2018 Volkswagen Jetta GLI Test Drive & Review - Ontario Volkswagen
The 2018 Jetta GLI is the enthusiast’s compact car. Gorgeous European styling with sport acceleration, braking, and handling plus fuel efficiency on top of it all. While the all new 2019 Jetta’s get ready to make their debut, if you’re looking for the sport version, this very well may be the car for you. iDriveSoCal’s Professor, Clinton Quan, picked one up from our friends at Ontario Volkswagen for a complete analysis – hear it all in this iDSC Podcast.

 
***Transcript***
Recording date – April 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, CA

Clinton Quan: This car is for someone who wants a compact car but wants something that's sportier, more fun to drive than your typical compact car. So if you're looking for something that's also fuel efficient but that's fun to drive on the highway and on mountain roads, and you like going on scenic drives, this is the car for you. I think the three-spoke steering wheel is my favorite feature of the car. Love the large, sporty gauges. It handles really well. And the power, 210 horsepower 207 pound-feet of torque.

Tom Smith: Welcome to iDriveSoCal, the podcast all about mobility from the automotive capital of the United States--Southern California. I'm Tom Smith. And joining me for another vehicle review is our good friend "the Professor" Clinton Quan. Say hello, Clinton.

Clinton Quan: Hi, Tom; it's great to be back for another automotive review.

Tom Smith: Always happy to have you, my friend. Today we are reviewing our first Volkswagen from our newest dealer partner, our good friends out at Ontario Volkswagen, and Clinton is going to review the 2018 Volkswagen Jetta but the sporty version, which is the GLI. Before I throw it over to you, Clinton, I want to give a shout out to Earl Reed, who is the general manager out at Ontari a Volkswagen. Thank you for coming on board. Scott Reed, who is the sales manager, thank you for coming on board. And Randy Halcomb, who is marketing guru, thank you for coming on board. Clinton, I know you hooked up with Scott, and it was just a few days ago, and you went for a test drive. And tell us about it.

Clinton Quan: I test drove the 2018 Volkswagen Jetta GLI. The Jetta is Volkswagen's compact sedan. The GLI is the sport version of the Jetta. And there are six trims in the Jetta family and three engines. The base Jetta is the S which starts at about $19,000. Then you have the Wolfsburg edition at about $20,000, the SE at $21,000, and all three of those trims feature a 1.4-liter inline 4 turbocharge engine producing 150 horsepower, 184 pound-feet of torque. Then you move up to the SE Sport which is about $23,000 dollars, and then the SEL which starts at about $26,000. Those two trims feature a 1.8-liter inline 4 turbocharge engine producing 170 horsepower. It's also rated at 184 pound-feet of torque. And then you move up to the top of the line trim which is the Jetta GLI, the one I drove, and that features a 2.0-liter engine turbocharge inline 4 and that produces 210 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque.

Tom Smith: Okay. Outstanding.

Clinton Quan: And that starts at about $30,000.

Tom Smith: Okay. Another outstanding feat of granular recollection of detail. Folks, Clinton and I are just sitting here talking. I, of course, have my pen in hand, notepad in front of me. Clinton is just going off the top of his head with these details of the vehicles, so that's why we call him "the Professor." Thank you much for all those details, as always. You drove the GLI, the sporty version. And to clarify, not long from now, the 2019 is going to be coming out, the 2019 Jetta. However, the 2018 Jetta GLI, the sport version, this one, the sporty version is going to stay for a little bit...