By Kevin Harrison
I have an acquaintance named Tim who owns an Audi TT which he uses for his daily driver and who uses a fifteen year old Honda Civic as his beater in the winter months. Yes, I know, he could likely get away with driving the TT all-year round if he puts on a good set of winter tires, but that’s a different issue entirely. His issue, he says, is that his newly acquired fiancée has recently become pregnant.
While Tim always knew that taking the leap into holy matrimony would likely mean getting rid of his beloved TT eventually, he didn’t expect this to happen quite so quickly and as a result, he’s finding it difficult to part with the TT.
“I can’t be one of those guys,” said Tim in a recent phone conversation, audibly stressed and panicked. “I just can’t”.
I reassured him that getting a minivan as he was suggesting probably wasn’t necessary for just one kid, and is still the case if he ends up with twins which, the mere mention of the word forces Tim’s esophagus to swell shut.
Tim loves his TT mostly for its performance, but also appreciates the well appointment interior, exterior style and it’s small and nimble nature. I reassured him that there are great performance cars out there which also double as trusty family vehicles as well. The apocalypse has yet to come where anyone with a kid needs a minivan (which, by the way, I personally think people should be buying instead of monstrous SUV’s in the first place, but that’s for a different post altogether).
So he needs something safe, fun to drive, with the same sort of premium feel that he’s used to with his Audi. Why not stay within family blood lines?
The new iteration of the Jetta GLI has just come to market. Does it have what it takes to do double duty of performance car and family hauler?
The recent redesign of the Jetta gives it a more tame look all while retaining a certain eye-catching premium feel. When equipped with my tester’s optional 18 inch wheels, it gives it a more aggressive look. In fact, those optional 18’s are really the biggest thing that sets the GLI apart from other Jetta models. The GLI also gets a mesh-styled grille of front, differently designed fog lights and GLI badging on the grille and on the trunk lid. That’s about it. If you look hard enough you’ll notice that the GLI has a slightly lowered stance. All in all, it’s likely that only a car nut would be able to differentiate between a GLI and, say, a Jetta TDI (check out the two side by side below). Overall it’s an agreeable look, however I would prefer there be a bit more to differentiate from the regular Jetta. After all, let’s face it: a big reason why Tim bought his TT was due to the styling.
Tim would likely feel right at home inside the GLI, however. A flat bottom steering wheel is standard on the GLI which I initially thought to be a bit gimmicky, but ended up appreciating the added grip that it provides during most turns. The red stitching on the wheel and on the seats adds a nice sporty look as well. One major criticism of the redesigned Jetta is that Volkswagen scaled back significantly on interior materials to keep the price lower from the previous generation and that remains true on this top trim level GLI. However most of the hard plastics are on places like the dash which rarely gets touched in the first place, and all the usual places the driver might touch gets higher quality materials like the arm rest and door grips. The GLI gets a push-start button, as is the new trend with pretty much every manufacturer, but unlike other manufacturers, you don’t simply push the button to start. You have to hold the button down for a few seconds before the engine comes to life. I’m not sure why this is the case as I don’t remember any other Volkswagen’s requiring the driver to do this. Volkswagen’s touch screen display is very large and clear although from time to time it requires two or three tries before it answers your command. Rear legroom is good as is headroom and the trunk is definitely large enough to swallow a whole host of Tim’s baby diapers, strollers and toys.
The GLI gets the same engine in its hatched brother the GTI which is a 2.0 litre turbocharged four making 200 horses and 207 pound foot torque. You’ve likely heard the praises of this engine’s refinement, smoothness and power and unfortunately you’re about to hear about it again. It really is a tremendous engine. Lots of torque at low RPM’s (around 1750) and it lasts until about 5,000 RPM. Peak horsepower at about 5,100 RPM keeps the engine from losing its breath all the way to the 6,000 RPM redline. These days 200 horses doesn’t seem overly powerful, but for every day driving, believe me, it’s more than adequate. My only complaint is that while the engine emits a nice throaty burble, it’s almost impossible to hear from the outside. In fact, if you rev the engine a bit from stand still, it sounds like a plain gutless old four cylinder. Another reason why someone might mistake this for a regular Jetta. I’m guessing this would be a bit of a shock to the nice exhaust note that comes from his TT.
Handling is about as good as it gets for a car of this size, which admittedly is pretty large when comparing to previous generation Jetta’s. The GLI will happily take a corner with ease with little body roll and plenty of sure-footedness. Steering feedback to the driver is a tad on the light side, however oddly enough, I didn’t find that this hindered performance.
However as good of a handler as it is, you won’t be setting any lap records on the track due to the electronic nannies which seem to kick in sooner than expected. Eventually you become impatient with this and turn them off. Be aware though, if you do, you’ll experience some moderate under steer in hard cornering. My tester came with a slick shifting six-speed manual and believe me this is the transmission to get. I’m not suggesting that the DSG automatic is a bad transmission, it’s actually among the best and it shifts a few milliseconds faster than you ever could with a manual, but that only counts on the track. In real world city and highway driving, it makes not a lick of difference how fast the transmission can shift on public roads. So do yourself a favour and save yourself a thousand bucks and opt for the six-speed manual.
Basically the GLI is an excellent city car for the guy or gal who needs extra room for the kids, but doesn’t want to give up on performance. After my time with the GLI, I recommend that Tim take one out as its performance oriented (but not overly so in case Tim forgets he’s got a kid in the back seat), is refined, good looking and safe. It’s decent on gas, has a tremendous engine and can haul all kinds of stuff. But here’s the thing. Tim went to the dealership looking for a GLI and tried a GTI as well. The hatch offered additional versatility, a few more styling upgrades and much better and consistent Volkswagen quality. The GTI is built in Germany, while the GLI is built in Mexico. To each their own, but this was enough to convince Tim that the extra few grand was worth it for the hatch and in fact, he said of the two it’s the better performer. So all in all, it really comes down to personal preference.
Tim may have been swayed by the GTI, but honestly there is a very strong case to be made for the GLI as well, not least of which is the fact that it’s cheaper with the same engine and similar driving characteristics. But no matter which you opt for, you’ve definitely made a good choice.
Base Price: $27,475
Pros:
- Refined, competent engine
- Best interior of all the Jetta trim levels
- Good handler in the cornersComfortable ride for cruising
- Decent fuel efficiency and interior room
Cons:
- Noticeable difference in interiors between GLI & GTI
- Exhaust note is almost inaudible from outside
- Not enough done to differentiate it from regular Jetta’s
- Touchscreen can be a bit finicky
Overall: 8.5/10