Key Takeaways
- Volkswagen teases updates to 2025 Jetta GLI with quirky front grille detail.
- Jetta GLI faces competition from Civic Hybrid and Elantra N with more horsepower.
- Volkswagen confirms reveal tomorrow, deliveries by Q3 2024 for updated models.
Volkswagen has revealed the first image of a newly updated model for the 2025 model year, with the Jetta GLI set to gain a sizable update as the brand makes sweeping changes across its US lineup. Details of the facelifted Jetta GLI, which last underwent an update for the 2022 model year, were kept scant, but the solitary teaser image reveals a quirky “Let’s go!” detail hidden in the front grille of the lukewarm performance sedan.
Along with the teaser image, VW confirmed that both the Jetta GLI and the regular model will be updated, with a reveal happening tomorrow and deliveries beginning by the end of Q3 2024.
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What’s Left For The Jetta GLI To Compete Against?
The Jetta GLI is one of the last remaining performance compacts on the market, especially ones with a trunk. With the introduction of the new Civic Hybrid placing a ‘regular’ Civic on an even keel with the Si, the Si’s future is in doubt; Honda can either quietly let it go or try to give it a big performance bump into a new territory it’s not occupied before. Hyundai, meanwhile, still sells hot variants of the Elantra compact sedan. The Elantra N punches way above the old Jetta GLI’s weight with 276 hp vs the GLI’s 228 hp, while the lukewarm Elantra N Line has only 201 hp in this battle.
Volkswagen could rest on its laurels here with a minor tech update to mirror the Golf GTI’s facelift, but one thing that likely won’t change is the availability of a six-speed manual gearbox in the Jetta GLI. Since such a transmission is no longer available in the GTI, we’re hoping the 41st year of the Jetta GLI aka ‘GTI with a trunk’ will give enthusiasts a reason to cheer.
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