2019 VW Jetta GLI 2.0T 35th Anniversary Edition: Ahhhh…
It’s hard for me to believe that the Volkswagen Jetta GLI has been around for 35 years, this hot road edition debuting five years after its birth, right in the middle of the Ronald Reagan / Margaret Thatcher years and, well, the GLI has survived those two rather nicely…
Volkswagens in this day and age are such incredible machines, with engines that are impressive in so many ways. The power is there at your feet and at the wheel, ready and waiting. The Jetta GLI is even more of an eager beaver, and if you get the stick shift (please make sure you know how to drive one) you will have a car that knows how to race, knows how to perform, knows how to protect – and really won’t drain your retirement plan like that last man who was the love of your life but nonetheless a drain…
The 35th Anniversary Edition comes standard with a 2.0-liter DOHC turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that cranks out 228 horsepower. Now for some of you, that may not sound like much, but trust me, that is plenty for what you need to accomplish. Unless you are truly into racing (and have the receipts to prove it), this is all you need to gear up and let out your inner Tony the Tiger. No point in getting into trouble on the motorway with the police if you don’t have a father or a daddy who really will bail you out of your indiscretions.
Unique to the 35thAnniversary Edition is a special Adaptive Suspension, which is supposed to give all kinds of extra support of the racetrack. But in real life, it gives the Jetta that extra protection on those bumps and grinds of real-world roads where not everything is one smooth ride. Sure, we don’t always see those potholes and bent frames that landed in front us. This added feature should take some of the bite out of all those.
The Jetta is fully redesigned for 2019. It looks more sleek and has a more attractive stealth stance to it than in previous years. It’s still a Jetta, so you still have a sedan that will get you through the day, but it is less sub-urban and more urban warfare guerilla and gorilla with a big touch and touché of class. It’s also roomy enough inside for us men of size. I got in and out with relative ease, unless I was trying to handle a pizza box and purchases from Amazon that could not be delivered to my flat.
Volkswagen teamed up with Beats Audio a few years back to give each car a truly incredible sound experience, whether you listen to Adam Lambert and Queen, Alan Silvestri’s score for Avengers: Endgame or Xanadu: The Musical. And believe it or not, not every new car out there has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but all VWs do. So now you rest easy and pimp up the volume.
I also found that there was quite a bit of interior storage and overall room inside the cabin and the boot, which made it easier for me to feel good about paying $29,995 US for the 35thAnniversary Edition (okay, I didn’t really buy one). Mileage comes in at 25 city / 32 highway. The car I tested had a manual transmission, but automatics are available as well.
I like the idea of having a 35thanniversary edition of oneself, something special for everyone to see and enjoy, just so people can see how far you’ve come.
….. and in my case, how far I still have to go.
