2019 Volkswagen Jetta GLI First Drive: Dragon Slayer?
Clinically the GLI scores all As. If there was anything missing, it was an extra dollop of emotion or passion. I expected to squeal with delight with this car on this famous road. Part of the problem is the erratic nature of the turns, making it hard for a larger car to get into a rhythm. Upon further research I learned the road follows the original tramped-down paths taken by bison seeking the easiest way up the mountain. Native Americans and then traders followed the trail, wich became the public road over time. So I blame the bison, not the GLI. I did grin in models with manuals, relishing the smooth engagement. Even the somewhat onerous drone of the engine in Sport mode seemed more apropos with the six-speed. I know this is psychological, but so is passion. Half of Golf R buyers go for the manual; the take rate drops to 40 percent for the GTI, and the GLI is expected to have a 40-percent take rate. The engine delivered power as needed. With the automatic, the car held gears for a long time upon acceleration, but once at speed it was quick to downshift to save fuel.
With the manual there was a weird surge if you shifted above 5,000 rpm鈥攊t revved a bit higher and then went back down鈥攂ut it was more of a curiosity than a negative in terms of performance. Horsepower peak is at 5,000 rpm, but peak torque is at 1,700 rpm. EPA fuel economy is 25/32 mpg city/highway for a combined 28 mpg鈥攖he same for both transmissions. We fluctuated in the 24-to-26-mpg range during our drive. Each model comes with Normal, Sport, Eco, and Custom drive modes, which let you tailor steering, shift points, throttle, HVAC, and ambient lighting to your liking. Make your adjustments before you take off; they cannot be adjusted on the fly. The 35th Anniversary Edition adds a fifth drive mode鈥擟omfort. Although Jetta styling won't give you swivel neck when one drives by, the GLI spices it up a bit with a signature red accent line through the black honeycomb grille that beckons you to come drive it. GLI has its own unique 18-inch alloy wheels, spoiler, side skirts, and dual chrome exhaust. The 35th Anniversary Edition has a black roof and mirror caps, cloth seats, and anniversary badging.
The 35th Anniversary Edition is for the 2019 model year only, but we expect VW to migrate the active damping system to the Autobahn trim for the 2020 model year. As evidence, we point to the Canadian market where there is only one trim level and it includes the system. Canada also gets the 35th Anniversary Edition, but it's more of an appearance package. On the safety front, the GLI has blind-spot monitoring and rear traffic alert as standard. Options include the Digital Cockpit with a 10.3-inch display, panoramic sunroof, cooled and heated front leather seats, and an upgraded BeatsAudio sound system. The cockpit is driver-centric with the center console angled toward the driver. The interior is more spare than opulent with lots of hard black plastic. Seats are cloth except in the Autobahn trim, which has leather. The seats aren't particularly comfy but did yeoman's work holding drivers in place around the hundreds of turns on the drive route. The small infotainment screen is integrated into the center console.
The standard screen is 6.5 inches, but it grows to 8.0 inches in the Autobahn trim that also has the Digital Cockpit and leather seats. There's no onboard navigation system, but Apple CarPlay and Android Auto allow you to use your phone for navigation. Rear seats could be a bit cramped for the long-legged but are otherwise quite serviceable. Again, very spare. No air vents, controls, or USB ports, just plastic and an overhead light. The cloth seats with gray piping are attractive enough, and touches of red stitching throughout the cabin brighten things up. The 2019 Jetta, made in Puebla, Mexico, continues the year of the sedan for VW with the new Jetta GLI, the upcoming Arteon in April, and the 2020 Passat coming this fall. The Jetta GLI started arriving in dealerships last week. 25,220 Honda Civic Si sedan. The Jetta GLI is a niche product in the shrinking overall sedan market. And although the Golf GTI was designed with markets around the world in mind, the GLI was developed for North America where there are some signs of life in the performance compact market. Now that the GLI has similar performance to the GTI, executives think it will benefit from GTI shoppers who will consider the larger sedan for the first time. 1,600 less than the GTI even though it provides more car and throws in a trunk. Still, the GLI won't account for much more than the current 5 percent of Jetta sales. Will there be a Jetta R in the future? 35,000 version and what that would entail, Schafer said. Sounds like a good excuse to test the Tail again.
