Jump to content
Create New...
  • Drew Dowdell
    Drew Dowdell

    Interactive Review: 2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI


    Joining us this week for a review is the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI 6-Speed manual with Autobahn Package and Navi. The Jetta in this trim stickers at about $26,445 (the fleet manager is getting me the actual sticker later), and has very few options left to select other than automatic transmission and small accessories.

    In May 2011, we reviewed a 2011 Volkswagen Jetta SE 2.5. During that week, I took the Jetta on a 750 mile trip. I had no love for the 2.5 liter 5-cylinder included in that car. The fuel economy I observed over my 750 mile highway trip didn't even match that of a V6 Chevrolet Camaro and the power wasn't even close. Like most 5-cylinders, that Jetta also had a rough feeling under hard acceleration. About the only positive thing I could say about the power train was that it had good torque to scoot around town with. It looks like Volkswagen might agree with my opinions. Recently rumors have popped up that Volkswagen will replace the 2.5 5-cylinder with a smaller displacement turbo charged 4-cylinder.

    The interior was letdown if you didn't keep your perspective on this car's entry price. It was built well enough, but there were lots of button blankouts and dial deletes. Driving this car for 750 miles, I had to keep reminding myself, "$16k base price... $16k base price". Considering $16,000 barely gets you into a FIT over at Honda... that makes the lower end Jetta a not-to-bad proposition.

    So the question becomes: Can the budget minded Jetta, that bases just above $16,000, be transformed into a performance sport sedan worthy of the GLI badge at $26,000. After 70 miles so far today, the Magic 8-Ball says: "Signs point to yes"

    More on page 2


    First off, the 200 horsepower 2.0T in the GLI feels much more powerful than its rating suggests and part of that comes from the 205 ft-lb of torque also available. There is turbo lag present, but it is very easy to drive around and in fact makes things a bit more fun when you feel the surge kick in. The shifter has unusually long throws for a car with sporting intentions and the clicks between gears have a bit of grit to them. I'll get back to you more on that as I put more miles on the car.

    One of the main features that makes a GLI an upgrade over the other models is the completely replaced rear suspension. I haven't had a chance to try that improvement out yet.

    The interior feels decidedly upmarket. Flat-bottomed steering wheels are clearly the new black for sports cars and the Jetta GLI is no exception. Leather wrapped and trimmed with red stitching, it feels perfectly sized in your hand. The automatic dual zone HVAC system is upgraded from cable operation to electronic. My preliminary experience with the navitainment system has been positive so far, but I was listening more to the turbo whistle than the satellite radio. Even the gauge cluster has been upgraded.

    Naturally, interior dimensions don't change between SE and GLI models. The Jetta's interior room puts it almost into the mid-size class of vehicle rather than the Chevy Cruze and Ford Focus compacts it is priced against.

    Externally, the Jetta GLI gets some minor styling tweaks, but those tweaks seem to be enough to transform the pedestrian SE into something more aggressive looking. Personal opinion, but I really love the way the standard 18" alloy wheels with painted accents look on this car.

    We'll have this car until next Thursday when we swap into another Volkswagen. So fire away your questions in the comments section for our Interactive Review of the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI.

    In the meantime, here are some preliminary cell phone pics.


    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    more important than the question of can it be made into a performance sedan...does it still show the significant budget/engineering cuts thats been so glaringly obvious across VW as of late??

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    If you have owned, or merely driven, a Mk IV or MkV Jetta. The 6th Generation will be a hard pill to swallow. It is literally like going from a Lexus to a Scion. The previous two generations are possibly the poshest compacts in the world, with interiors and tactile qualities easily beating the competition by a wide margin. In certain aspects, beating even a Mercedes C-class, BMW 3-series or Lexus IS. Essentially, they were Audi class in every respect. The new Jetta is well below that standard -- no better than a Corolla really and in some sense worse than Hyundais.

    Having said that, it is important to look at it anther way. Volkswagen Group was selling VWs that are essentially built like Audis. Even though they sell for 3~4K more than the competiting small cars margins are slim for VW. This doesn't make sense for VW to position VW as a luxury-entry when they don't have a brand situated below it. So this adjustment makes sense even if it will be poorly received by VW faithfuls. VW needs to be the Toyota fighter. If you want a Posher Golf or Jetta, you can always buy an Audi A3.

