Reader Review: 2013 Volkswagen Jetta GLI - (Please give a warm welcome to Ian, who has 40,000 miles on its Jetta GLI - JB ) There a...
(Please give a warm welcome to Ian, who has 40,000 miles on its Jetta GLI - JB )
There are about three years, I am the owner of a 04 Ford focus SVT two doors and also the father of a child a year . Our family car was a Saturn Vue 08. One day I received a call from my wife telling me that the Saturn was not changing the second more. Fortunately the powertrain warranty of Saturn covered what ended up being a clutch assembly failure.
Thanks to the factory warranty, at first it seemed that the biggest hassle of the incident would be the summary type of tow truck n 't a parking brake on his truck had to resort to the use of part of a broomstick stuck against the brake pedal and the seat of the truck to keep the truck moving while the view was loaded on the bed It is this was not the biggest problem. This was booked for a week loading my daughter in and out of a rear-facing seat on a two-door hatchback.
a week of this routine was enough for me to quickly consider a four-door. To be fair, the Focus was done to the point where some pieces of the suspension were to be replaced with some electrical oddities arise from an alarm system replacement 190-spec. It was time to move on.
I start looking for a four door. The only non-negotiable: it must have a manual transmission. I spent hours building cars and reading exams, agonizing over details like miles per gallon and horses. I watched the new cars like the Honda Civic Si, Subaru WRX, then-just appeared Ford Focus ST, and used options such as BMW 328 sedan and Audi A4.
I was not comfortable going down the road occasion because of maintenance costs imposed on a German car, which had 30,000 miles on the clock, so I excluded this option quickly. The Civic Si has its 2.4-liter engine as decried that could not rev as the old 2.0-liter mill. Ford dealers would not let me test the ST, which was outside. The WRX has been elusive because of a lack of available local stock. I finally got to drive a hatch; while he was fast and I'm sure a lot of fun, I'm not a big fan of the style or the five-speed gearbox.
While doing research on the Civic, I found myself coming through a CAPD compared with 2012 Civic against a Jetta GLI 2012. I had not even realized the GLI existed! More I dug into it, the more it seemed like a good fit. We went to the nearest VW dealership and took for a test drive. The type of sales told us to load the car seat and just get out. The car seat fit easily with much leg room to spare for the front seats. The trunk was large and can accommodate all the child support material you end up toting around, including a brand Jeep stroller three large wheels. It was more comfortable than the Focus and obtained approval of the woman. We made an agreement and some time after closing, I hit the road in a 2013 GLI, with the mandatory box of junk traded in Focus.
Now 40,000 miles later, I still believe I made the right choice. While the Jetta is down on power compared to its competitors - only 0 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque with the 2.0 TSI engine - it has enough for everyday driving or moving walks on back roads. My old focus had 30 less horsepower and 50 fewer lb-ft of torque. The smaller turbo maintains enough broadband that you rarely have to downshift when the towers fall below 2500 rpm power. Below, you begin to notice some turbo lag, but there is not much cause for concern during normal driving, such as shopping or going to work. I read there is a lockout for the throttle when the brake is applied, but I did not experience.
The car marked "rev hang." I thought the clutch slipped the first time I lived under hard acceleration. The electric power steering is light at low speeds and loads up in the corners. You can not tell much of what happens to the road surface, but the relative numbness is not a disadvantage as a daily driver. The ride is firm but not punishing and turns into a moment gritted teeth when you hit a pothole inevitable. Most of this is due to the alloy wheels of 19 inches heavy.
The manual six-speed transmission is precise enough. It does not bother me more shots, but I could try a short range shifter if ever I make changes in the future. From inside the car, you get a fake Subaru boxer engine burble as the courtesy of Soundaktor device VW. There is always a concern about the long-term reliability with Volkswagens; so far I have not had much to worry about.
Inside, it turns into a real car for dad. Under the grime layer of nine children footprints size and Rice Krispies is a lot of surfaces easily wipe-able. There is a good amount of hard plastic throughout the interior made lower spec models with a handful of soft-touch materials on the dash and arm rests. The seats are covered in V-Tex leatherette VW, which is a completely synthetic rubber leather. I'd love to have the genuine leather, but at this time of my life, I'm better with the fake stuff.
The whole interior works well as a mobile daddy. It is just nice enough not to be in hate every time I drive, but wrong enough that I can clean it with anything available, including our stock endless organic baby wipes we accrued over the years. There is a creaking from the rear platform and, according to the Internet, there is a solution involving a tennis ball. The Fender audio system works pretty well and does not deform. The steering wheel is flat-bottomed unit that feels good in your hands and adds to the sense of sportiness. It is quite useless, of course, but I'm fine with that. The GLI has subtle styling changes on the base and SE models, with a honeycomb grille, finishing accents, and a spoiler. The Autobahn edition comes with alloy wheels of 19 inches larger, I managed to cut a curb with a week of owning it. The exterior is pretty standard Volkswagen Auto Group.
Many legroom for the class. In addition, the grime.
The infotainment system of the Jetta is pretty basic and did the job, but it is far from cutting edge. Voice commands work only occasionally. When my phone can not associate with the car via Bluetooth, it may require the closure of the car off and getting everything online. Much of this could be updated with software patches, but unfortunately, the manufacturers are not going to waste their time bug fix these problems. They are happy to send me offers to update the maps for my navigation for over $ 100, though, so there's that. The Jetta was the former owner MDI cable unit with the end of the Apple 30-pin connector (iPhone 4s or more). The cable itself lives in the glove box and is long enough that you have to bend to fit a phone plugged into the glove box. Because of the rigidity of the cable, you hit the first bump on your trip and the connector coming out of the phone. I a recent telephone so that the cable is unnecessary.
The GLI is not a "sports sedan", but it is a sports sedan, which makes it more enjoyable everyday player that would in many sedans and family in blends quite practical and fun in one package at a reasonable price. It is one of the few options if you want a sedan. It is not hard to find in showrooms, and it certainly should be available at a price given the age of the platform and the recent embarrassment diesel affiliates. For those seeking a family sedan with a manual and at a reasonable price, you could do much worse - or, at least, much more mundane -. The GLI
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