Spotlight on the Jetta GLI
While the 2017 Jetta is a well-built and practical car, Volkswagen is known for its coveted performance trims, bringing a healthy dose of irreverence to an otherwise polite and well-mannered sedan. The 2017 Volkswagen Jetta GLI twin-pipe exhaust echoes a pleasantly aggressive sputter and pop that insists this is no base Jetta.
A red-trimmed honeycomb grill and deep crimson calipers behind 18-inch alloys hint at the performance spirit of the GLI sedan. The red trim theme continues throughout the GLI interior, with red stitching on the seat bolsters, a single red stripe on the door sills, and red accents sprinkled throughout.
A small GLI badge on the side and on the trunk below a businesslike rear spoiler confirms suspicions that this particular Volkswagen is built to run a bit faster than the standard trim Jettas. Its two-turbo liter inline four drives 210 snarling horses at 5300 rpm with a low torque band that cranks out 210 pound-feet of torque at only 1700 RPM. At higher RPMs, the Jetta GLI will dent the stitched seats as it pushes you back against the bolsters, the inline four responding to the turbo’s urgent call. The GLI reaches 60 MPH in 6.6 seconds, which is slower than some four-wheeled compact rockets, but still fast enough to reward the senses and leave GLI drivers with a sly, satisfied grin after a sunny-day romp through winding roads.
GLIs with a Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) Transmission feature a dual clutch to enhance smoothness of shifts, making acceleration feel more linear, like being shot out of a sling. DSG equipped GLIs flaunt paddle shifters mounted within easy reach on the flat-bottom steering wheel.
EPA-estimated fuel economy is 24 mpg city and 33 mpg highway with the Tiptronic. The manual GLI loses one mpg city, rated at 23 mpg for urban driving.
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