Car Review: 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI

Article content If a car is intended to inspire you to hit the back roads but doesn’t do that successfully, should you consider buying it anyway? Surprisingly, the occasional car makes a case for itself in this regard. Count the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI among them, which VW is touting as your last chance to buy one of its cars new with a manual transmission. In our testing, we found the GLI doesn’t exactly set our world on fire — though the fact our tester had the dual-clutch transmission (DCT) rather than the aforementioned manual may have something to do with that — and yet its amenable drive dynamics and affordable price leave us making a case for it anyway.

Read on to find out why you might want to consider buying the 2025 Jetta GLI, as well as the alternatives you should cross-shop before making a decision. What type of vehicle is the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI? The 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI is a compact sedan . It’s a sporty car that competes directly with the Honda Civic Si and, from VW’s own stable, the Golf GTI , without going all the way into serious performance territory like the Honda Civic Type R , Hyundai Elantra N , Toyota GR Corolla , or Volkswagen Golf R .



(Though those are all excellent alternatives for people who want a little more spice than the GLI provides.) We’ll also make some comparisons in this review to some of the Jetta GLI’s less conventional competitors, including the Mazda3 Turbo, the Subaru WRX , and more peripherally, the Hyundai Elantra N Line Ultimate. Where is the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI made? Volkswagen Jetta GLI units are built for North America by Volkswagen de México at its Puebla assembly plant.

It’s built alongside the Tiguan and Taos SUVs and the standard Jetta sedan, which also use the brand’s MQB platform. What’s new on the Jetta GLI for 2025? For 2025, both the standard Jetta and the Jetta GLI receive a refresh to their seventh-generation styling , which originally launched in 2019. The update adds a sleeker grille design, more aggressively shaped LED headlamps, a revised decklid with a trendy full-width reflector bar, and updated wheel designs.

The Jetta GLI also has a new red accent line on the front end. It’s hard to spot on our test car, which is also red, but it’s the detail that runs along the bottom of the front bumper. That line remains red regardless of the body colour you choose.

Combined with the GLI’s red brake calipers, dual exhaust, and leather upholstery with red stitching, these updates go a long way toward giving it a sportier look overall. They’re not quite enough to make the GLI stand out like a tall poppy among the rest of the compact sedans on the road, though some buyers will see that as a good thing. How much horsepower does the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI have? From its 2.

0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI extracts 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque . This is sent to front-wheel drive (FWD) through either a six-speed manual transmission — the Jetta GLI is the only car left in the entire VW line-up offering this option — or a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT). These power figures compare favourably against the Jetta GLI’s closest competitor, the Honda Civic Si, which offers 200 hp and 192 lb-ft of torque from its 1.

5-litre turbo four-cylinder. However, the GLI has less power than the Mazda3 Turbo (2.5-litre turbo I4; 227 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque on regular fuel, or 250 hp and 320 lb-ft with 93-octane) and the Subaru WRX (2.

4-litre turbo H4; 271 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque), both of which have standard all-wheel drive (AWD). 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI driving impressions Starting with the positive: the amount of power in the Jetta GLI is great. Throttle response is lackluster in comfort mode, but popping it into sport mode fixes that.

It’s not as bananas fun as the Hyundai Elantra N or Toyota GR Corolla, but it’s also not meant to be. For where the GLI sits in the market, the execution here is excellent. The same can’t be said of the DCT equipped in our test vehicle.

Unfortunately, even sport mode doesn’t fix the sluggish shift mapping. Switching to Tiptronic mode on the stick or the paddle shifters helps with quickening downshifts, but upshifts still take a painfully long time to engage. Choosing the manual transmission likely makes the drive feel more engaging, but we can’t confirm this as we haven’t tested it.

Handling-wise, the GLI is a standout. The MacPherson strut front and multilink rear suspension, sport tuning, and mechanical limited-slip differential come together to create an impressive balance between a firm ride with plenty of grip — even on the winter tires our tester was saddled with — while still being reasonably compliant over rough pavement. If you want something a step up from the average compact sedan but find Mazdas too firm for comfort, this could be one of the best ways the GLI makes a case for itself.

What is the fuel economy of the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI? With the DCT as tested, the 2025 Jetta GLI is rated at 9.5 litres per 100 kilometres in city driving, 6.7 on the highway, and 8.

2 combined. If you equip the manual, expect to see 9.1 L/100 km city, 6.

5 highway, and 8.0 combined. Over more than 400 kilometres of driving, largely on highways and rural roads, we averaged 7.

