2016 Jetta GLI SEL Review

The VW Jetta is a curious vehicle in that so few are sold outside the US. Very few Jetta’s are bought in Europe, instead the Golf is the preferred choice. In the US Golf’s curiously are seen as a cheap vehicle, except for the GTI, which sells more than the Jetta equivalent, the GLI. Make sense so far?

When the Golf received the new MQB platform, the Jetta did not, and has had to make do with some minor refreshes instead. One year after the Jetta lineup’s styling was refreshed, the GLI’s exterior has been further tweaked for 2016. The changes are subtle, with a new look around the fog lights, smoked tail lights and a snazzy trunk mounted rear spoiler. It works, the 2016 Jetta GLI looks pretty aggressive and much better overall than the lesser models.

There are few economy sports sedans available these days, one being the Honda Civic Si, and the other the Subaru WRX, and best of all they are all available with a manual transmission.

Engine And Transmission

At the heart of the GLI is a TSFI 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. It was given a power bump a few years ago and now produces 210 hp and 207 lb-ft of torque. Although the engine is essentially the same one found in the Golf GTI, it lacks the 258 ft-lb of torque, which is significant. It feels quick but not fast, and is not as responsive as the GTi, but that is expected seeing as the Jetta is down on torque. The motor spins to its redline without any signs of strain and the 6 speed twin clutch swaps cogs very well, except at lower speeds where it can become confused. We didn’t use the paddle shifter, the transmission is pretty darn quick in S mode, where we had it almost all of the time, although that did have a profound effect on our fuel consumption, which averaged 22 mpg.

How Does It Drive?

Pretty good and once you get it up to highway speeds in town, it’s relatively quiet. This is not the best place for a sports sedan so we went hunting for some more challenging roads East of San Diego, in the mountains. On our road course, the GLI is still pretty impressive for a front-wheel drive car, plow too fast into a bend and there is some understeer but it is easily controlled by backing off the power a tad, then back on and it pulls you round, with no fuss. Steering is also the good with a good sense of feel of what the front wheels are doing and pretty direct. All in all the Jetta GLI is very competent and as long as you stay within the car’s limits, you can have a lot of fun.

The exhaust sounds good, even though VW use a Soundaktor, which pumps artificial engine noise into the cabin through the speakers. It’s not intrusive and provides a deep bass sound when you floor it. There is some turbo lag and throttle tip in from a standstill, but this didn’t hamper us getting it to launch from 0-60 in 6.0 seconds. That’s a couple of tenths slower than the GTI.
I think once VW put this car on the MQB chassis, then this will give its bigger selling brother a run for its money.

Inside

2016 GLI models benefit from the new MIB 2 infotainment system that incorporates the full suite of USB and Car-Net connectivity. The well-equipped SE model sports LED tail-lights, Keyless access with push-button start, Climatronic® automatic dual-zone climate control, a sunroof, 6-way power driver seat, a rearview camera, front and rear Park Distance Control, the award-winning Fender® Premium Audio System, rain sensing wipers, auto headlights, and heated seats. We found the seats to be fairly comfortable, if a little hard for longer trips. All instruments fall easily to hand and we were able to connect an iPhone via Bluetooth pretty quickly. The touch screen is easy to use and I wish Audi would offer something like this instead of fiddly mouse wheels.

Our Tornado Red GLI (watch out for cops) SEL adds a number of upscale features, including Blind Spot Detection with rear traffic alert, a navigation system, Bi-Xenon headlights with the Adaptive Front-lighting System, and Homelink®. The AFS system swivels the main headlight beams by up to 15 percent as the steering wheel is turned to help illuminate bends in the road more effectively at speeds of more than 6 mph.

Verdict

If you’re looking for a compact that’s fun to drive, well-equipped, comfortable, and can provide more space than a hatch, although with a tad less practicality, then the Jetta GLI is a good option. If you require a more dynamic and sporty option, then the Jetta’s hatchback sibling, the Golf GTI is for you. Either way you can’t go wrong, but just remember this is not a GTI with a trunk.