Car Care Nut had a lot of positive things to say about this car. The powertrain is very nice for the money. You can also get a 6spd and DCT. I'd probably opt for the DCT if I went with one. He points out the usual flaws as he does with all the cars he reviews. Overall, it's a competitive package IMO. More torque than HP.
Jetta GLI - overlooked?
- Thread starter buster
- Start date
I own a 24'. The 25' looks much better in the front end than mine. Not a car for the reliability worry wort's. My has the same limited slip but with a 6 speed manual and also has the active suspension. I saw that video yesterday. I'll come back with a few pics.
VW's have always concerned me when it comes to reliability. However that's based on VW's from early 2000's. People I knew personally at the time that had VW's or Audis have nothing but problems. I've stayed away from them since but this car looks to be pretty reliable per Car Care Nut.
edyvw
$50 site donor 2025
I have owned Tiguan since 2013 with EA888, and the only thing that failed was HVAC resistor ($5), coils at 60k, and water pump was replaced at 64k under recall.
My wife drives it, so it does not rack up too many miles. It has 110k, and you can pry that car only from her cold, dead hands.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
I heard enough negatives that I probably won't buy one, although I have looked at one. It's a nice engine with way too many complicated compromises, described in detail during the under the hood discussion.
The last 6 VWs I purchased new all had zero problems. This, in spite of the common issues others have had. Nada. If I were going to purchase a 30K-ish car right now, it would be the GLI. White with DSG please. Still having fun fixing all the stuff on the wagon though, so not right now.
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+1
That's the great thing about new cars, they all appear reliable when new.
Audi/VW doesn't have a reputation for building reliable vehicles (not just my experience).
This vehicle doesn't seem to be a departure from their usual engineering/design choices.
That's why I couldn't care less about JD's Initial Quality numbers.
It's the last manual transmission option in vw's lineup as the 2023 jetta dropped it, it's not available on the golf/ Golf R. I think vw should have offered it with awd as so many vehicles have it or it's an option. I've read their quite the versatility option as it's fun to drive but can haul people and cargo.
I like the Car Care Nut channel and want to see more new car reviews from him. Mine uses no oil. The Car Care Nut spoke of the exhaust in Performance mode, you can adjust that out. Here are my adjustments but not shown is the HVAC which offers normal and eco:
The GLI is a nice car. VW isn't as bad as people make them out to be. We had 2 VW's 2008 Jetta SE had 180 or 190k when we got rid of it last year. the other a 2017 Jetta SE on had brakes, plugs tires and battery 2 105k miles. We are happy with both.
Having said that the Civic Si is pretty nice as well but it may only come in a manual. I will say the Jetta is the more 'grown up" of the 2
Having said that the Civic Si is pretty nice as well but it may only come in a manual. I will say the Jetta is the more 'grown up" of the 2
edyvw
$50 site donor 2025
OK, I watched it and let me address some stuff.
1. As with any Euro car, it will come with brakes that are larger than the competition. On Euro cars, brakes are not an issue, per se. Why per se? Bcs. VW started to save on stuff (that hood support is an example) and while big, their rotors have far less carbon than before, similar now to junk from Toyota and Honda. The silver lining here is size, so if you go aftermarket (ATE), the problem is solved (I did that on Atlas).
2. DSG is not fragile. It is fragile if you do not maintain it, but then we can find numerous other transmissions like that. VW has Aisin 8 speed for other cars, but this is a performance car and offers something unique and definitely the best dual-clutch in this category of vehicles. Changing fluid every 30k is IMO not a big ask, but I would get a manual anyway. I had DSG in VW CC, made some 126k, and never skipped a beat.
3. Large battery. This is where his misunderstanding of Euro cars comes from, and you can see he comes from Toyota. Yes, ALL Euro cars have huge batteries. They need to a. support a lot of stuff, b. it will start even if the battery is coming to an end. I had some 50 cars, and only two cars did not want to start on your average morning out of nowhere: a Mazda Xedos 9 and a Toyota Sienna. Sienna was particularly interesting as it had a 60-ah battery, an electric trunk, and electric sliding doors. My BMW at that time had 80ah battery (now has 95ah AGM) and none of that, and Tiguan also has 80ah and none of that. Sequoia has 64ah battery and electric trunk. But, I was doing the installation of a new audio unit a few weeks ago in Sequoia, and after a couple of hours, the car did not want to start. It just drained all juice, keeping doors open etc. In BMW, I did a complete overhaul of the audio system, two subwoofers, 8 other speakers, new lines, and two amplifiers, and never came to the point where I drained all the juice. BMW has space for 105ah batter!!! While in Sequoia, based on the support plate, I would say the max size is 70 amper hours. So yeah, his background shows here. Put a large battery. It is good. It provides stable power! It will start even after 10yrs. I changed the battery in BMW last year, and it was the original battery that I took out, one that came with the car. So, 14yrs of life!
