Review: 2022 Volkswagen Jetta GLI (Manual) - The Luxury Sport Compact

I spend a week with the refreshed 2022 Volkswagen Jetta GLI with a manual transmission. For 2022, the Jetta GLI is only offered in 1 fully-loaded Autobahn trim, making the cheapest 2022 GLI $32,385 now. In this video I discuss the changes to the car for 2022 and whether it's worth the price compared to its competitors. For those looking for a luxurious sport compact though, the 2022 Jetta GLI does offer more creature comforts than all of its competitors. What do you think of the VW Jetta GLI? Thanks to Volkswagen for providing this vehicle to review!

Time stamps:
0:00 Exterior
1:07 Interior
3:32 Initial impressions
5:55 Acceleration
7:16 Handling and ride
13:25 Highway driving and safety tech
14:44 Thoughts after a week
16:20 Fuel economy
17:25 Pricing and competitor comparisons
23:12 Final thoughts

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[najminmalcusis]

Great review. I’m a new subscriber. I would like to mention one thing that I see others have mentioned as well. The GLI is way more underrated than the SI. Not only is it 256HP but both these cars have been tested with draggy metrics by multiple sources. The GLI is in the 5 seconds while the SI is in the 7s. The GLI traps almost 10 MPH more than the SI in the 1/4 mile. The Si feels as fast due to its driving experience. But if they were to actually be next to eachother flooring it the SI would see it’s headlights

[ecobooststang]

Matt! I test drove the SI as well as a DSG GLI. I currently own a 2.3 Ecoboost stang. I’m not sure if it’s the DSG but the GLI honestly felt in a another league’s as far as performance goes. The GLI also felt more premium but that’s with most German cars. The SI had the better MPG hands down, but if you are looking for some what performance I still feel the GLI was better in every metric. Tuning scene is huge with these cars as is why my car and the GLI tunes a lot better I know that for sure. Great review!. Also I don’t know if it’s just me but the previous Gen SI felt faster to me. The gearing was kind of odd to me in the SI

[mattdino]

Great review, Matt. I own a '19 GLI coming from a '20 Kia Forte GT and '11 GTI.
Great all rounder with plenty of power and comfort to go along with it.
No issues thus far and VW certified has a generous 7yr/84k mile warranty.
To all of those in the comments - Go drive one.

[ct]

This looks like an extremely underrated car. Can’t wait to test drive it. Think it stands out in a market saturated by other vehicles. Plus I don’t think I could ever join the Honda crew or wrx sti crew being a sworn ford person. Think the Wolkswagen appeals more to what I like! Hope it drives well.

[glistud]

Hello! New subscriber here. Good to see you reviewing the GLI. I got my GLI for 26k, in 2019. It was the 35th anniversary edition came with DCC adaptive dampers, DSG and all the other goodies. I do see the point you are making about 32k being a little to much considering not much changed. But would you say for 26k a DSG GLI brand new would have been more worth than the SI or at least a harder choice for sure

[MegaRetr]

Solid, honest, comparative review- thanks Matt!

[jeremymorgan]

I can't wait for them to depreciate like the prior GLI's
I'm a huge fan of the GTI but I'm a sucker for sedans, so fingers crossed this'll be a great value on the used market one day.

[mitchfortson]

Love my 2020 GLI, DsG, and no rattle at all, thx

[jamesseaver]

Hi Matt, love the split screen visual, everyone will be wishing they thought of it..very cool dude.

[krammit]

I LOVE your reviews, man. I'm in the market for a semi-sporty sedan that comes with a manual transmission. I've been trying to decide between the GLI, Civic SI (or integra), or the Elantra N. Your reviews have been super helpful!

[alirezarashidian]

This car is much superior to the SI. Honestly, I would compare this car to the Accord or Camary TRD. It matches power to them. (DSG). It has the same comfort and features they do, but it also has an LSD like the SI does and tracks better than all of them. I don't know about the newer 2022. But the 2019 S and 35th editions came with no sunroof, were lighter, were cheaper, came with summer tires, beat the SI in a straight line, around a corner, and was actually chosen to be the better car of the 3 even by CARADNDRIVER. It seems the newer ones are heavier, lack a little spirit and come with crap all season tires.

