A GTI For The Family: The 2019 Volkswagen Jetta GLI

2019 Volkswagen Jetta GLI.

The Volkswagen Jetta is all-new for 2019, bigger on the inside and outside, with sleeker styling. It's a more aggressive look that pairs well with the GLI, the most sporting of the Jetta lineup.

Small Sedan Comparison: The 2019 Mazda 3 vs The 2019 Volkswagen Jetta

The 2019 Mazda 3 (left) and the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta (right).

Let’s say you’re in the market for a compact sedan but want to go beyond the predictable, safe choices of Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic.  Have I got a review for you.  There are two other strong candidates, both brand-new for 2019 and both ended up in my driveway at the same time---a situation just begging a comparison test.

The Platinum Gray four-door you see is the 2019 Jetta 1.4T SEL.  And positively glittering in Soul Red Crystal Metallic is the 2019 Mazda 3 Sedan with Premium Package AWD (that’s the name on the window sticker).

The Last Best Sports Sedan? The 2017 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T GLI

The 2017 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T GLI.

It is, these days, a crossover world.  The not-quite-a-station-wagon-not-quite-an-SUV has become the vehicle of choice for most Americans.  And it has done so to the extent that some people who watch and predict trends say the traditional three-box four-door sedan is on the verge of extinction.

If so, and if you are among those who like a good German sports sedan, the 2017 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T GLI is probably the one to rush out and buy.

What's The German Word For "Price Cut"? The 2016 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid SEL Premium

The 2016 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid SEL Premium.

In a business based on forward momentum, it shouldn't be a surprise that most of the time, prices move up from year to year.  Staying even with cost increases, exchange rates and sometimes more than a little hubris when the manufacturer senses it has a product for which customers will pay more all contribute to sticker price creep.

Sometimes it's several hundred dollars.  If it's only a hundred bucks, we'll comment on it (as we did last week in our review of the 2017 Kia Sorento SXL AWD V6) as being an instance of admirable restraint.  And we'll call attention to it when the price remains unchanged.

So imagine our surprise and delight to find that the 2016 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid SEL Premium costs $775 less than the 2015 model we reviewed a year and a half ago.

What's In A Letter? The 2015 Volkswagen Jetta GLI

The 2015 Volkswagen Jetta GLI.

The difference of a single letter.  In this case, "L" instead of "T".

For the uninitiated, I am drawing a comparison between Volkswagen's GTI (a Golf hatchback) and its GLI (a Jetta sedan). And the truth is, that single letter changes a lot of things.

Autojourno Nirvana: The 2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen TDI SEL

The 2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen TDI SEL.

There's a bit of an inside half-joke in automotive journalist circles that the ideal car is a brown diesel station wagon with a stick shift.  Well, it wasn't brown and it didn't have a stick (though you can get one), but the all-new 2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen TDI checks off all the other boxes and shows just why those of us who eat, sleep and write cars find the combination so appealing.

German For Hybrid: The 2015 Volkwswagen Jetta Hybrid SEL

The 2015 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid SEL.

As with the just-reviewed 2015 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring, Volkswagen's Jetta Hybrid is taking a different path from the "look at me" hybrids...cars like the Toyota Prius that proclaim their difference with styling that stands apart from more conventional cars. As we've noted before, it's a risky path, as hybrid buyers seem to want to call attention to their purchase so that friends and strangers alike know they've chosen to save gas and pollute less.

Getting More With Less: The 2015 Volkswagen Jetta 1.8T

2015 Volkswagen Jetta 1.8T.

I have yet to see it in advertising, but Volkswagen has a new slogan on its window sticker: "Great. For the price of good." It is a summary of Volkswagen's approach the past few years, which has seen the automaker, which once charged premium prices for somewhat over-engineered German compacts, shift to simply competing with Japanese makes like Toyota, Honda and Nissan on features, content and price.

New Car Review: 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid

The 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid whispers its green credentials rather than shouting them.

