Help me choose: VW Jetta GLI or VW Passat 2.5

[gregoron]

This is not urgent as it may be a few more years down the road that a may be in the market for a sedan. I've narrowed my choices to these two.

I'm looking for a sedan that is a family car for 3 people, yet it is sporty enough to make my daily commute fun. The Jetta GLI would be my 1st choice but I'd have to deal with premium fuel, possibly less reliability later on, and it might be too sporty for someone who works at a bank. The basic Passat looks conservative, still fun to drive, and may be less costly to maintain overall. Those are the trade-offs.

Any inputs are welcome.

 

[dishdude]

That's a no brainer - go with the GLI. I wouldn't even consider a base Passat, I had one as a rental and couldn't wait to get out of it.

GLI gets the nicer interior of the Euro Jetta, sporty yet isn't in your face (unless you're a car person no one would even notice it's a performance model.)

 

[Spazdog]

Does it have to be a Passat 2.5? Or can you pinch a few pennies every month and save for a CC?

That way you get the GLi's 2.0 Turbo and the Passat's interior room (little less headroom in the back perhaps)

I'm no friend of the 2.5 L5. That's pretty well established. It would be a bottom performer against the current crop of similar sized 4 cylinders and it's a five cylinder. GenIII Ecotec, Sky-Activ, Earth Dreams, Hyundai's version of the GEMA....etc...all exceed the VW L5.

Last CC I installed had a "W" in the first digit of the VIN. Germany.
New Passat? USA
Jetta? Mexico.

 

[Mykl]

I really like the new GLI, I'd go with that. For three people I think it's enough. More than that and I'd probably get the bigger car.

 

[BTLew81]

I've had a ton of VW cars. While I like the GLI, it does require premium and maint. costs could be higher. Plus you might have to deal with the dreaded intake valve deposits.

My next car will be a CC. Definitely a great car but at the time a bit more than I wanted to spend. I bought a '12 Jetta SEL. Similar interior materials to the GLI and a nice load of options. The 2.5 gets knocked a lot...a LOT. However, I have found it to be SUPER reliable, enough power for most situations, and gets good MPG, especially on the highway. It's fairly cheap to maintain and has a proven track record.

I love the CC and like I said, it will be my next one. The Jetta in higher trim levels will not do you wrong. I drive a lot and have not had a single issue with my 2.5.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: gregoron
This is not urgent as it may be a few more years down the road that a may be in the market for a sedan. I've narrowed my choices to these two.

I'm looking for a sedan that is a family car for 3 people, yet it is sporty enough to make my daily commute fun. The Jetta GLI would be my 1st choice but I'd have to deal with premium fuel, possibly less reliability later on, and it might be too sporty for someone who works at a bank. The basic Passat looks conservative, still fun to drive, and may be less costly to maintain overall. Those are the trade-offs.

Any inputs are welcome.
So someone walks through the bank parking lot looking at cars?

 

[Falken]

Regardless of which one you pick, and I wouldn't pick either as I am not a fan of VW, but that isn't the issue here it is this:

A buddy of mine that I went to school with was a HUGE VW fan. I mean a big one.

They make Apple fanatics look soft.

Anyway, he had his heart set on a brand new VW Passat (forgot the year) and he really wanted one produced in Wolfsburg.

Now, I understand his reasoning, passion, and desire. Kind of cool to have something made in Germany for coolness sake I guess if that is your thing.

Romantically I would want one made in Germany too, I'm 100% sure about that. My pride in ownership would be a lot greater. Heck, I'd own a VW if it WAS made in Germany for that reason and that reason alone. (Trust me that would be the only reason. I hate working on them.).

Well, he went on a waiting list to get a German Passat. They PROMISED him one. So he waited for it.

When he got the car, I guess he didn't look at the VIN before taking possession (excitement, pushy sales people, being a young kid, etc).

So it was found out later that the dealer played a bait-and-switch on him, and he got a HECHO EN MEXICO special.

WELL, he was mad. I'd be RIPPING furious! He threatened to take them to court, but they worked out a deal and they gave him a few grand and a free service deal. Being a young guy, he took it but was still very unhappy about it.

Point of the story is if you want a German Luger, buy a German Luger. Get it in WRITING and check the VIN before you take possession of the thing!!!

I mean, these guys take pride in calling their car a "Nazi Sled" up here in Montreal.

How do you get to call it that if it was Made in Mexico? He was bummed out though.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: gregoron
and it might be too sporty for someone who works at a bank.

Is there some law/specification out there that stipulate how much fun a bank employee can have in a car?

Seriously though, out of the two, I'd go with the GLI. There is nothing sporty about a Passat 2.5. The only advantage of the Passat is that it has more interior room.

From a reliability perspective, the two shouldn't be all that different. I think VW has mitigated the DI deposit issues on their turbo engines, for the most part.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Falken

Point of the story is if you want a German Luger, buy a German Luger. Get it in WRITING and check the VIN before you take possession of the thing!!!