Did you test out the previous Gen of these? 2019-2021? If so did you prefer those? especially given the price point?

Great review Matt!

[dsher]

Anyone quoting trap speeds and quarter mile times for the GLI is missing the point. Both it and the SI are great cars, it just depends on your priorities. SI if you care more about driving, reliability, and fuel economy and GLI if you are wanting a great set of features, slightly more upscale brand, and are planning on tuning it. Definitely the 2022 SI features are disappointing to say the least when you seen the Canadian spec. Elantra N seems like an awesome combo of the two cars if you are into it’s uniquely styled exterior lol. Great review Matt!

[theepicjamez]

I love my 2011 GLI! I'm thinking my next car will be this one or something very similar, they are phenomenal

[Kenjis]

I've ended up with, after much looking and debating, a GLI 40th Anniversary.

For me the Si is out due to no heated seats and no automatic(Joint issues. I can't do a manual as a daily) . I test drove an Integra and while I loved how the chassis felt (and the ELS audio) the CVT was a disappointment as was the price tag (good 7k higher) I looked at an Elantra N-Line but couldn't get past my uncertainty on Hyundai and I wasn't thrilled with some of the controls

The GTI was the next option on the list but the value proposition made me go with the GLI that my dealer conveniently just got in. I was looking at A GTI SE, which is roughly 39k at this point. Thats an 8k difference. I wasn't willing to give up keyless entry on my new car (ruling a base GTI out) and every used GTI I found was selling close to a new one

After a quick drive I fell in love with it. I personally liked the punchy torquey engine and the LSD. I was also very comfortable in the seats and felt everything about the car made sense to me.

Kinda want VW to bring back the base model because of this. We need more cheap fun

[sjwang]

I was driving the other day and passed an older generation Touareg next to an Atlas. Man, VW stying has taken such a nosedive. They had some of the best looking mainstream cars and now they just look bizarre and cheap. The current generation Jetta looks like it had an anaphylactic reaction from the front, compared to the good clean designs of the recent past.

[mklphoto]

I think this and the new 2023 Integra might make a nice comparison video

[detachedloop]

Man looks great in this clothing. Matches really well with the car too when he's inside driving

[Treizez]

They need to fix the GTI/R infotainment system ASAP!

This was a huge blunder on their part

[ifarhani]

I made videos about my Si and people kept telling me that I could have gotten this and that..and when I watch these reviews I just laugh. It was expensive in this market but it is just better than these cars and gets such good MPG’s, if the computer is accurate. Of course I’m talking about a tuned Si. With the Hondata carb tune the Si is almost perfect. The huge let down is the all season tires, they just plain suck if you drive the car hard because you will slide all over the place in corners. I still want the new type R but man the Si is just that good and watching the WRX and WV reviews keeps proving that to me.

[ruthlessruth]

Matt, the GLI like the SI is underrated. It has been dynode multiple times at 230WHP so around 256HP. The GLI traps at 103 while the SI traps at 95. The new SI is in the 7 seconds, while the new GLI is in the 5 .6 seconds. The GLI is at 14.0 in the Quarter mile (matches the accord 2.0) and the SI is in the 15s. The thing with GLI is they chose to go for comfort and premium feel rather than raw driving experience. So, although the SI may not feel much slower, when you compare then next to each other in a Stright line the GLI is actually a lot faster and that's when you notice the power and money difference really. Another factor to consider is the GLI actually beat the SI around the track, so once again performance wise the GLI is a lot better although it may feel otherwise. I just don't see myself paying 28K for a CIVIC that is so SLOW that is meant to be somewhat performance oriented in 2022. If I wanted raw driving experience, I WOULD get an BRZ or an GR86. The SI can't justify reliability and raw driving experience while making the SI as slow as last year, having the same trap speed, same 0-60, having less features in the USA and being more expensive than before. and don't get me started on tuning cause we all know the GLI with the ea888 engine is leauges above