2026 Volkswagen of America Model Updates Include Physical Buttons on GLI Steering Wheel
Posted by tablewithoutlegs@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 69 comments
[removed]
No_Use8785@reddit
when should we expect to see the 2026 gli available to buy? I am looking to buy my first one and have no prior knowledge on the line lol.
Zealousideal-Yak9033@reddit
If VW GLI still offers a manual transmission in 2026 I will be ordering one. No manual, it might be a Subaru.
Juicyjackson@reddit
I was interested and looked up the sales numbers of the Jetta here in the US.
And its actually quite surprising, I thought nobody was buying them.
In 2024 they sold almost 72k jettas in the US...
DetroitLionsEh@reddit
Outside of car enthusiasts circle jerking about water pumps. People like the Jetta
Easily the roomiest interior in the segment. You can comfortably fit 4 adults with airport luggage or golf clubs.
You get ~55mpg on the highway. The engine is so well designed that it gives hybrids a run for its money on fuel efficiency.
Plus it’s a great price. It’s exactly what new sedan buyers on a budget are looking for.
Pi-Graph@reddit
Wife and I were looking for a new car recently. Originally planned on getting a used car for $10k or under, but didn’t like the options we had. Didn’t realize how different the used car market was since the last time I bought a used car in 2016. We decided to go with a new car instead, since we could still afford it and there really wasn’t that much of a price difference between new and used for what we ended up deciding we wanted. Especially when we factored in warranties.
I went in wanting to get a Civic, wife went in wanting a Jetta. She later changed her mind into wanting a subcompact SUV, specifically the Taos, but when we saw how rough that car was at the moment we decided against it. Ended up going with the 2025 Jetta SEL. We were going to end up with either the Civic Sport Touring Hybrid sedan but wait longer for it to be shipped to us or get the Jetta SEL.
We decided that the extra wait wasn’t worth it, but the biggest thing for my wife was the ventilated seats in the Jetta. We couldn’t get the features we wanted in either car without leather or faux leather seats, but she REALLY did not want to deal with the heat that leather seats get in the sun. Those ventilated seats ended up being the thing that decided it for us.
We know the maintenance will cost more and that it’ll be more prone to issues than the Civic would have been, but we’re good for it monetarily and we know to keep up with the proper maintenance to avoid some of the more catastrophic issues VW owners get when they ignore it. We’re very happy with the car so far, and assuming the car doesn’t end up being a complete lemon I’d be interested in considering another VW or maybe an Audi in the future. It’s very comfy and feels great to drive.
bikedork5000@reddit
Water pumps? You mean like....Mk6 platform issues, from circa 2013?
itreallyisaproblem@reddit
They're inexpensive, well equipped and make for excellent rental cars. Of course they sell a lot to consumers but it's a huge rental/fleet car where I live. Especially in the tech industry post Tesla fallout.
NuttingPenguin@reddit
Representing! For the price it’s a great car and fun to drive. Looked at the Civic hatch too but it was too expensive for the upgraded turbo motor and manual. Same with the Mazda.
OreeOh@reddit
And that dang rear suspension on the Mazda. Not a fan
NuttingPenguin@reddit
Mine has the same unfortunately. It’s not too bad for a daily driver and my commute is pretty straight anyway.
OreeOh@reddit
Oh that's right. It's not until you hit the GLI that it gets swapped for IRS if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, I do agree. For the Mazda, it's pretty rough over the big bumps when it comes to the rear end (CX30 here)
BTTWchungus@reddit
Fun fact, the Jetta 1.5 is quicker than non-Si 11th gen Civics lol
Windows-XP-Home-NEW@reddit
That’s nuts. I had no clue why they were still making Jettas after killing the Passat. They really sell that many more Jettas over Passats?
I know compact sedans (Elantra, Corolla, Civic) sell more than their big brother (K5, Camry, Accord) but THAT much more???
Ran4@reddit
Corolla sedan what are you smoking lol... that would be insanely dumb.
handymanshandle@reddit
What market are you in that gets the Volkswagen Jetta but not the Toyota Corolla sedan?
Kawaii_Neko_Girl@reddit
I think it's because the Jetta increased in size to the point it was cannibalizing sales from the Passat.
nerdpox@reddit
well equipped, very cheap and ASTOUNDING gas mileage for a non hybrid.
boomerbill69@reddit
High 40s or even 50s is doable on the highway for these cars based on my experience.
Over_engineered81@reddit
I can get 6.5 L/100 km (~36 mpg) in my GLI with my cruise set at 120 kph. I’ve gotten it down under 5.7 L/100 km (~42 mpg) with my cruise at 100 kph.
