Volkswagen Jetta GLI ready for Germany’s Autobahn

On looks, the Jetta carries much of the same appearance it’s had since it was redesigned in 2019. I think Volkswagen is a little too conservative in their design as I find their sedans to be rather uninspiring. Even the Jetta falls under that generalization. The grille, however, is interesting with a mesh-like face flanked by attractive headlamps. But the styling really loses any flare on profile and even on the back side as the Jetta loses any distinction.

Where it regains youthfulness is in performance. The GLI turns the Jetta into something fun to drive and is worthy of carrying the Autobahn name. The standard Jetta has a puny 1.4-liter 147-horsepower engine. With the GLI there’s a turbocharged 2.0-liter with 228 HP. For a smaller car, this really adds zip. The seven-speed automatic transmission is good with smooth shifts and no noticeable turbo lag. There are paddle shifters for those who want to more shifting control.

The Jetta GLI is designed to be performance-oriented. It even has a tracker for 0-60 times and track times. Will the GLI be a demon at the track or drag strip? No, it won’t, but it will offer enough excitement to be a great, fun car. To me, if you’re going to buy a Jetta, the GLI is the trim to get.

When it comes to interiors, I’m a bit of a snob. I expect comfort, quality touchpoints and good, intuitive technology. For an affordably priced car, the Jetta checks off many of these boxes, more so than I remember in past model years.

My tester had comfortable seats, although the rear seats were a bit cramped for some passengers with long legs. But I was glad to see they didn’t cram uncomfortable, racing-style seats into the GLI version; rather, the front seats had a good position and seating angle. They were comfortable and supportive.

Additionally, the infotainment system passed the test as far as ease of use with a responsive, 8-inch touchscreen. The Volkswagen digital cockpit is cool, throwing up customizable screen options behind the steering wheel. Audi does this too, so it’s nice to see it at the VW level.

The GLI trim has a youthful vibe with red accents, a black headliner and leather-wrapped, three-spoke steering wheel.

The Jetta GLI has a fuel economy rating of 25 mpg/city and 32 mpg/highway. In a week’s worth of heavy-footed driving I didn’t manage to get to the EPA average of 28 mpg, as I fell about 1.5 mpg short. But hey, I had fun. Don’t give me a 0-60 tracker and not expect me to use it and make a competition/game out of it.

As expected, the GLI adds cost to the Jetta. The base price is $30,745. After a destination charge, my tester had a final price of $31,665. That’s a little pricey for a car of this size, but when you consider how much more fun it is to drive than the base Jetta, you can justify the added expense.

I still would love to drive on the Autobahn. While you can’t treat the highways and byways in the U.S. the same way, the Jetta GLI gave me a little taste of what it might be like.

Jimmy Dinsmore is a freelance automotive journalist.

2020 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA GLI AUTOBAHN