1 L/100 km combined on winter tires. The Honda Civic Si is predicted to do slightly better with a rating of 7.7 L/100 km combined from its standard six-speed manual transmission.

The Mazda3 Turbo is slightly thirstier at 8.8 L/100 km combined, while the Subaru WRX is a guzzler at 11.2 L/100 km combined with the continuously variable transmission (CVT) and 10.

9 L/100 km combined with the manual, though both these cars also come with AWD. Does the VW Jetta GLI need premium fuel? Although the Jetta GLI’s engine is turbocharged, Volkswagen states that it does not require premium fuel. Interior and cargo space in the Jetta GLI The Jetta GLI’s interior space is on par with the average among compact sedans.

Adults with long legs may jostle over legroom when sitting front to back, but otherwise the 1,045 millimetres of front legroom and 949 mm of rear legroom provide enough space to seat four average-sized adults comfortably. Plus, all those passengers will enjoy heated seats. While the sunroof doesn’t extend all the way back to the second row, it is much wider than average and brightens up the front row nicely.

Under the redesigned decklid, the 2025 Jetta GLI provides 399 litres of trunk space, which is also on par with the segment average. One nice touch is the handles integrated into the inside of the lid, which allow you to close it without getting your hands dirty. (And there’s one on each side, so lefties can enjoy this convenience, too.

) VW Jetta GLI’s technology features The 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI comes with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system featuring wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster. The infotainment screen is relatively small among top-trim compact sedans and doesn’t provide a lot of real estate for CarPlay’s home page, so you’ll likely need to click into the map feature to successfully follow directions.

If you choose to use the built-in navigation system instead, your map and directions can be displayed directly into the centre of the digital instrument cluster. The functionality here is above average for the price point. The included wireless charging pad is inclined and grippy, so an inserted phone stays in place and stays connected.

You’ll find a USB-C port at the front and another in the centre console, but there are no dedicated USB ports for the second row. Safety features Standard safety features on the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI include automatic emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane assist, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high beams. Note the cruise control can only be adjusted in increments of 10 km/h, making it hard to refine unless you’re already doing the speed where you want it set.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gives the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta an average grade on its side impact test, a marginal grade for its forward crash prevention system, and a poor grade for its seatbelt reminders. How much will the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI cost in Canada? In Canada, the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI starts at a price of $37,681, including a $2,050 destination charge and other fees. This starting price is the same regardless of whether you choose the manual transmission or the DCT.

Our test unit had extra-charge Kings Red Metallic paint ($295) and the Black Package ($500), bringing the as-tested price to $38,476. The 2025 Honda Civic Si, the Jetta GLI’s closest competitor, starts in Canada at $39,066. The 2025 Mazda3 Turbo starts at $41,187 and the 2025 Subaru WRX starts at $40,470, and both come with standard AWD.

For reference among higher-powered models, the 2025 Hyundai Elantra N starts at $42,795 with a manual transmission and $44,359 with its DCT, while the 2025 Toyota GR Corolla starts much higher at $51,450 (but also comes with AWD). The 2025 Hyundai N Line Ultimate — which is close to the GLI on power but can’t otherwise match it mechanically — starts at $34,259. Is the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI a good car? Any way you slice it, there’s no question the 2025 Jetta GLI is competitively priced.

We enjoyed our time with it, but the sluggish transmission and lackluster tech meant it didn’t exactly inspire us to seek out new twisty roads. If an automatic transmission is a must, we’d look to the Mazda3 Turbo, or possibly the Hyundai Elantra N if we could swing the higher budget. Heck, we’d be quicker to look at a Golf GTI.

At least you’re getting a fun body style that way. Would taking Volkswagen up on its last-chance offer of a manual transmission make the GLI more appealing? We can’t say for sure since we haven’t tested it, but it’s very likely. And in that context, the GLI is a much easier sell: it’s cheaper and more powerful than a Civic Si, and it’s even cheap enough relative to the manual Elantra N to give prospective owners pause about how much power they really need.

Test it yourself to be sure, but the manual Jetta GLI might just be an enthusiast’s sleeper hit. 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI pros and cons ✔ VW’s last vehicle with a manual transmission ✔ Lowest-priced warm sedan in Canada ✔ Excellent ride is firm but not jarring ✘ Dual-clutch transmission is sluggish ✘ Infotainment screen is too small ✘ Mediocre results in safety testing Sign up for our newsletter Blind-Spot Monitor and follow our social channels on X , Tiktok and LinkedIn to stay up to date on the latest automotive news, reviews, car culture, and vehicle shopping advice..