It’s amazing fuel mileage for a sporty small car.
longgamma@reddit
It's a better car than the Corolla if you don't need the hybrid.
krooked_skating@reddit
It’s better in literally every way except for mpg and it get’s 40 mpg in that category already without the need of a complicated hybrid system
Ran4@reddit
No... it's not about need, a hybrid is just so much smoother. And the jetta is a sedan, while the corolla is a hatchback/wagon - which is MUCH more useful.
longgamma@reddit
Yeah the Corolla hatchback is so spacious and useful 🤣
Critical-Positive858@reddit
Honestly these cars are so similar that any reason you would choose one over the other is purely preference/arbitrary. I'm glad the Jetta is still around
https://www.edmunds.com/car-comparisons/?veh1=402026623&veh2=402019698
Ran4@reddit
They're completely different cars. Hybrid hatch/wagon vs. non-hybrid sedan.
XSC@reddit
It’s a 23k well equipped and great looking car.
caterham09@reddit
Yup, the price is right. It's priced several thousand below the civic and is right in line with the corolla while being the larger of the two vehicles.
I certainly wouldn't buy one over a civic or corolla, but I can see why people would
Borne@reddit
The Jetta is insulated like a S class compared to the Civic and Corolla. Much softer riding too iirc.
handymanshandle@reddit
The Jetta and the Corolla are both soft, but the Corolla is much mushier than the Jetta is, which I don't feel is a great thing. The Jetta certainly feels more refined and appropriately soft in comparison.
DetroitLionsEh@reddit
I bought a GLI years ago within $2000 of a base civic.
To me it was a no brainer.
graviousishpsponge@reddit
I've seen alot more even gli and 2025 models not just older models.
bnace@reddit
You thought nobody was buying them?
I see these things everywhere
Juicyjackson@reddit
I very rarely see them, might be a difference in location.
boomerbill69@reddit
I rarely see them as well, and I own one.
funnyfarm299@reddit
I've been seeing a lot of them in rental fleets recently.
dsonger20@reddit
The Jetta is a really good equipped car and honestly looks far better than the Corolla and compete with the Civic for the best looking small sedan.
It’s a pretty solid car all around. The only thing that really holds it back is the elevated maintenance costs of a German vehicle compared to something Japanese. A buyer of a Jetta is going to be pretty sensitive when it comes to this.
handymanshandle@reddit
Are they getting rid of the Beats sound system or are they simply rebranding it? That's the bigger question here, because my god does the Jetta's Beats system suck.
aprtur@reddit
It's a damn shame, since people really loved the old Fender systems they used to offer.
bikedork5000@reddit
I have that in my Alltrack. It's really made by Panasonic, Fender is just branding. And yes it does sound great! I'm picky about audio stuff - I have a recording studio at my house, own a $10k-ish PA system, etc etc. And damn if I don't love the stock audio in my VW.
aprtur@reddit
Yeah, Panasonic in general tends to put out great systems (they've done some nice Toyota factory DSP systems in the past, too, under the Matsushita brand) - makes me wonder why Harman has such a stranglehold on the market when Panasonic should be nearly as competitive on quality alone. VW needs to renew that partnership and bring back the Fender branding - they really did sound great.
bikedork5000@reddit
10 to 1 those decisions are based on customer brand recognition data provided by egghead consultants rather than any objective (or even subjective) measure of sound quality
notthefuckingducks@reddit
As a fellow Elantra N owner, I was stuck mostly between the GLI and the Elantra. The shitty sound system was what pushed me to ignore the GLI, even though it has more creature comforts like ventilated seats and adaptive cruise.
Still am angry the Elantra N doesn’t have ACC. Only NA Elantra Ns don’t have ACC, which irks me. I love the car otherwise though!
handymanshandle@reddit
I was in a similar boat, actually, although with a Golf GTI. I was seriously considering buying a new 380 SE last year, but between my hesitation on getting a manual GTI (mainly based on what others say about the clutch and shifter) and a dealership dropping the price on their Elantra N, I test drove and left with the Elantra first. As I said in another comment, though, I'm glad I didn't look at GLIs that seriously as I got to experience how muddy the Beats system was courtesy of my brother's GLI.
I'd be more annoyed about the EN not having adaptive cruise, but honestly? Using the lane keep assist and steering assist together with normal cruise control makes for a potent combo on a road trip, moreso than just ACC alone. I've roadtripped from Alabama to Wisconsin thrice, and one of those times was in a Mazda with ACC. I missed the steering assists so much more compared to adaptive cruise that the pain of not having ACC is softened a lot. All three would be the best, but it's not so bad. Admittedly, it's probably more annoying as a commuter car in bumper to bumper traffic, although with me opting for the manual, abusing adaptive cruise for that purpose is not realistic.
bikedork5000@reddit
Don't be dissuaded by the VW manual. It's fine. People love to parrot talking points about cars that they hear from other people. Could it be better? Sure. But does it bother me in any way? Nope, it's AOK.
clutchthepearls@reddit
Hyundai's lane keep is better than the version in the Jetta too. The VW version doesn't keep you in the middle of the lane it just bounces you back from the line and yells at you immediately. I keep it off in the Jetta.
Though I do really enjoy the ACC.
Windows-XP-Home-NEW@reddit
Does it at least have absurd bass like other Beats by Dre products? Or is it shitty in every aspect including bass?
handymanshandle@reddit
It genuinely sucks. My younger brother has a 2020 GLI Autobahn and even with my adjusting the EQ settings to not sound like crap, it still doesn’t sound good at all. It’s either your choice of not enough or too much everything.
Windows-XP-Home-NEW@reddit
It seems like super new 2020s sound systems have taken a nosedive. There was a sweet spot in the late 90s and all through the 2000s and the early 2010s where it seemed like getting a car with a superb sound system from the factory wasn’t such a chore.
Volvos still have great sound systems though. Even the generic non B&O models sound exquisite!
Ran4@reddit
Nah, it's the other way around. The new harman and bose systems are far far superior to the ones made in the 10s.
Critical-Positive858@reddit
Which car in segment has best audio you think? At this price... I think they're all hot garbo
BandeFromMars@reddit
They might be replacing it with the Harman Kardon system found in the R and Arteon. I know the Tiguan SEL R line Turbo is getting the HK sound system next year.
aprtur@reddit
Ughh....VW, bring the Lime Yellow or SOMETHING fun to the US....not yet another freaking grey.
bikedork5000@reddit
I don't hate gray if it's a nice one. My Alltrack is platinum gray metallic, which is ok but not great.... But yeah, it's a fun halo car sporty thing, it should have at least one two genuinely interesting colors. If they fixed the interior (IE, make it more like the Mk7) and had a color I liked, I would serious consider one.
iMasculine@reddit
More shades of blue and red as well, we’re done with another shade of gray.
BandeFromMars@reddit
Yeah I'm kind of surprised they don't have a red option for the R.
Ran4@reddit
Almost nobody buys red cars, sadly :(
Take rate is usually around 1% for many brands.
aprtur@reddit
That's a good point - "Tornado Pink" has been an R option for forever.
Jabjab345@reddit
Right when Audi gets rid of them VW adds them back in. Hopefully Audi fixes it soon.
nerdpox@reddit
nature is healing
Kawaii_Neko_Girl@reddit
Is the Tiguan's optional 268 hp engine considered particularly fast? It's more powerful than the Golf GTI's engine, but in a larger package.
chaiteataichi_@reddit
the sel r line with 268 hp doesn’t seem to have an official 0-60 number yet but they are expecting around 5 secs, so pretty solidly quick
Oh_ffs_seriously@reddit
European Golf GTI has the same engine, and its' 0-100 km/h times (5.9s) are identical to those of the Tiguan.
thedogthatmooed@reddit
The GTI has been ridiculously underrated, most dynos see the Mk8 pumping out 272 engine hp and the 241 VW quotes is the wheel horsepower.
That being said, I would not be surprised to see the Tiguan having more than advertised as well
BandeFromMars@reddit
What's kinda crazy is that this engine in the Tiguan is supposed to be able to run on regular gas too.
thedogthatmooed@reddit
The numbers I quoted are on 87. The GTI no longer requires a higher octane to make optimum power
BandeFromMars@reddit
Good to know! I could've sworn that GTI's still needed premium but I haven't paid attention to stuff like that in a long time, it makes the EA888 even more impressive.
Vivity360@reddit
Good to know a sedan survive another year.
But still, I have a GLI 2021 and I feel like there won’t be a true new refresh of this car. I currently see no point in changing.
shawn0fthedead@reddit
I love the Jettas but they are unnovating here lol. Went from physical buttons to touch sensor buttons and back to physical and now it's a selling point.
AutoModerator@reddit
It looks like you're posting about a currently popular topic. Your submission has been automatically removed and forwarded to moderators for review. If your post is about Tesla or Olympian, please see this thread for details. See r/TeslaMotors and r/RealTesla for indepth discussion. Want to prognosticate about car prices? Head on over here. YES, WE WILL REVIEW YOUR POST AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. NO, YOU ARE NOT ON A BLACKLIST. You do not need to send us modmail immediately. Your call is very important to us and will be answered in the order it was received. No, seriously, we're all volunteers. We'll get to it as soon as possible. In the meantime, please check r/cars/new to see if there is a discussion already underway.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.