2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI Review
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Written by: JasoncarForsaleonz
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Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2011 |
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Maybe we're holding the new GLI to too high a standard. It's tough not to when the beloved last-gen car is essentially still available, albeit with a different arrangement of doors. We refer, of course, to VW's GTI. We happen to really like the GTI. Possibly, you can guess where this is going.
The GLI has always been a GTI with a trunk. That changes with this latest generation of Jetta, as it and the Golf have diverged, the sedan's platform developing a serious glandular problem and seeking buyers with the same affliction.
Now for what could be construed as damning with faint praise: The GLI is the best Jetta sedan that Volkswagen makes. (Note the "sedan" in the previous sentence and recall that VW still sells the SportWagen, which is based on the last-gen Jetta.) U.S.-specific Jetta cost cutting called for the removal of its soft-touch dash and multilink rear suspension, replacing both with cheaper, harder pieces-in the suspension's case, the hard bit is a torsion-beam axle. To create the GLI, those Euro-grade parts are put back in.
The suspension once again resembles a GTI's, though the tuning is different: In front, the GTI has firmer springs and dampers while the GLI's rear damping is substantially firmer than the GTI's. Unfortunately, the Jetta's 2.9-inch-longer wheelbase and general bigness make it feel as squishy as the dash. There's more roll, less feedback from the front end, and an overall lack of precision in its handling. All responses are less immediate, although the steering-straight out of the GTI-reinforces the fact that VW can do electric systems right. It's a big improvement over the other Jettas' hydraulic setup.
A familiar (read: carry-over) 200-hp, 2.0-liter turbo four restores some more goodwill. It's eager, responsive, and linear-everything we've come to expect from a G_I powertrain. Except, in this application, it doesn't sound like one. The GLI's intake broadcasts an on-throttle honk that resonates like the confused and imbalanced offspring of a VW five-cylinder and a tuned Subaru flat-four. You can't make this stuff up, but somehow VW has, seemingly out of nowhere and for no good reason.
Another near miss: Like the Beetle Turbo's, the GLI's optional dual-clutch transmission is geared more for efficiency than the GTI's and that of the previous model, so shifts lack a certain starched quality. And there's no way to defeat the traction control or a launch-control function here, either. The quickest Jetta's 0-to-60 time (6.8 seconds) suffers as a result. We've seen a launch-control-equipped GTI with a slight weight advantage post a 6.1-second run.
The GLI's not-quite-sporty intentions are underscored by its tires. All GLIs come wearing all-seasons (Dunlop SP Sports in this case), whereas the GTI gets grippier summer rubber as an option. The sedan's braking distance and roadholding would certainly benefit from the more-performance-oriented tires.
Softer interior polymer is welcome, but the GLI still wears hard plastics on its doors. It's best to occupy your hands with the chunky, flat-bottom steering wheel. The base car's plaid seats are gone, replaced by plain black cloth. They're still available in another VW whose badge begins in "G" and ends in "I."
Any potential cloth-seat controversy was defused by our top-of-the-line test vehicle's black leatherette interior. Nav-equipped GLI Autobahn models such as this one start at $27,215, with the DSG adding $1100 to the tab. Included in the package are a sunroof, dual-zone automatic climate control, and VW's Fender-branded sound system.
With less standard equipment, the GLI undercuts VW's hot hatch by mere hundreds of dollars. But the sedan has lost some of its enthusiast focus in the Jetta's transformation from niche player to volume-sales contender. This makes the driver's choice easy, leaving us to wonder for whom, exactly, the GLI is intended.
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Source: 2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI Review
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