3. Euro cars have the most exhaustive aftermarket support. So yes, that water pump is not the best thing, and he is absolutely right. They should put an electric pump. But, aftermarket, you can go all aluminum pump, and it solves the problem. This is a problem that is easily solvable. The pump cracks and starts losing coolant slowly. It never abruptly dies. It is not the internals of the pump but the external casing. GRAF and VDO offer all aluminum casing. Problem solved!
1. As with any Euro car, it will come with brakes that are larger than the competition. On Euro cars, brakes are not an issue, per se. Why per se? Bcs. VW started to save on stuff (that hood support is an example) and while big, their rotors have far less carbon than before, similar now to junk from Toyota and Honda. The silver lining here is size, so if you go aftermarket (ATE), the problem is solved (I did that on Atlas).
2. DSG is not fragile. It is fragile if you do not maintain it, but then we can find numerous other transmissions like that. VW has Aisin 8 speed for other cars, but this is a performance car and offers something unique and definitely the best dual-clutch in this category of vehicles. Changing fluid every 30k is IMO not a big ask, but I would get a manual anyway. I had DSG in VW CC, made some 126k, and never skipped a beat.
3. Large battery. This is where his misunderstanding of Euro cars comes from, and you can see he comes from Toyota. Yes, ALL Euro cars have huge batteries. They need to a. support a lot of stuff, b. it will start even if the battery is coming to an end. I had some 50 cars, and only two cars did not want to start on your average morning out of nowhere: a Mazda Xedos 9 and a Toyota Sienna. Sienna was particularly interesting as it had a 60-ah battery, an electric trunk, and electric sliding doors. My BMW at that time had 80ah battery (now has 95ah AGM) and none of that, and Tiguan also has 80ah and none of that. Sequoia has 64ah battery and electric trunk. But, I was doing the installation of a new audio unit a few weeks ago in Sequoia, and after a couple of hours, the car did not want to start. It just drained all juice, keeping doors open etc. In BMW, I did a complete overhaul of the audio system, two subwoofers, 8 other speakers, new lines, and two amplifiers, and never came to the point where I drained all the juice. BMW has space for 105ah batter!!! While in Sequoia, based on the support plate, I would say the max size is 70 amper hours. So yeah, his background shows here. Put a large battery. It is good. It provides stable power! It will start even after 10yrs. I changed the battery in BMW last year, and it was the original battery that I took out, one that came with the car. So, 14yrs of life!
3. Euro cars have the most exhaustive aftermarket support. So yes, that water pump is not the best thing, and he is absolutely right. They should put an electric pump. But, aftermarket, you can go all aluminum pump, and it solves the problem. This is a problem that is easily solvable. The pump cracks and starts losing coolant slowly. It never abruptly dies. It is not the internals of the pump but the external casing. GRAF and VDO offer all aluminum casing. Problem solved!
I've always heard the DSG was solid and reliable so I don't know where he is getting that from. He's pretty good though overall in his reviews. Better than most IMO. I think he's just not as familiar with the VW brand.
The DSG was actually a better unit if you wanted to tune a MK7 GTI. Even a Stage 1 APR tune on a 6 speed manual GTI you'd wind up burning the clutch. Yes, you can get a better clutch, but for out of the box DSG was a winner.
I've been happy with my 2019. I have the 6-speed...not the greatest manual but in my case the manual was the reason I bought it. I was cross shopping used against an A4 but they are much harder to find in a row your own variant. DSG I would've taken the 4-ringed cousin all day long for Quattro alone.
The drivetrain bang for your buck is hard to beat, and easy to get more power out on top of stock. All I've done is spent less than $400 on a box and gained 30ish hp and torque. Another note is that VW often underrates their output, and the posted numbers are usually closer to wheel than shaft.
The drivetrain bang for your buck is hard to beat, and easy to get more power out on top of stock. All I've done is spent less than $400 on a box and gained 30ish hp and torque. Another note is that VW often underrates their output, and the posted numbers are usually closer to wheel than shaft.
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My wife has a 2015 A4 quattro with a stick. She bought it new but no longer wants another car with a stick at this point. The dual mass flywheel went out at 114K and I replaced it and related clutch stuff with stock components. I counted 14 hours doing that job. She spoke of replacing it with a RAV4 plug in hybrid multiple times.
Yanno a lot of people go from VW to Toyota.
I did too, but there was never any reliability issues, I just needed a truck. My '08 Jetta and '17 GTI were good cars. And despite the oil leaking 1.4T my gmas '16 Jetta is pretty good too.
