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2019 GLI Review

Faceman

Autocross Newbie
Location
Long Island
Car(s)
'17 GSW 4Mo
Thanks man. I was a little nervous when I bought the car and it was too strange of a color. It really changes a lot depending on lighting.



When I went to the dealership I had my 2 small kids with me. One kid told me that they forgot to paint my car and other said it was the ugliest car they had for sale.
That's what happens when you put a gloss coat on primer grey, lol.

All kidding aside, I like both this and Nardo grey .

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 

burchtd

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Oregon
Car(s)
'17 GTI S
For starters, let me thank you for writing this review.

I have been milling over the idea of trading up from a GTI to a GLI, for a number of reasons. The biggest reason is I'm about to make a cross-county trek; my fiance and I are moving to OR from NC. We already have one car that we both can drive; hers, an automatic Toyota Corolla. To be honest, I do need to do the 30K service on my car (currently at 26.5+ miles on a 17 GTI S) and that, coupled with oil change, and new rear tires would end up being a nightmare. Both cars will technically need the 30K service by the time we really start putting rubber to road, so its better to just take care of one, the automatic that we can both trade off driver seat time during the migration.

When I get to OR, I was/still am heavily considering getting the MK7 GLI. I like fact that the features I didn't get on my GTI (BiXenon's, Diff, Brakes, DCC) are all included on the 35th trim. I also get a sedan, which gives me more room for when I have to do the hauling, and gives the passengers more legroom all throughout (this is assuming my initial plan falls through).

One question though, if I were to get the car, I'm gonna be a complete and total seat snob. Do we know for sure if the GTI S seats will fit the GLI? because if so I'm all in. That actually would be one of the reasons I would get the car over a 2018 GTI, I can source the MK7 seats from a salvaged or wrecked car and put them into my GTI for instant sport seat upgrade. My train of thought is, I can get away with just having the plaid heated seats with better bolstering in an S or 35th because I'll be living in a fairly even-kilter climate all year round, so I wont miss forking over the extra cash for leather cooled seats.

Also I'm writing this reply in Feb/March 2020. How have you been getting on with the GLI thus far? No regrets? Still in love with the car and its performance?

Thanks!

Travis
 

lordnikon228

Go Kart Champion
Location
CA
Car(s)
Golf GTI Rabbit
They are the same. Golf R/ PP GTI. They just don't have the little cover over the front calipers that say GTI. I had to verify this as they do look different but they are the same. It's a big deal to me because I track my cars

The size of the rear (discs) are not the same.

The GTI has 310mm rear discs (with PP)
The GLI has 300mm rear discs

The fronts on both are 340mm.
 

StockblockGLI

Go Kart Champion
Location
Northeast
Car(s)
2019 GLI
Excellent review and you are spot on. I was able to pick up one of the last '19 GLI models. I actually went to the dealer to sign paperwork for a GTI but luckily for me, they had a GLI left. I can really use the extra rear room. My only complaint is that I really wish it had the GTI seats but other than that I love it.
 

Ghawk

Ready to race!
Location
Ohio
Car(s)
2015 GTI, 2019 GLI
Agree with all the above. I own a ‘15 GTI SE from new. M/T, DCC, PP, and LP. I purchased a ‘19 GLI Autobahn DSG in December to replace an ‘18 Accord Sport 2.0 that got destroyed by a drunk. Both cars are APR Stage One, but I believe the Jetta is quicker because of the DSG (also tuned). The GLI gets better gas mileage also because of the DSG. My only regret is the lack of DCC on the ‘19 Jetta. The ‘20 has DCC standard. Both cars handle about the same, at least until I put shorter springs on the GTI Last week. Having a choice when I enter the garage keeps this 80 year old happy.
 
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dequardo

Autocross Newbie
Location
America’s Dairyland
Car(s)
‘21 GLI Autobahn GLI
Also agree. I bought a 2020 S last month. Pure Gray DSG and love it. Only real complaint is the horribly anemic base sound system. This week I fixed that by having a Rockford Fosgate amp and satellite radio added and all 6 speakers replaced by a custom work shop near me. Huge difference.

As to the question on the DSG, I find it identical to the MK7.5 GTI’s in feel and performance. And it is an improvement over the 6 speed version.
 
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