 What is up you guys, welcome back to another one. If you are new to the channel, I am Gold Pony on the new car truck SUV reviews on YouTube and today we are in the new 2021 Volkswagen Jetta GLI courtesy of Hanover Volkswagen and Hanover PA. For more information on their inventory, please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. So I wanted to check this one out today because there are actually some big tech upgrades for the 2021 model year and this of course is the most performance oriented Jetta that is available right now. So this should be fun and so in this video I will of course be testing out everything about this one from acceleration to braking, the steering feel, ride quality, paddle shifter, sound system, exhaust pipe, all that fun stuff. So having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it and as always, let's start with pricing. I'd say there will actually be just two trim levels for the 2021 Jetta GLI. First one is going to be the S starting at $26,345, then there is the Autobahn which is the one we have today starting at $30,745 but regardless of trim level that you go with the power plant on this one is going to be the same. Powering this beast is a 2 liter turbocharged inline 4 cylinder putting out 228 horsepower at 5,000 RPM, 258 pound feet of torque coming in at 1500 RPM, power sent to the front wheels to a 6 speed manual which comes standard on both trim levels or an optional 7 speed DSG or dual clutch and that option goes for $800 in case you were interested in that is the one we have today and that does come with paddle shifters like I said so we will be testing those out in a little bit as well but overall 0 to 60 time comes in at approximately 5.6 seconds, top speed 126 miles per hour with MPG numbers coming in at 25 in the city, 32 on the highway with a range of 470 miles in between fill ups that is kind of impressive I got to be honest but anyways that does take regular unleaded fuel however the horsepower and torque numbers are going to be had with premium unleaded so I do want to mention that little caveat there as well but said that before we do any kind of fun paddle shifter acceleration test here in other GLI do want to mention there are some driving modes their drive move buttons located just to the left of the shifter that will include eco comfort normal sport and custom adjusting things like the shift points a throttle response and the steering sensitivity as well so now having got all of that out of the way what do you guys say let's put the paddle shifters here to the test just want to see how quickly they are going to react for us here and actually to put it in full manual shift mode you can do that you simply just slide the shifter all the way to the back and to the right that of course is going to tell you what gear you're in up on the gauges that is pretty nice of course as well now I haven't got all that out of the way let's go ahead and find that straight away let's put these things as a test and let's see how quickly they're going to react for us here there's a good spot let's do this oh my gosh this car pulls hard paddle shifters are instantaneous that is definitely a very good thing a Volkswagen and Audi and Porsche they've always done an excellent job with paddle shifters being honest I think everybody knows that so definitely not disappointed with the Jetta GLI because these paddle shifters are dang quick and car is quite quick as well but actually let's go ahead and give back full control to the GLI here let's do a quick little acceleration test with the car having full control and let's see how quickly we can get this one here up speed. All right you guys in three two one we are in sport mode it was actually not that bad like I thought it was going to be a lot more slipping because this is a decent amount of power being sent to just the front wheels but still this thing connected pretty darn well to the road maybe it's because it's a pretty decent hot warm summer day here but plenty of an acceleration for the GLI without a doubt and that was quite fun definitely not going to have any issues emerging onto the highway but anyways to go along with that as always braking is equally important and so up front you will find 13.4 inch ventilated front discs in the back 11.8 inch solid rear discs as far as that 60-zero stopping distance goes that's actually going to come in at a very impressive 109 feet and you guys that is quite impressive a lot of sedans most sedans out there come in in the low 120s some even in the upper 120 so 109 feet that is dang impressive if I'm being honest so as far as the break you feel goes it's perfectly fine there's no dead spots of course it feels perfectly fine definitely on the firmer side so it instantly brings you to a stop so I am definitely a fan there touching on suspension and handling up front you're going to get a McPherson strut front suspension in the back independent multi-link rear suspension of course front and rear stabilizer bars but since we have the GLI there is so much more to that when it comes to the suspension there is a VAQ limited slip front differential for both trim levels you got to love that sending torque to the front wheel with the most traction so that is definitely going to assist not only with handling but with that better acceleration that we just got as well and there is also DCC adaptive chassis control for the Autobahn that we have here today that is essentially your adaptive suspension system so monitors each shock absorber individually not only giving you a smoother ride but also adjusting that suspension to give you much better handling around the turns as well so really the best of both worlds there but as far as ride quality goes I will say you still do tend to feel a good bit more of the road comparatively speaking to some of the other vehicles out there so definitely not the smoothest ride but I will say the handling portion in the steering feel that is what feels really really good in the GLI without a doubt you can definitely tell this car is geared more towards the handling side of things and not so much towards the ride quality but then if you're buying this type of vehicle anyways that is really to be expected but when it comes to the cabin noise actually it's not that bad I wasn't expecting it to be this good I mean it's not like luxury like but it's a lot better than a lot of the other cars that I've tested lately so not a whole lot of road noise not a whole lot of wind noise coming into the cabin either so really Volkswagen impressed me there when it comes to cabin noise but then touching on visibility I can see perfectly fine out the back and really with the shape of a sedan really all sedans for that matter you're not gonna have any issues with visibility and not only that for both trim levels you'll also get rain sensing windshield wipers so whenever the Jetta detects any kind of mister rainfall