It has been nearly two years since I first purchased my 2019 Volkswagen Jetta GLI. In that time, I have had numerous memories; including plenty of ups and downs. Even after these two years, I still get excited to drive, look at, and experience it. There are so many times when I just want to drive; no specific destination, no specific goal. Just enjoy it.
To this, I get many comments along the lines of, “Enjoying a Jetta?” or “But it’s just a Jetta.” Sure, it is a Jetta, but it is also much more. It’s a GLI. Those three letters behind Jetta hold quite a bit of importance.
As a whole, the GLI is left somewhat unknown in the eyes of the everyday car enthusiast, as the GTI usually garners the majority of the recognition. Due to its longer history and marginally better performance numbers, this will likely continue to be the case, even as the GTI transitions into the EV era.
But it goes without saying that there are significant benefits to the GLI, which made me choose it over a GTI — chiefly among which was the value for money. A similarly equipped 2019 GTI Autobahn with similar mileage was roughly $3,000-$5,000 more than GLIs at the time of my purchase. Another factor that influenced my purchase was the feature content. No matter what, ventilated seats were not available on any Mk7 GTI — full stop. Sure, in retrospect, I’ve found that they have only a slight difference in cooling (ventilated seats in Mazdas and even some older Fords perform better), but I have enjoyed the feature nonetheless.
Over these last two years, I have modified the car extensively. From slight coding changes with the help of OBDeleven, to more influential changes including a Unitronic Stage 1 tune, MBRP catback exhaust, and H&R lowering springs, just to name a few (of which, I will have my thoughts on later). I have done countless visual modifications from tint to Mk8 GTI Autobahn wheels (since I was not particularly a fan of the stock GLI wheels).
With the GTI wheels came the stock GTI Bridgestone tires, which I found to be loud, uncomfortable, and overall ungrippy. Because of my distaste for Bridgestone tires now, I went for Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season 4’s. I have loved these tires, but they do have their issues. As with many performance all-season tires, the tread life isn’t great, and due to the 235/35/19 tire size, means that they don’t always cope fantastically with the poor roads around my location (see photo below of just one instance).
The aforementioned H&R lowering springs have also been a subject of mixed opinions. The springs lower the car about an inch from the monster truck OEM fitment, and while they greatly improve the looks and handling, the already rough ride was made even worse. Often times the ride is unusually harsh over pavement that otherwise shouldn’t be.
This was made even more clear on my road trip from North Carolina to Texas and back. I made this trip once before in my previous car, my 2017 Volkswagen Passat. That trip was effortless. Therefore, I expected to have a similar experience in the GLI — oh, how wrong I was. After my initial drive to Texas, I wasn’t too tired, though I felt more tired than I remembered while in the Passat. It was the trip home however, that really did me in. I decided to take the southern route through Louisiana; I had heard about how bad Louisiana roads were but didn’t think they could be that bad. Well, imagine driving on a washboard surface, for 2.5 hours straight, at 80 mph, in a lowered car with the suspension travel of a tennis ball. It was terrible.
Luckily the other changes I made had a much more positive change. When I first bought the car, I was never completely satisfied with the power or the vacuum-like exhaust note. This was rectified with the Stage 1 tune and exhaust. First, the tune took the somewhat underwhelming stock 230-ish horsepower output and brought it up to just under 300. This alone really woke the car up and completely changed the personality. It is absolutely fantastic.
Along with the exhaust, the tune perfectly completed my vision for the car. Not to mention that together, these mods push the horsepower number to around 305 hp — in a Jetta. Considering the front wheel drive layout, it actually copes with the power very well. Wheel hop is limited, there’s plenty of cornering grip, and no torque-steer. An unexpected benefit is increased fuel economy as well. Before the tune, I was averaging about 25 mpg, now averaging 27 mpg in mixed city/highway driving (with a heavy foot).
Reliability is always something of a concern with Volkswagens, and while it hasn’t been a complete cakewalk, it has also been mostly trouble-free. The main problem I had was the sunroof. Within a week of purchasing my car, I noticed a significant rattle in the sunroof. After a dealership visit, it was found to be a cracked sunroof frame. Without warranty, this would’ve been a roughly $2,000 fix. Instead, it was free, since my 6 yr/72k mile warranty was still well in effect.
The second problem dealt with coolant. After the level got low enough to throw a coolant warning on the dash, the whole system was pressure tested and no leaks were found. After topping it up, I had no issues for several months. Again, it went low, a pressure test found no issues, and an engine inspection was also performed with no issues found with either the water pump or head gaskets. Since then, I have had no issues with coolant, even with regular coolant level checks.
Lastly, there was an issue regarding my passenger seat occupancy sensor. At random times, the car would yell at me thinking someone was in the passenger seat, when nothing was there. This was so inconsistent, I didn’t even bother to have my dealer look into it. Then, one day while with a passenger, I got airbag error messages on my dash, each time being accompanied by a ‘ding.’ This happened consistently throughout the day and was absolutely infuriating. After bringing it to the dealer, they cleared the code, and I’ve had no such issue since.
Overall, I have loved my two years and 50,000 miles with my GLI, but the time has come to search for its replacement. A combination of a few things in life is leading me to do that. I know I will miss this car dearly and finding a car that will meet all of my criteria won’t be easy. Meeting so many people through this car has been such an awesome experience and will forever hold the memories I have had with this car. Until I part ways with the car I named Gwen nearly two years ago, I will continue to make new memories.
| Vehicle Tested | 2019 Volkswagen Jetta GLI Autobahn |
|---|---|
| Color | Pure Grey / Titan Black |
| Drivetrain | 2.0L turbocharged I-4 / 7-spd DSG / Front wheel drive |
| HP / Torque | 228 horsepower / 258 lb-ft (stock) 297 horsepower / 346 lb-ft (tuned) |
| Curb Weight | 3,217 lbs (est.) |
| 0-60 mph | 5.7 – 6.0s (est., stock) 5.2 – 5.5s (est., tuned) |
| EPA Fuel Econ | 25 city / 32 hwy / 30 combined |
| MSRP | $30,890 (est.) |
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