2025 VW Jetta GLI

Remember when what was once commonly referred to as a standard – that is, a manual – transmission – was  . . . commonly standard? And automatics were generally optional, with the exception of luxury brand (and “loaded”) vehicles?

Fast-forward to the present. It isn’t easy to find a manual transmission as an option – in anything. Even the Corvette is automatic-only now.

But if you still prefer to shift for yourself, there’s one car that still comes standard with a manual and the really unusual thing about is that it’s a sedan.

What It Is

The Jetta GLI is the high-performance version of VW’s Jetta sedan. The latter comes standard with a 1.5 liter four cylinder engine that makes 158 horsepower and only with an automatic transmission. The GLI comes standard with a larger – and much stronger – 2.0 liter engine and a standard manual transmission. A performance-calibrated seven speed (DSG) automatic is available as a no-cost option.

The price for a Jetta GLI equipped with either transmission is $32,715.

All GLIs are front-wheel-drive.

There are slim pickings when it comes to rivals. They include the Hyundai Elantra N – which comes standard with a manual and a stronger engine and significantly lower fuel economy  as well as a higher MSRP ($34,250 to start) and the Honda Civic Si, which comes also standard with a manual and a smaller MSRP ($29,950) but also a smaller engine and less power.

And without an available automatic, if you prefer not to shift for yourself.

What’s New For 2025

The GLI gets new-look front and rear clips as well as a standard glass-faced 8 inch LCD touchscreen. Also, the previously optional Autobahn package – which bundles a limited slip axle, sharper steering, upgraded brakes, an adaptive suspension with driver-selectable modes plus luxury amenities such as a panorama sunroof, heated leather seats and a heated steering wheel – is now standard.

The downside – if you’re on a budget – is that the ’25 GLI is now several thousand dollars more expensive than it was last year – when you could get the GLI’s essentials (the high-performance engine, the manual transmission) without all the extras for $28,085. That low entry price point gave the 2024 GLI a big competitive advantage over the stronger but much pricier Elantra N.

It was also more competitive with the Civic Si – which is now the only one of the three you can still buy for less than $30k.

What’s Good

Standard manual transmission is something that’s getting hard-to-find even in performance  cars

A sleeper. It’s speedy – but doesn’t look it.

Though technically a compact-sized sedan, the Jetta GLI has about as much room inside – especially in the rear – as many mid-sized sedans.

What’s Not So Good

Autobahn equipment is nice to have – if you can afford it. If you can’t, then you cannot afford the GLI anymore.

Elantra N is now only a little bit more expensive – and a lot more powerful.

Glass-faced touchscreen is sensitive to inadvertent touching.

Under The Hood

The GLI comes standard with a turbocharged 2.0 liter four cylinder engine that produces a maximum of 228 horsepower and 258 ft.-lbs. of torque. It is basically the same engine that powers the VW GTI – which is the hotted-up version of the VW Golf five-door hatchback. In the latter, the output of the 2.0 liter engine is a little higher (241 hp) but both VWs can get to 60 in about 6 seconds – or even sooner.

The word are italicized to highlight something interesting about these VWs, which is that they are quicker when equipped with the available seven speed automatic.

So equipped, the Jetta GLI can make the 0-60 run in about 5.6 seconds. With the six speed manual, it takes about six seconds – a significant difference in quickness that can be attributed to the automatic’s ability to shift quicker than the manual can be shifted by most humans. The automated manual’s got dual-clutch internals (that’s why it’s called an automated manual) that allow for lightning quick up (and down) shifts that only a few human drivers could replicate consistently.

On the other hand, the manual is arguably more fun – about which more follows.

Also interestingly – the manual-equipped GLI touts the highest gas mileage: 26 city, 36 highway vs. 25 city, 35 highway for the DSG-equipped version. It is interesting because it’s unusual in that most manual-equipped iterations of a given car usually tout lower gas mileage and that is one of the main reasons why manual-equipped cars – including even sporty cars – are becoming harder-and-harder-to find.

Not so much because potential buyers are turned off by the slightly lower (typically) gas mileage numbers but rather because the manufacturer is punished – by the government – for selling vehicles that get lower rather than higher mileage. Even a 2-3 MPG difference matters a lot when it comes to compliance with federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) mandatory minimums and automatics have the great advantage of being programmable – to perform best on tests – while manuals only perform as well as the human doing the shifting.

Also interesting is that the VW’s mileage – with either transmission – is significantly higher than the Elantra N’s with either of its available transmissions. The manual-equipped version rates just 21 city, 29 highway. This is understandable given the Elantra N’s stronger (276 horsepower) engine. But it does mean the Hyundai’s both more expensive to drive – and to buy.

The Civic Si beats them both, with class-highest gas mileage: 30 city, 38 highway (with the manual six speed.

But that’s the only transmission you can get with this model.