let's go to automatically turn on this windshield wipers for you so it's just one less thing you got to worry about it's kind of like automatic headlights for the windshield wipers basically but that about rounds out the performance segment of this review guys let's now go ahead and take a look at the exterior of our brand new 2021 Volkswagen Jetta GLI. Alright so here she is you guys the new 2021 Volkswagen Jetta GLI finished in pure white in case anybody was curious of the exact color name that we had here today but anyways let's go ahead and start up front let's take a look at that front grille here to start there is that red horizontal bar specific to the GLI with the red GLI badging found just above it of course that is how you instantly distinguish this particular vehicle from the other Jettas in the lineup of course looking down to the corners there there are front air curtains as well helping direct air around the wheel and tire combination then taking look at the headlights LED projector headlights do come standard for both trim levels of the Jetta GLI that is wonderful so many vehicles out there are still putting halogens on their vehicles and not only that when they do put LEDs they typically make them reflect their headlights but LED projector headlights are the very brightest out there as far as the main headlight configurations go at least so that is definitely a big win for the Jetta GLI in my personal opinion and LED daytime running lights do come standard along with that as expected as well but pretty much rounds out the front of this one let's now go ahead and make our way to the side of the GLI and so the first thing that always grabs my attention on the side of this one of course is the GLI badging found on both of the front fenders definitely looks right at home on this one it definitely lets you know this is a more special version of the traditional Jetta which is pretty darn cool but as far as the side mirrors go they are body colored power adjustable side mirrors they will be heated as well taking a look down at the wheel setup 18 inch twin five spoke alloy wheels do come standard with red GLI specific brake caliper so not only are the brakes absolutely amazing when it comes to driving dynamics but they do look good as well and you got to love that the calipers are red because that does match all of the other red accents found on the GLI so definitely a very nice side profile let's now go ahead and make our way to the back of this one it's up and now since we are around back shark fin antenna all the way to the top there very small deck lid rear spoiler also is going to come standard on the GLI LED tail lights also coming standard you got some more GLI badging of course found just underneath of those tail lights there just below it all you will find dual exhaust outlets with chrome tips and a matte black rear diffuser in the middle of it all bit having said that back to the exhaust outlets I think you guys do know what we have to do next as always here is that exhaust clip alright so now since we are around back here of the GLI when it comes to opening that rear trunk there are a few different ways to go ahead and do that there is a button on the key fob itself that is one way there's also a button on the trunk itself of course that is yet another way and there is a button on the driver's side door then as well but once open up cargo capacity comes in at 14.1 cubic feet actually a decent amount but if that was not enough space there is a 6040 split meaning the rear seats do fold down for quite a bit of extra space then if you needed it can find some cargo lighting within that area as well if you were curious whether you got a spare tire or a fix of flat if you lift up underneath of that cargo floor there is actually a spare tire for anybody who wanted to know that answer but then making our way up to the rear legroom it comes in an impressive 37.4 inches so for reference I mean even six feet tall this is how much space I had in those rear seats there there is also a rear center armrest that does come standard on this one but to my surprise there is no rear ventilation and no rear charging ports back there which kind of surprised me since we are on the auto bomb is still rear center armrest with cup holders is pretty cool but then making our way up to the front seats manually adjustable cloth seating coming with the s heated front seats also coming with that s trim level believe it or not that's pretty cool Audubon trim level is going to add to that ventilated front seats six way power adjustable driver seat with power lumbar memory settings for up to three different drivers found on the seat itself that's where those buttons are located and of course you do have leather surfaces then as well with contrast red stitching so overall seats were pretty comfortable we'll say not comfortable like Lexus F sport comfortable but it is pretty dark comfortable though but then taking a look at the steering wheel it is tilt and telescoping it is leather wrapped for both trim levels you got to love that and it is a flat bottom of course because we do have the GLI and you do get some GLI specific badging found in the bottom portion of that steering wheel then as well but then make our way to the startup let me first start by showing you guys the key here you do have your Volkswagen logo on the one side and when you flip it over lock unlock the button pop the rear hatch and then the circular button with the times two in the middle that is going to be your remote start which does come standard along with a push button start as well so therefore all I'm going to do here simply put my fun of the break and press that silver engine start button located just to the left of the shifter there and so once upon start up here this is where it really gets go with the GLI you guys Volkswagen digital cockpit coming with the autobahn trim level only therefore that is why we have the full digital gauge cluster right now that you're looking at the S trim level it's not going to give you that so we did want to specify that but this digital gauge cluster is pretty darn cool to adjust which is on there there are steering wheel amount of controls found on the right side of the steering wheel but my favorite part is when you change the drive mode it actually adjusts the color up there of those gauges for example if you put it in eco you're going to get some blue hues if you put it in normal you're going to get some yellow hues and if you put it in sport you're going to get the red hues so overall very darn cool I love that it changes the colors of the actual gauges and that's the beauty of digital gauge clusters that's why I wish more manufacturers will start making them standard I'm sure they will in the future but again you can adjust what is on there you can actually adjust the entire configuration up there because we have those digital gauges if you