    • Agree 1
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    The GLI is a great looking car and a sweet package... but then I like the more pedestrian versions of the car as well. I looked at a Tiguan before buying my Patriot. I just could not swallow the pricetag, even for a base 4 motion it was $27k.

    The Jetta is priced more appropriately and I believe the GLI is a screamin' deal.

    • Agree 1
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    No fair...the red one I had last week didn't have any options. :P

    Or rather, the one I had wasn't the Autobahn or Autobahn & Nav trim.

    The red one I had two weeks ago was in the Autobahn trim but without the Navi.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    No fair...the red one I had last week didn't have any options. :P

    Or rather, the one I had wasn't the Autobahn or Autobahn & Nav trim.

    The red one I had two weeks ago was in the Autobahn trim but without the Navi.

    I was hoping it would more/less be a GTI sedan.

    It isn't.

    • Agree 1
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    The Fender Audio in this car is FANTASTIC even to my hobbled ears. I don't generally comment on audio systems because my hearing doesn't really pick out the details that everyone else seems to comment on. VW included a demo CD with the car showcasing a variety of music and the clarity was amazing.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    My time with the Jetta GLI is coming to an end. The car has plenty of pull up to the highway legal speed limits in this area, but after that, the wind goes out of the sails. The handling is also not what I would expect of a car wearing the GLI badge. It's better than a Cruze or Civic to be sure, but not by enough to warrant the GLI designation. The car handles at what I would expect a base Jetta to handle if this were 2004.

    Tomorrow we'll switch into something bigger and softer, so get any last minute questions in about the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    No rattles and road noise is well muted. On the highway, it's just another mid-size family car, so that could be a good thing or bad thing depending on your point of view. One thing I didn't like about the seat control is that there is no control of seat bottom tilt, but if you raise seat up, it feels like it is tilting you forward in the process. Seat back control is very difficult to reach.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites



    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • google-news-icon.png



  • Community Hive Community Hive

    Community Hive allows you to follow your favorite communities all in one place.

    Follow on Community Hive
  • google-news-icon.png

  • Subscribe to Cheers & Gears

    Cheers and Gears Logo

    Since 2001 we've brought you real content and honest opinions, not AI-generated stuff with no feeling or opinions influenced by the manufacturers.

    Please consider subscribing. Subscriptions can be as little as $1.75 a month, and a paid subscription drops most ads.*
     

    You can view subscription options here.

    *a very limited number of ads contain special coupon deals for our members and will show

  • Posts

    • So three major problems with this car, one, terrible Jellybean external shape, not impressed at all with the style. Second is the buttonless dash having everything via a touch screen and rotary knob, terrible safety issue as your eyes will be off the road more than on trying to find the right option in the right menu. Third is the center pack clearly cuts into valuable leg space based on their own picture. This is a hard pass.
    • Great Masculine shape, really digging the style they did here.
    • First seen at the Shanghai Auto Show (see article: Polestar 4 - The New Breed of Electric SUV Coupe), Polestar brought the Polestar 4 to the New York International Auto Show for North Americans to see in person. Polestar calls the Polestar 4 an "electric SUV 4-door coupe". Outside of that marketing speak, the Polestar 4 is a slightly lifted four-door hatchback about 190 inches in length, or roughly 2 inches shorter than a Toyota Camry.  Built without rear glass, the Polestar 4 makes use of a rear camera for visibility astern. Polestar 4 features a plethora of standard content, including 20-inch 5 V-spoke black diamond cut alloy wheels, panoramic glass roof, adaptive cruise control, 360 parking camera with 3D view, energy saving heat pump, front-illuminated Polestar logo, e-latch doors, power-operated tailgate with soft close, Polestar digital key, wireless phone charging, and 8-way electrical driver seat and 6-way electrical passenger seat. The fastest production car the brand has ever developed to date, Polestar 4 can accomplish a 0-60 mph sprint in 3.7 seconds and in top spec can produce 544 horsepower. Long-range single-motor variants have 272 horsepower and a targeted EPA range of over 300 miles. All long range variants have a 102 kWh battery capable of 200 kW charging on a DC Fast Charger and 11 kW on home level-2 charging. Google built-in is ... built in and includes Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play. Polestar continues to offer a leading connected in-car experience. As with all other Polestar cars, regular over-the-air updates allow for new features and improvements to be sent remotely to all vehicles. Pricing starts at $54,900, with orders opening in April for deliveries in the latter half of this year.   View full article
  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online
  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search

Change privacy settings