2017 Volkswagen Jetta GLI
Video Review
If you're looking for a practical car that is also fun to drive...this is it...the Volkswagen Jetta GLI.
This is a performance version of the Jetta. It really serves as the flagship for the Jetta line up, with a turbocharged engine that spits out 210 horsepower.
The Jetta has been a sales champion for Volkswagen. It's their bread an butter car, outselling Golf, Passat and Beetle combined. The GLI though, takes a bread and butter car with a trunk and a back seat, and turns it into a touring car with sporting credentials.
It handles great with fairly stiff suspension. Not too stiff though. It is still comfortable on the highway and around town.
It's an attractive car, in an understated way, but that's how VW does it. They take a great design and just keep adjusting it and tweaking it. Jetta's have been around a long time, and if you park this in your drive way you can keep it for years, and it won't look dated. In short they really never go out of style.
There is almost no turbo lag. Step on the gas pedal and the engine delivers power quickly.
There is a 6 speed manual transmission which comes standard in the GLI, but our test vehicle was equipped with the dual clutch automatic which also allows you to take control and shift manually if you choose to. Performance is snappy.
The design cues that set the GLi apart are subtle. You get chrome tips on the exhaust...a GLI badge, red brake calipers, and a touch of red striping.
Inside the seats are comfortable and supportive with six-way adjustable front sport seats, aluminum sport pedals, ambient lighting, front fog lamps, a blacked-out headliner and pillars, GLI sill plates, a Cross Differential System (XDS), illuminated vanity mirrors, LED darkened taillights, and 18-inch alloy wheels.
The Fender Premium Audio system with eight speakers and a sub provides clear clean sound with plenty of power behind it. There is also red stitching on the dash, doors, and steering wheel, match the subtle red stripes on the vehicle exterior.
Subtle really is the key word here. The GLI is like a sports car for a grown up. It has great road manners, a dose of sophistication, and come loaded with practicality. That's why the Volkswagen Jetta GLI is SST approved.
Rick Walker SST Car Show News.
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