 

The de-gimmickification (give me until this afternoon to make a Wikipedia entry) of hybrid vehicles has been a tricky thing. As we noted in our review of the Toyota Prius C, the vast majority of hybrid buyers seem to want to call attention to themselves. The "big" (compared to the Prius C) Prius has attained a good chunk of its best-seller status by being instantly identifiable as a "green" vehicle. Honda, a strong candidate for major player with the environmentally sensitive, has struck out with its hybrid offerings thus far, the Impact and CR-Z being too small to be practical and mainstream and the Accord and Civic hybrids having been virtually invisible...looking for all the world like regular Accords and Civics with "hybrid" badges on them...never mind what was under the hood and what wasn't coming out of the tailpipe.

 

So it's a huge surprise to this writer that Volkswagen, out to conquer market share in leaps and bounds, has taken the Honda Civic approach with the Jetta Hybrid.

 

Volkswagen Jetta TDI Review

A lifetime of exposure to noisy, smelly city buses and 18-wheelers (not to mention passenger cars of the 70s and 80s) has given diesel a bad reputation.

Time to shake that once and for all. And a great way to do that is with a drive in a Volkswagen Jetta TDI.

TDI is Volkswagen's clean diesel engine...a terrific marriage of ultra-low sulfur fuel and a technology that burns fuel so efficiently, there's very little waste.

Kneel down by the tailpipe of a running TDI and there's no diesel odor whatsoever.

The 140 horsepower made by the 2-liter four-cylinder engine isn't a world-beater, but diesels are all about torque...and the TDI makes 236 pounds per foot of it...it's a cliche, but it really does pull like a locomotive.



Inside, the Jetta TDI is all business, no frills...but not cheap or austere. Everything is logically placed, falls easily to hand, and moves with a solid, high-quality feel.

The big payoff here is mileage. The EPA says 29 city, 40 highway...and we managed 42 and a half in a week of 50/50 urban freeways and surface streets, which makes it as good as our real-world experience with both the new Honda Insight and the Mercury Milan Hybrid.

Where the Jetta TDI pulls ahead is in the value equation. $22,830 base price (our tester had a six-speed automatic for $1,100 and a sunroof for $1,000...which, after destination charges, put the bottom line at $25,640.) and diesel longevity...250,000 miles is equivalent to 100,000 miles or less in a gasoline engine. 400,000 miles or more is not uncommon.

It doesn't scream "hey, look at me, I'm saving the planet!" the way Toyota Priuses (Prii?) and Insights do...it just gets the job done...and there's a very good chance it will be doing that job a lot longer. The Jetta TDI earns its place not only on TireKicker's Top Ten Fuel Savers, but also on TireKicker's Top 20 Cars.

Volkswagen Jetta Review

Some cars become so familiar that they also become somewhat invisible. That's the great thing about a test drive...it can put you back in touch with the car itself instead of the blurred image in your brain.

The Volkswagen Jetta is now (with the Golf having been re-named Rabbit a couple of years ago, but on its way back to Golf for 2010) the longest-running nameplate in the VW lineup...and the basic concept is so strong that redesigns end up looking like minor facelifts.

Get behind the wheel and you find that the Jetta is an exceptionally well-thought out sedan. The German engineering is obvious every time you touch a surface, move a lever or turn the wheel. The structural integrity is evident in the tightness and quietness of the body. Unlike most cars (especially in this price class), the details are given careful attention...right down to double-hinged doors...capable of holding the weight of an adult male.

Consider this your reminder...VW makes a competitor to the Civic, Corolla, Focus and Cobalt. It's worth a look...and a test drive.


UPDATE: Just finished a week in a new Jetta SE and all the above still stands. This tester had a six-speed automatic transmission with Tiptronic, Bluetooth, rubber floormats and an iPod connector...bringing the price to just over $22,000 with destination charges. A bargain for the quality you get.

EPA estimates: 20 city/29 highway.