On The Road

The GLI carries on the tradition that began some 40 years ago – when VW first offered a hotted-up version of the Rabbit (which became the Golf) called GTI, riffing on the famous Pontiac GTO (which riffed on the Ferrari GTO). The idea – in  both cases – was to take a grocery getter and make it capable of getting the groceries a lot faster. Thus making the getting of groceries a lot more fun.

The standard manual transmission is a key element. It is hard to not harp on that enough because it is that important. Automatics take away from the interactivity of driving, which is part of the fun even in a car that isn’t hotted-up.

Economy cars used to be at least entertaining to drive because they used to always come standard with a manual. Playing with the stick and clutch gave you something to do. They felt faster, too.

Now they are all as boring to drive as riding an escalator. Push the gas pedal down and it goes – and that’s pretty much all there is to do.

it is not fundamentally different in an automatic-equipped performance car. It goes faster – but in the way of a faster-moving escalator. You just stand there – or sit there – and are moved from A to B. Quickness of movement can be fun but it becomes less so when that’s all there is to it.

In a car like the Jetta GLI – with the manual – there is much more to it. As anyone knows who already drives stick. It’s not just the shifting for yourself  – the deciding when to shift and how forcefully – but also the syncopation of the footwork, which is a kind of dance and one that can be elegant when done skillfully. And – the important thing – it is you doing the dancing, which is a very different thing than watching it being done by a machine controlled by a computer.

Cars are so over-controlled now that having this kind of control over a car is almost like getting yard time when in prison. You feel the exhilaration that comes from not being confined. You can walk this way – or that way. Faster – or slower. This is freedom – and it’s what you experience when you work the Jetta GLI’s shifter.

And pedals.

Turn off the traction control and you can skitter the tires, too – which you can’t do in an AWD performance car such as the Subaru WRX. The latter touts superior grip – which is incontestably true. But unless you’re actually racing – and every tenth of a second counts – it’s still more fun, arguably, to skitter the tires and leave a little rubber on the road and some smoke in your wake.

There is one thing, however, that takes away from the fun. As in literally. Because there is something fun that’s missing. That thing being a manual emergency brake. A handle you can pull up to lock the rear wheels – on purpose – in order to spin the car around or make 90 degree power-sliding turns. That kind of fun has been eliminated via the replacement of the pull-up emergency brake lever with an electric parking brake button.

VW did this, no doubt, not to stifle the fun but to save some money. It costs less to plug-in electronics as a car is assembled than to have a worker install cables and make fine adjustments.

But there’s still fun enough to make up for the loss.

At The Curb

The Jetta GLI looks pretty much like a Jetta – and that’s a good thing. It’s tasteful but not attention-drawing, which is very good if you like driving the way a GLI was meant to be driven. It is one of the finest sleepers out there – now that the Toyota Camry (which was the greatest of the bunch) is no longer available with the V6 that made it quicker – and faster – than a ’60s-era GTO.

It’s also something else.

Though classified as a compact sedan, the Jetta’s a mid-sized sedan on the inside. It has 41.1 inches of legroom for the driver and front seat passenger and 37.4 inches of rearseat legroom – as well as a 14.1 cubic foot trunk. Compare those stats with the 2025 Camry – which is 193.5 inches long (vs. 186.9 inches long for the VW). It has 42.1 inches of front seat legroom and 38 inches of backseat legroom – a distinction without much difference. The mid-sized Camry’s 15.1 cubic feet of trunk space is only slightly greater, too. But the difference in footprint is big enough to make a noticeable difference when trying to park curbside.

As mentioned, the Jetta GLI is now offered in just the one (loaded) Autobahn trim, which in addition to the performance equipment (upgraded brakes, adaptive suspension, etc.) bundles heated and ventilated leather sport buckets, LED headlights, ambient interior lighting and a very good Beats premium audio system. These combine to make the GLI a kind of budget-performance alternative to the Audi A4 – which is a cousin of sorts as VW is to Audi what Toyota is to Lexus. The A4 is similar in size (187.5 inches) and shape but has a much less roomy back seat (35.7 inches) and a smaller (12 cubic feet) trunk. It does come standard with a more powerful 2.0 liter engine (paired with a hybrid system) and AWD is standard – but so is a base price of $44,100.

And that won’t get you a manual transmission – which isn’t available with the A4.

The Rest

The updated 2025 GLI comes standard with a glass faced 8 inch touchscreen that looks higher-end than the usual plasticky pop-tart thing erupting from the top of the dashboard. There are also manual tuning and volume knobs built into it, which allows adjustment without tapping/swiping. But it’s also easy to inadvertently touch the screen while turning the knob, which can cause the system to make changes you didn’t want – such as switching from satellite radio to FM.

The Bottom Line

The Jetta GLI is one of just a small handful of sedans you still get to drive – as opposed to being driven.

. . .

If you like what you’ve found here please consider supporting EPautos. 

The bitcoin code is: 3GAfymoqSUbaFvY8ztpSoDKJWCPLrkzAmi if you’re unable to scan the QR code above!