actually hit the view button on the steering wheel that is going to make things either larger or smaller and you can really adjust between several different views up there dependent upon what you really want to see the most so I particularly love that feature with the Volkswagen digital cockpit Audi does something very similar as well and that is why I'm always a huge fan of the digital gauge clusters really in any Volkswagen product so big fan of that but now let's go ahead and make our way over to overall interior quality panoramic sunroof coming with the autobahn that we have today that is pretty darn cool overhead sunglass holder coming with both trim levels auto dimming rear view mirror both trims is going to get that as well however we do actually have a frameless rear view mirror with homelink controls for up to three different garage doors and a small compass within that as well by the way that is a three hundred twenty five dollar option but we do have it so I wouldn't mention it to you guys dual-zone climate control coming standard with both trims illuminated door cells that's pretty cool both trims are going to get that stainless steel pedal caps both trims are going to get that as well ten colors of ambient lighting both trims are going to get that as well I absolutely love that autobahn trim level though is also going to give you a wireless phone charger that is located just in front of the shifter along with two phone charging ports although you really don't need them since we have the wireless phone charger after all just to the left of the shifter you do have in a lecture mechanical parking brake just behind the shifter you have a little slot there where you can put that cell phone if you weren't charging it up there at least you have dual cup holders and within the center armrest this actually light colored on the inside of that center armrest that kind of surprised me because everything else is a black interior then we have a very light color within the center armrest that's kind of cool I like it it's different but there is a actually a phone charging port within that as well but overall a very sporty finish very to the point I kind of like this fake carbon fiber kind of plastic look that is just above the passenger side glove box it continues on to the doors it does look good however I do wish the actual door grab handles were something other than a black plastic wouldn't mind if they were finished it a little bit higher quality than what they are but overall this car is more of a performance oriented vehicle anyway so I suppose that is to be expected but now let's go ahead and make our way to the infotainment screen one of the best parts I like about the infotainment screen is everything is geared everything is tilted slightly towards the driver kind of like the Nissan GTR so I've always been a big fan of that car but it's more driver centric so the screen itself though is going to differ amongst the trim levels 6.5 inch color touchscreen display coming with the S 8 inch color touchscreen display then coming with autobahn trim blue teeth and audio streaming coming standard on this one Android Auto Apple CarPlay and actually wireless Android Auto Apple CarPlay as well that is pretty darn cool fuel and weather information you can access that up there there of course is your radio information then as well and by the way when it comes to the sound systems here 6 speaker sound system is going to come standard with the S however there is a beats premium sound system with the subwoofer that does come standard on the autobahn that we have today so therefore what do you guys say let's go ahead and turn on the radio see what we got playing today and let's test out the clarity of this one definitely a very good amount of bass going on with that beat sound system that we have here today without a doubt you could tell there is a subwoofer in this thing very clearly speaking of clarity was plenty fine as well so definitely a very nice sound system for the GLI without a doubt but last thing I want to mention you guys on that infotainment screen released is when you do put this one in reverse you will find a rear view camera coming standard across the board taking up the whole screen which isn't always the case that's definitely a good thing letting you know who or what is behind you which is always is going to lead us into safety and so to start front side side curtain airbags do come standard in the back you're going to have latch aka lower anchors and tetherster children for the rear car seats rear child door locks tire pressure monitoring system but also coming standard for both trim levels blind spot monitoring system with rear cross traffic alert that's going to be the little car icons in your side mirrors for collision warning system with autonomous emergency braking and then if you were to go with the Audubon trim level that is going to add an addition to that automatic high beams and lane keep assist then as well and so overall when it comes to my final thoughts here of the Jetta GLI very fun car to drive not only with the acceleration not only with the quick-reacting paddle shifters but the braking is excellent in this thing so I was definitely a big fan of that very nice rear legroom 37.4 inches is definitely quite impressive especially for a sportier vehicle like the GLI nice cargo space as well ambient lighting coming standard is a huge plus for me I feel like I'm always saying at the end of these videos that more vehicles should add ambient lighting well the Jetta GLI actually has that so that's good if it were me personally picking between the Audubon and the S I would if you can splurge for the Audubon because you do get the digital gauges which is a big win you do get the sunroof you have the larger infotainment you have the wireless phone charger you just get a lot more with that Audubon trim level that is why I would personally pick this particular vehicle that I'm in today but the only constructive criticism that I have since we are in Pennsylvania and it does tend to snow quite a bit I would love it if this thing came with an optional all-wheel drive system because it's a lot of power being sent to the front wheels and although this thing handled it quite well when it starts snowing out you're gonna want that all-wheel drive system that's the only constructive criticism I got here but that is about it for this one you guys thank you so much for watching let me know what you think of the GLI in the comments section below I always love reading your comments feel free to follow me on tiktok if you want to see short clips of these vehicles before they actually get to YouTube be sure to hit the subscribe to the bell notification button if you're in the new car reviews that is what we do here on this channel after all do appreciate you guys watching more than you know and I will see you guys all in the next video stay gold