2002 Volkswagen Jetta GLI - Hard to Pass and Hard to Pass Up
Maybe you can relate to me? In your profession do you get asked the same question over and over again by new people that you meet? For me it's, "Well what car would you buy?" As if I could make up my mind. That's just plain unfair. Still, I usually give the person a list of my favorites in their respective categories. For the last few years the VW Jetta has led my compact car list, hands down. Why? I thought you might ask.
First of all, nothing else in the class comes close to its level of refinement. With that in mind there's a thin line separating Volkswagen and Audi. VW gets the trickle-down effect from a luxury brand lauded for producing the best interiors in its lofty crowd. The Jetta's high quality soft-touch interior plastics, meticulous fit and finish and superb ergonomics are better overall than some luxury cars costing more than twice as much. Then VW adds features like 5-way heated front seats, a multi-interval power sunroof, auto down/up windows at all four doors, Monsoon CD audio and those amazingly hip iridescent blue gauges and red backlit switches, toggles and buttons throughout the cabin.
The cloth seats in the GLI are particularly good looking, with a monotone checkered effect on the inserts that highlight the cars sporting intent. Its 3-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel is nothing new, but what a magnificent wheel it is. The same goes for the leather shift lever, except this one contains an extra forward gear. The 6-speed shifts with precise increments and relatively short throws while the perfectly weighted clutch lets out evenly for smooth acceleration.