2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI Review and Test Drive

Yes, VW is still trying to save the manuals.

Christian Wardlaw | 

Jan 22, 2025 | 6 min read

Christian Wardlaw

Small, fast, and fun cars are my favorites. Light, nimble, and speedy, compact sports sedans (and hatchbacks) can be reasonably priced, practical for daily driving, and thriftier with gas. The refreshed 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI is one of the few remaining models in this segment, and fans of manual transmissions will be happy to know the Jetta GLI still has a row-your-own gearbox.

Volkswagen sells the 2025 Jetta in S, Sport, SE, SEL, and GLI Autobahn trim levels. Base prices range from the low $20,000s to the mid-$30,000s, including the destination charge to ship the car from the Puebla, Mexico, assembly plant to your local dealership. For this Jetta review, Volkswagen provided a GLI Autobahn in Southern California. It had optional paint and a Black package, which brought the manufacturer's suggested retail price to $35,045, including the $1,225 destination charge.

Is the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI a Good Car?

Despite its price and emergence from a North American factory, the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI drives like an Autobahn burner straight from the Old Country. From its new-car smell, upright driving position, and excellent outward visibility to its rewarding acceleration, connected ride, and faithful handling, the Jetta GLI amounts to more than the sum of its parts.

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What's New for the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta?

Volkswagen has refreshed its 2025 Jetta lineup, and several changes extend to the sporty GLI model.

New front and rear styling return the car to a clean, cohesive design theme reminiscent of the Jetta's past. Fresh wheel designs enhance the appearance, new Monterey Blue Pearl and Monument Gray paint colors debut, and all GLI models have larger dual exhaust outlets. A new GLI Black package adds black wheels and a black roof.

Inside, the 2025 Jettas get improved materials, a restyled dashboard equipped with aggravating touch-sensing climate controls, and a freestanding touchscreen infotainment system. Volkswagen also equips every Jetta with its IQ.Drive collection of advanced driver-assistance systems.

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Through the Volkswagen Car-Net connected-services platform, the Safe & Secure plan is now complimentary for five years, while a new Vehicle Insights plan is standard at no additional cost for seven years. Subscribe to the Plus Speech natural voice recognition system, and you'll have access to a new implementation of artificial intelligence.

Touch-Sensing Controls Mar an Otherwise Impressive Interior

Pairing my iPhone to the Jetta GLI's 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system was simple, and I had no issues using Apple CarPlay. Unfortunately, my test vehicle didn't have an active Plus Speech subscription, so the native AI-infused voice recognition system wasn't helpful beyond basic functionality. Also, the voice controls didn't help with operating the climate system, which is a shame because the touch-panel design is distracting.

You can't operate climate functions by touch other than temperature and fan speed. Worse, when fumbling around to determine if your fingertips have found the right location on the panel, you're likely to change settings you'd rather not. Look away from the road to use the panel, located far down on the dashboard, and you're momentarily unaware of what's happening ahead of the Jetta. On sunny days, glare washes the panel out, making it even more challenging to use.

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In addition, the touch-sensing controls on the steering wheel are undesirable. During a week spent living with the Jetta GLI, I inadvertently activated the heated steering wheel numerous times, discovering it only when my hands began warming.

Fortunately, I have no complaints about the Jetta's standard Volkswagen IQ.Drive package of advanced driver-assistance systems. The various systems performed nearly flawlessly during testing on multiple roads and highways.

The GLI's leather-wrapped and substantially bolstered front seats are exceptionally comfortable, too. They feature heating and ventilation, but the front passenger's seat lacks a height adjuster, leaving the person assigned to that location sitting too close to the floor. They might prefer the back seat, which is remarkably roomy and supportive for the compact-car class. However, VW declines to provide rear air-conditioning vents or USB ports.

Furthermore, the Jetta GLI is immensely practical. From its generous interior storage compartments to its sizable 14.1 cubic-foot trunk, this sedan works equally well as a daily driver and for weekend fun.

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Terrific Fun to Drive if You Don't Mind Missing Occasional Shifts

Some people may complain about the Jetta GLI's engine and how it makes less horsepower and torque than a Golf GTI, but the GLI's turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder provides satisfying acceleration. Also, the GTI is no longer available with a manual transmission, and given a choice between the Jetta's clutch pedal and the Golf's gains of 13 horsepower and 15 lb-ft of torque, I'll row my own gears.

The Jetta's 228 horsepower and 258 lb-ft flow through the six-speed manual or available seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission to the front wheels. A limited-slip front differential lock tames the torque steer under hard acceleration, an adaptive damping suspension subdues unwanted ride and handling motions, and dynamic steering helps you carve traffic and canyons with equal ease.

I found the GLI's manual gearbox tricky to use. It has long throws and tight gates, and it's easy to botch a shift from second to third gear. Also, when traveling too fast over speed bumps, the Jetta's structural age is evident as impact shock shudders its way into the cabin. This car isn't isolated from the road-surface noise, either, with a firm ride and plenty of audible tire noise as expected for a more affordable sports sedan.

Driving the Jetta GLI was a rewarding experience. And if you have as much fun behind the wheel as I did, your observed fuel economy will likely fall short of Volkswagen's estimates. The automaker predicts the Jetta GLI will return 26/36/30 mpg in city/highway/combined driving. My results for each situation were 22.9/32.8/26.8 mpg.

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Quick and comfortable, agile and trustworthy, predictable and practical, the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI can be an appealing alternative to the Honda Civic Si, Hyundai Elantra N, Mazda Mazda3 Turbo, and Subaru WRX.

However, as of this writing, the jury is out regarding safety, as crash-test ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety are unavailable. If new ones are published, and the 2025 Jetta performs better than the 2024 model, this fun and satisfying small car will be a clear recommendation.

All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication), and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.

Christian Wardlaw

Chris says his first word was "car." For as long as he can remember, he's been obsessed with them. The design. The engineering. The performance. And the purpose. He is a car enthusiast who loves to drive, but is most passionate about the cars, trucks, and SUVs that people actually buy. He began his career as the editor-in-chief of Edmunds.com in the 1990s, and for more than 30 years has created automotive content for CarGurus, J.D. Power, Kelley Blue Book, the New York Daily News, and others. Chris owns Speedy Daddy Media, has been contributing to Capital One Auto Navigator since 2019, and lives in California with his wife, kids, dog, and 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata.