2005 Volkswagen Jetta GLI 1.8T

In terms of brand demographics, Volkswagen has what other car companies seem to crave: Legions of young (or at least young-thinking) buyers passionate about European engineering, design and performance. This may all seem like marketing hoopla—that is, until you step aboard the Jetta GLI, grip the leather-covered wheel and plant your Nike cross-trainer on the gas pedal. Halfway through first gear, the 180-hp 1.8-liter turbocharged four comes alive, thrusting the car forward like a tropical storm surge. Waltz through the gears and we guess you'll be grinning just like those other VW cognoscenti.

The pleasing Jetta design now bristles significantly with its low-profile P225/40ZR18 tires, optional 18-inch BBS wheels, a big exhaust tip, and red GLI badges.

But the Jetta is about far more than lively performance, although in GLI format its handling verve is exactly up to the engine's. Sharing some crucial engineering with the Golf and New Beetle, it makes the most of VW's investment dollars, allowing the company to splurge on features that Richter with shoppers. The choice of powertrains includes the turbo four, along with a normally aspirated 2.0-liter four, a 1.9-liter turbodiesel and several appealing model grades. As it happens, with an MSRP of $24,070 (plus $615 in destination charges) the 2005 GLI occupies the top slot above the most affordable GL and the midlevel GLS.


A studious review in the parking lot will reveal much about the GLI's intended purpose. For starters, the pleasing Jetta sedan body design, which has been around for several years, now bristles significantly with its low-profile P225/40ZR18 tires (Goodyear Eagle F1 rubber on the car we drove) mounted on optional 18-inch genuine BBS wheels, a big exhaust tip, and red GLI badges. The GLI also sits on specially tuned sport suspension, and inside are genuine cloth-covered Recaro seats with big side bolsters to hold you in place during cornering.

Inside are genuine cloth-covered Recaro seats with big side bolsters to hold you in place during cornering.

When the tachometer needle hits 2000 rpm, the joy of a turbo engine is immediately felt. Then the engine comes alive, zinging the car through the six somewhat notchy-feeling manual gears with great ceremony. Tackling the first set of corners, we found the GLI steering to be somewhat vague-feeling, but the car cornered flat and the big tires offered tons of grip, so the aggregate effect was a feeling of being very connected to the road. For precise footwork, the GLI has aluminum pedals and there is also a broad aluminum dead pedal for your left foot. The braking feel is light and almost seems too sensitive at low speeds, but the pedal is reassuringly firm and stays firm even when the brakes are used hard. Noise, vibration and harshness, one typical downside of four-cylinder powerplants, is present in the GLI but not to distracting levels.


One of the reasons the Jetta sedan performs so well is that it's reasonably sized. Its wheelbase is just 98.9 inches, not even two inches longer than a MINI Cooper, and it weighs in at a reasonable 3,106 pounds, just below the fighting weight of a Porsche 911 Carrera. Translation: The Jetta GLI is compact and efficient. This pays dividends in fuel mileage as well as nimble handling and spirited performance. On the highway it's rated at 29 mpg, and in the city it earns a 24-mpg rating (25 mpg with the optional five-speed automatic).