In the last thirty years, midsize sports cars have occupied an important market space. They were consumer dreams and, to a large extent, with national production. Audi A3 1.8T, Chevrolet Vectra GSI, Fiat Stilo Abarth, Honda Civic SI, Renault Fluence GT and Volkswagen Golf GTI were part of this group.
They were the most expensive versions of these models, however with lower prices than those charged by the most prestigious imports. Times have changed, and today an entire segment comes down to the Jetta GLI (Grand Luxury Injection).
Imported from Mexico, the Volkswagen sedan arrives at the 2022 line announced for R$ 217 thousand. It is the only midsize sports model priced below R$250,000 – even the Audi A3 S Line has already passed this range, being announced today for just over R$270,000.
In common, Audi and VW have the 2.0 TFSI engine already adapted to the seventh phase of the Proconve (Vehicle Emission Control Program). In the case of the Jetta, power reaches 231 hp – 1 hp more than before – and the dual-clutch automatic transmission now has seven gears.
Visual changes are discrete. The grille has beehive-shaped openings and there are new bumpers, which make the car 4 cm longer.
Inside, there’s a new steering wheel and driver’s seat with electrical adjustments.
The VW Play multimedia center becomes a standard item. The equipment is produced by Visteon at the Manaus Industrial Complex and sent to the Jetta assembly line in Mexico.
For the first contact with the car, Volkswagen promoted a short test at the Panamericano Circuit, which is part of Pirelli’s development center in Elias Fausto (São Paulo countryside).
On the track, the Jetta once again showed its willingness to accelerate and resume: it was the fastest car among the average models in its price range in the Ranking Folha-Mauá 2021.
At the time of the test, the model started from immobility and reached 100 km/h in 6.6 seconds, a number that should be maintained in the 2022 line.
The performance should not change, unlike the price, which followed the pace of inflation in the period.
When the sports sedan arrived in Brazil in June 2019, it cost R$145,000. Based on the Fipe table at the time, the amount was enough to buy three units of the Gol 1.0 (R$ 45.6 thousand) and save R$ 8.2 thousand for documentation and some fuel tanks.
Today the Jetta GLI costs R$ 217,000, but with that price you don’t buy so many “Golzinhos”, which today are sold for R$ 74,800. To take three to the garage, you will need to add R$ 7,400.
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