Yahoo Autos 2022 VW Jetta GLI Road Test Review | Does trunk beat hatch?
The enthusiast car segment has yet another carry-over sport compact to celebrate. The refreshed 2022 Volkswagen GLI didn’t get any meaningful mechanical upgrades, but as we’ve learned from VW’s overhauled GTI, a comprehensive redesign can be a mixed bag.
The Jetta-based GLI has always played second fiddle to its Golf-based sibling, the GTI. Despite riding on the same chassis for much of its existence, the GLI has always been seen as the inferior, Americanized option. The one with a “bumper wart” (trunk) on the back and more overall length than would be considered proper for an enthusiast model.
The Corolla-looking fifth-generation Jetta we got in ’05 was probably its stylistic low point, but even then, the GLI wasn’t bad, per se; it just wasn’t the GTI. That was also the last time it was largely the same car as the GTI apart from its trunk. Consequently, that was the last generation many enthusiasts seemed to care about. As subsequent Jettas diverged from the Golf in size, underpinnings and cheapness, so too did the GLI from the GTI.
Now that both sedans and hatchbacks are going the way of the dodo, the GLI’s plight is even more pronounced. It still has its devotees, but VW certainly isn’t going out of its way to please them. Thanks to the overseas popularity of the Golf, the GTI has remained a more attractive investment target for VW’s bean counters than its boot-bearing sibling. So while the Golf stayed tight and “European” and continued to have first dibs on VW’s newest performance and interior tech, the Jetta diverged, becoming a larger, softer, cheaper, more “American” option that had to wait around for the Golf’s leftovers. Great jumping off point, eh?
Yes and no, believe it or not, but perhaps not for the reasons you’d expect. For 2022, the GLI got a moderate refresh that included some aesthetic updates and a packaging overhaul. It’s more expensive because the base model no longer exists — it’s now Autobahn or nothing — and if that package doesn’t suit you, too bad. There are essentially no options; even the 10-inch navigation system, which is included with the Autobahn package on a GTI, is M.I.A. entirely on the GLI.
And yes, that’s the good news. See, the 10-inch Discover Pro infotainment suite and its various associated control interfaces are far and away our least favorite components of the new VW ID.4, GTI and Golf R. There’s no dancing around it; they just plain suck. The only part of that mess to migrate into the GLI was the awkward steering wheel control setup; the other major control interfaces carry over from the 2021 Jetta and GLI. That’s right, baby; there be knobs up in here.
It's not all good news, though. Along with "de-contenting" the navigation system, VW held back the GTI's 12-way power adjustable seats (the GLI gets six-ways), three-zone climate control (dual only), heated rear seats and a few other interior and exterior bits — oh, and 13 horsepower. The GLI also gets the old XDS brake-based front differential in lieu of the GTI's VAQ system, which employs a mechanical limited-slip differentials. So the GLI only comes “loaded,” but in this case, that’s obviously relative.
The GLI has more than just real buttons and knobs going for it. It still gets VW’s excellent dynamic chassis control (DCC) adaptive suspension system (Honda put the Civic Si’s similar suspension out to pasture for the new generation) and a six-speed manual is standard equipment. DSG’s optional, but you’ll be paying close to $35,000 out the door (assuming no markup or other shenanigans) for the pleasure of letting the computer do the work for you.
