Road test | Volkswagen Jetta Gli: When the GTI does not do the trick

Barely four compact sports sedans are now offered in Canada, an indication that the golden age of the register is behind us. Never mind, these four -door bombers are more than ever magnificent examples of versatility. Among this quartet, the Volkswagen Jetta Gli is trying to hold the flickering torch lit alongside its showy tailgate sister, the Golf GTI.

Son design

The first appearance of Jetta Gli on the Canadian market dates back to 1984. In automotive language, it was almost a century. We still detect obvious similarities between it and the restyled 2025 opus. Its long-known rear-to-see tricorps profile is also conventional, a reservoir that since its inception has characterized this more full-bodied jetta. The facies is still more incisive than before, even “audies” by the use of headlights and a more tapered upper grille. The rear lights also have a light treatment which visually refines this jetta, which does not expose its name anywhere, apart from the various Sands GLI. The 18 -inch rims seem a little lost in the wheel arches, but are there to treat comfort.

On board

The interior of this GLI exposes a slightly more dated technical design compared to the GTI. Juggling between touch, haptic and physical keys, it is much less marked on its infotainment system for usual orders, an approach that makes it more intuitive. It is however much more busy, which means that the rendering is less homogeneous, especially on the passenger side. The materials are also generally of less good quality, giving pride of place to hard plastics a little too often glossy, except around the gear lever. Benefiting from a 5 cm longer wheelbase compared to the Golf GTI, this Jetta Gli offers more spacious rear seats, but whose important bulge of the floor inevitably affects the – poor – passenger of the center. At the front, it is more welcoming than many SUVs, to accommodate a number of physics.

Under the hood

The mechanical component of the GLI comes down to a single four -cylinder turbocharged 2 L which is essentially the engine of the previous GTI. It spreads 228 hp and 258 LB-PI to convince. Widely defined by its maximum torque reached 1,700 rpm, this engine seems nervous from the low regimes, a grip which it can maintain for a long time. Automatic double clutch transmission sorts out its seven speeds with gentleness and good liveliness. It cannot be said that it is entirely constant, but it mixes the slight feeling of slipping at the start specific to this type of box. The duo also ensures surprisingly low consumption which is silent the 6 l/100 km on fast tracks. For those who prefer manual, it remains on the menu, at no additional cost.

Behind the steering wheel

This Jetta Gli is first of all a very civilized car. The dynamic serial damping goes well with tires with slanders enough to ensure impeccable constancy for damping. The CAP hold is also imperturbable. The tires all seasons Hankook Kinergy GT nevertheless quickly expose the limits of their motor skills. In strong acceleration, there are constant interventions of the limited slip differential to keep the car straight, which happens to do in good way, even in turn. In slalom, we feel this sedan leaning on the shoulders of its tires, which gives a feeling a little less solid than in the case of the GTI. The latter also seems more incisive at the start of the turn thanks to its shorter wheelbase. The steering, the braking as well as the adjustment of the acceleration pedal of this GLI are all progressive and modular, to experience pleasure.

Embedded technologies

The sedan still uses the previous generation multimedia system which is based on a series of horizontal tabs bunk to navigate from one menu to another. Tactile keys also border the small 8 -inch screen to improve intuitiveness. It is not the most elegant system due to the bass resolution of the image and the relative slowness of the cooling rate, but it is easy to approach and keeps wheels as well as a nacelle of touch controls for heating and air conditioning. A button placed near the gear lever allows you to adjust the behavior of the car under various settings. We would have liked it a little higher, to avoid lowering your eyes too much. The Beatsaudio channel also offers a rather bland, but acceptable sound quality.

The verdict

There is very little that this Jetta Gli does not do well. Pleasant to drive without undermining the homogeneity which has made its reputation, it has a magnificent turbocharged mechanics not very delicious and very nervous. Its interior is also spacious despite its compact sedan status and its standard equipment is very stocked given its price. She is not the most charismatic car of her segment, both visually and dynamic, nor the most refined in view of the materials used to make her interior, but she manages to dose her temperament well so that we never tire of her. A contender for a different flavor of the GTI who still deserves that we linger to her.