The Jetta is the sedan half of Volkswagen’s compact range in North America, sharing the MQB platform, the 2,685 mm wheelbase and most of the switchgear with the Golf while adding a boot and about 450 mm of overall length. The seventh generation went on sale in 2018 and is built exclusively at Puebla in Mexico, the plant Volkswagen has run since 1967. It was never sold in Europe, where the Golf covers the same ground, and it has never been offered in right-hand drive. A facelift for the 2025 model year brought a reworked nose with a light bar across the grille, revised tail lamps and a new dashboard, and the 2026 cars carry that over with wireless smartphone mirroring made standard.
Four trims run on one engine. The S, Sport, SE and SEL all use the 1.5-litre EA211 turbo four making 158 hp and 249 Nm, sent to the front wheels through an eight-speed torque-converter automatic. Prices start at $23,995 for the S and reach $29,995 for the SEL, before a $1,275 destination charge. The GLI Autobahn sits apart from that ladder rather than on top of it: it takes the 2.0-litre EA888 turbo from the Golf GTI, rated at 228 hp and 350 Nm, and adds a mechanical limited-slip differential, larger brakes, a 15 mm lower sport suspension and adaptive dampers. It costs $33,745 in a single specification.
The GLI’s gearbox is the reason the car has been in the news. Volkswagen kept a six-speed manual available on the GLI after dropping it from the Golf GTI and Golf R, and for the 2026 model year the manual and the seven-speed DSG carry the same price. That ends with the 2027 model year, when the GLI becomes automatic-only and Volkswagen stops selling any manual-gearbox car in the United States.
Inside, every Jetta gets a digital instrument cluster, 8 inches across on the S and 10.25 inches from the Sport up. The SE adds a moonroof, and the SEL and GLI Autobahn get an eight-speaker sound system. The IQ.DRIVE assistance package is standard on all trims, bringing adaptive cruise control, lane keeping with steering assist, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. The GLI is identified outside by a red stripe that runs across the grille and into the headlights, black mirror caps and badging, black alloy wheels over red brake calipers, and twin exhaust outlets. The car measures 4,737 mm long, 1,798 mm wide and 1,466 mm tall.
