for more power, added interior conveniences and, most important, a competitive suite of electronic safety technology. 30,000 鈥?seems a little rich despite having more features and performance. It has a lot of competition at that price, too, including the well-equipped, more sophisticated and sportier 2017 Volkswagen Golf GTI. Cars.com鈥檚 Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com鈥檚 long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don鈥檛 accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com鈥檚 advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
