2019 VW Jetta GLI Photos And Specs: Following The GTI Template
Sometimes it鈥檚 nice to be surprised; other times it鈥檚 not. The latest iteration of Volkswagen鈥檚 Jetta GLI seems to be exactly what we were expecting鈥攁 return to being a GTI with a trunk鈥攁nd that鈥檚 about as pleasant a nonsurprise as we could ask for. We鈥檒l list the details, but hard-core VW aficionados can probably guess 鈥檈m on their own. As expected, there are plenty of visual cues to differentiate the GLI from lesser Jettas. The blacked-out grille gets red trim, there鈥檚 a lip spoiler on the trunk, and the brake calipers are painted in red, as on the GTI. The 18-inch wheel design is unique to the hottest Jetta. Red stitching and accents bring some color to the all-black interior. The options list will include many of the greatest hits from the Jetta 1.4T, including a panoramic sunroof, 10-color ambient lighting, a BeatsAudio sound system, and a digital instrument panel in place of traditional dials. If there鈥檚 anything even approaching a surprise, it鈥檚 the addition of a 35th Anniversary model, which is distinguished by its blacked-out roof, mirror caps, spoiler, and wheels, the latter with a red stripe, along with a few unique interior details. The 35th Anniversary car will also get the DCC adaptive dampers as standard, which brings us to one unpleasant surprise: DCC will only be offered on the 35th Anniversary edition. Our prediction: Once the pricier Anniversary cars are gone, DCC will become available in other GLIs. Obviously, the big discussion among VW heads will be GLI vs GTI, sedan versus hatchback. With the GLI鈥檚 larger size, you might expect weight to be the defining factor.
The Superb offers the most space for oddments. All three have all-round parking sensors, but the Toyota is the only one with a rear-view camera as standard. Toyota is traditionally a strong performer in our Driver Power satisfaction survey, but it only finished 10th in our 2019 makers鈥?table. It was some way ahead of 29th-placed Vauxhall, yet Skoda took fifth place. Camrys get a five-year unlimited mileage warranty, which is good for business users because it shows the brand鈥檚 confidence in its hybrid tech. It鈥檚 been perfecting this for years and the set-up is very reliable. Euro NCAP hasn鈥檛 crash-tested the Toyota yet, but safety kit is good, with all models offering autonomous braking with pedestrian detection and collision warning, adaptive cruise, lane departure alert and auto high beam. You鈥檒l have to go for Excel spec to get cross-traffic alert and blind spot monitoring. Toyota reckons 80 per cent of users will be from the fleet market, so it鈥檚 fair to say company car tax is a big issue.
With the hybrid system helping reduce CO2 emissions to 98g/km, the Camry has the lowest tax bill, at 拢2,743 for higher-rate earners, despite being the priciest car, thanks to a 23 per cent Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) rating. The Insignia Grand Sport is our favourite big family car, but are the traits that make it a winner still present with this 1.6 Turbo petrol auto powertrain? In SRi VX-Line Nav spec it comes in at 拢29,635, just a little less than the Toyota. Under the skin is Vauxhall鈥檚 E2XX platform, which was designed for the Insignia. Features such as a longer wheelbase were key to boosting practicality, while as with many other cars in its range - such as the Astra and the upcoming Corsa - Vauxhall focused heavily on weight reduction here, too. The Insignia is therefore up to 175kg lighter than its predecessor, which helps in every area, including agility, efficiency and comfort. As much as 60kg of that saving has come from the body, while lightweight components for the suspension and in other areas have helped to keep the mass down, too.
Vauxhall chose suspension technology that is conventional enough for this class, but differs from the Toyota鈥檚 set-up slightly, with MacPherson struts at the front and a multi-link rear axle. Adaptive dampers are available on this model as well. SRi VX-Line Nav cars use a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine, which has a similar capacity to the Skoda鈥檚, but is more powerful, kicking out 197bhp and 300Nm of torque. It鈥檚 closer on paper to the Camry鈥檚 petrol-electric hybrid combination. Unlike the Toyota, the British hatchback features a six-speed automatic transmission rather than a CVT, although it does still drive the front wheels. It broadly matches the Camry Design for kit, too, pegging it in key areas with features such as sat-nav, climate control, front and rear parking sensors, some core safety kit, DAB radio and LED lights as standard. While it loses out on factors such as a reversing camera (a 拢275 option) and heated seats (part of a 拢510 pack on the Insignia), it does get much stronger connectivity as standard, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-included.
Quality is slightly stronger than with the Camry. The hard plastics in the Vauxhall鈥檚 cabin are more forgiving than the Toyota鈥檚, while the softer areas of the interior also feel just a little more premium. In SRi Nav VX-Line spec the Vauxhall gets standard 20-inch alloy wheels, which look good but corrupt the usually compliant-feeling Insignia鈥檚 ride a little. However, this trim level also brings Vauxhall鈥檚 FlexRide adaptive dampers with this 197bhp 1.6 turbo engine. Select the softer Tour mode and it loosens the chassis up again to the point where the car rides rifts in the road with the compliance you鈥檇 want. We鈥檇 generally always select this setting because body control is still good and you don鈥檛 sacrifice any precision in the steering, which is light and seems quicker than the Toyota鈥檚. The Grand Sport feels much more agile due to its far lower kerbweight, too. That also helped its performance, with the Insignia 0.2 seconds quicker than the Toyota from 0-60mph, taking 7.5 seconds. It was also 0.1 seconds faster going from 30 to 70mph through the gears (or kickdown in the Camry), taking 6.7 seconds, so performance is even between the two cars.