As far as I know, it's not even an option to request a "made in Germany" Passat or Jetta anymore. The US version of a Passat is different and is not made in Germany at all. It's now USA-made. And Jetta - Mexico only. Only the Jetta SportWagen is still made in Germany, but there is no SportWagen GLI available to us.

 

[Falken]

Maybe it was a Jetta. I really don't keep track of VW and don't really know the difference between models.

But there was a crossover period where he wanted the one made in Wolfsburg, and got tricked.

I guess if you don't have the option anymore to get them made in Germany, to me that is a big let-down.

I don't know why, but I just can't do the Mexico thing for cars quite yet either. Does that make me a bad person?

 

[Boomer]

Buy the Passat diesel! Engine and trans are German made and the car is assembled in Chatanooga. Love my 2013 so far. Sporty and mileage is approacing 50 mpg with about 1300 miles on the vehicle.

 

[dparm]

The Jetta and Passat are basically the same car these days, which is what confuses me. They're almost identical in size.

The GLIs look pretty sweet, by the way.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Falken
I guess if you don't have the option anymore to get them made in Germany, to me that is a big let-down.

I hear ya. It's kind of funny when your new Jetta with the Autobahn package is made in Mexico.

 

[rjundi]

1) Who cares were you work and what you look like. That is unless you take clients in your vehicle on a regular basis then Passat is a far superior choice.

2) GLI hands down is a much more fun choice. The 2.5L Passat leaves a lot to be desired. The TDI Passat though is an interesting motor to drive with manual transmission if you want a sporting feeling.

I am not sure GLI requires premium but merely recommends it. It has been in the past recommended.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
I am not sure GLI requires premium but merely recommends it. It has been in the past recommended.

Yup, it is only recommended. However, I'm guessing MPG will take a slight hit if you use regular, so it may be a wash from an overall cost perspective.

Still, the OP is in Hawaii. I can't imagine people drive a ton of miles there. Even if he drives 10K miles a year, assuming regular is about $4.25 and premium is $4.75/gallon, there is only about $100 difference in annual fuel cost between a manual Jetta GLI and manual Passat 2.5, assuming most of it is city driving. That's a fairly insignificant difference in the grand scheme of car ownership expenses, IMO.

 

[double vanos]

BMW is also considering making Bimmers in Mexico - they want consumers to think of their cars as " made by BMW" instead of "Made in Germany by BMW".

My 330ci was produced in Regensburg Germany and I wouldn't have it any other way. Will I buy another BMW ? Not if it doesn't say made in Germany .

 

[Scum_Frog]

VW fan and current driver here.

As you know VW made some big changes to it's current lineup, some good, some bad IMO.

The MK6 Jetta is no longer a sedan version of the Golf. It rides on it's own platform. In trims other than the GLI, from what I understand, it was a step to bring the price down (with lower quality materials) to increase sales, which by all accounts it did. The GLI brings the Jetta back to what one expects from a VW Jetta GLI (brakes, suspension, interior, etc,etc) and obviously the 2.0T engine. If your a fan of past Jetta's then the GLI is the model you want

The Passat also made a change for this generation. In the last two generations the Passat and Jetta had somewhat similar dimensions, with the Passat being more towards the luxury side over the sporty Jetta. The Passat is now a BIG vehicle and the knock is the venerable 2.5L may be a little underpowered for the size of the current Passat. If you like the Passat, I'd opt for the 3.6L, 280-hp, VR6 engine over the 2.5L. The TDI would also be a better option.

Now if you check pricing, the Jetta GLI and the Passat with either the VR6 or TDI are closing in on CC prices....you may want to add that vehicle to your list.

Have fun!

 

[dareo]

To put up with a Volkswagen and not have a turbo diesel does not compute in my head. I'm not saying they are bad cars, just need extra attention compared to more reliable (bumper to bumper) gas cars. I'd go TDI or some other brand.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: dareo
To put up with a Volkswagen and not have a turbo diesel does not compute in my head. I'm not saying they are bad cars, just need extra attention compared to more reliable (bumper to bumper) gas cars. I'd go TDI or some other brand.



"Put up with"? Volkswagens are quite reliable these days. They don't need any more or less attention than any other vehicle.

I've owned two Audis and my brother has a Volkswagen right now. They've all been excellent cars that needed nothing more than regular maintenance.

 

[dareo]

I have two MKIV jettas, (290k and 325k miles) and they are a hassle to work on. They are TDIs and the engine is extremely good and does not need anything. Its the rest of the car that is harder to work on, needs special tools, unique coolant, parts costing more, that type of thing.

It cannot be compared to a basic Japanese car, korean or american car too for that matter. In my opinion you do pay a price for a German car when it comes to fixing it, either DIY or hired out.

So for me, the German car proposition must come with a great diesel.