2003 Volkswagen Jetta GLI Reviews, Pricing & Specs
What owners say
"Overall, owners of the 2003 Volkswagen Jetta GLI really enjoy the car for its impressive performance, fun driving experience, and stylish appearance. Many drivers rave about its powerful VR6 engine and smooth six-speed transmission, making acceleration a highlight. However, some owners mentioned concerns about potential repairs and the cost of maintaining such a performance-oriented vehicle as downsides. While the ride is often described as enjoyable and sporty, a few felt that parts could be pricey and some vehicles encountered reliability issues as they aged."
For a small Sedan this car has excellent acceleration, braking, and general handling. The build quality is what we have all come to expect of any German car (superior) and the overall appearance is a slightly understated sport sedan. Cost of ownership seems to be right on par with just about any small sedan. I recommend sticking to the regular maintenance schedule and do so because these cars will last a good 15 years or so if you do. This car is a joy to drive in just about any conditions. If you like lots of hard cornering, you may want to replace the stock tires with a set of Toyo Proxes. Stock tires are fine for just about everything else.
May 13, 2010Preformance - Good power, smooth reving v6, good highway mileage. Handles ok, could be lowered. Build quality - typical VW, good fit & finish, minimal rattles & squeaks, good solid car. Appearance - A little bland, not distinguishable from other Jetta's. Cost of ownership - oil filter $25, 6l oil synthetic $50. Have reached 38mpg highway, around 28-30 city. Receitenly replaced coil packs and plugs at $360 Fun factor - 8/10 love the sound of the vr6 reving. Overall- Good car to own short term 2-3 yrs. Small interiour, easy to out grow.
January 12, 2009Best car i ever owned!!! Fantastic performance, great power from its 2.8l VR6 approx 200bhp, love the shifting of the 6 speed manual transmission. Great accelleration and breaking for being a sport sedan under 3 liters, wonderfully balanced turns and handles very well. Easy to modify mechanically and asthetically all parts are readily available through the shops and online. Putting the magnaflo exhaust on the VR6 is easily one of the best descisions i have ever made. Hard to modify electrically though and a bitch to put a remote starter in, i wouldnt recommend a remote start for any VW thats for sure. I love the look, business and power at the same time. looks especially well when you add the 2004 GLI factory body kit. The interior is stylish too, all leather with heated seats and a beautifully moulded dashboard. All the buttons are the right size and shape to fit in with the rest of the car's style. The build quality is fantastic, rattling is almost not an issue there are some minor rattles that can be heard driving on Edmnontons, smooth as a bed of nails, roads. This car's factory sound deadening is extreemly meticulous. Since owning it i have needed minor repairs, but i know that these cars in general suffer from various electrical related issues when they get older. Its not a cheep car to fill up though only taking premium gasoline with 91 octane minimum. Repairs are more expensive because the parts are built propperly. (not in the USA or China) Thats why finding a good mechanic with a fair price is extreemly important! Autobahn Performance in Edmonton is the place i go to. The car is a joy to drive a absolutely love taking it on the roads and playing arround with it. It has great response and just makes you want to drive it harder.. then you remember how much you paid for it and decide that you're driving it hard enough.
August 19, 2008What owners say
For a small Sedan this car has excellent acceleration, braking, and general handling. The build quality is what we have all come to expect of any German car (superior) and the overall appearance is a slightly understated sport sedan. Cost of ownership seems to be right on par with just about any small sedan. I recommend sticking to the regular maintenance schedule and do so because these cars will last a good 15 years or so if you do. This car is a joy to drive in just about any conditions. If you like lots of hard cornering, you may want to replace the stock tires with a set of Toyo Proxes. Stock tires are fine for just about everything else.
May 13, 2010Preformance - Good power, smooth reving v6, good highway mileage. Handles ok, could be lowered. Build quality - typical VW, good fit & finish, minimal rattles & squeaks, good solid car. Appearance - A little bland, not distinguishable from other Jetta's. Cost of ownership - oil filter $25, 6l oil synthetic $50. Have reached 38mpg highway, around 28-30 city. Receitenly replaced coil packs and plugs at $360 Fun factor - 8/10 love the sound of the vr6 reving. Overall- Good car to own short term 2-3 yrs. Small interiour, easy to out grow.
January 12, 2009Best car i ever owned!!! Fantastic performance, great power from its 2.8l VR6 approx 200bhp, love the shifting of the 6 speed manual transmission. Great accelleration and breaking for being a sport sedan under 3 liters, wonderfully balanced turns and handles very well. Easy to modify mechanically and asthetically all parts are readily available through the shops and online. Putting the magnaflo exhaust on the VR6 is easily one of the best descisions i have ever made. Hard to modify electrically though and a bitch to put a remote starter in, i wouldnt recommend a remote start for any VW thats for sure. I love the look, business and power at the same time. looks especially well when you add the 2004 GLI factory body kit. The interior is stylish too, all leather with heated seats and a beautifully moulded dashboard. All the buttons are the right size and shape to fit in with the rest of the car's style. The build quality is fantastic, rattling is almost not an issue there are some minor rattles that can be heard driving on Edmnontons, smooth as a bed of nails, roads. This car's factory sound deadening is extreemly meticulous. Since owning it i have needed minor repairs, but i know that these cars in general suffer from various electrical related issues when they get older. Its not a cheep car to fill up though only taking premium gasoline with 91 octane minimum. Repairs are more expensive because the parts are built propperly. (not in the USA or China) Thats why finding a good mechanic with a fair price is extreemly important! Autobahn Performance in Edmonton is the place i go to. The car is a joy to drive a absolutely love taking it on the roads and playing arround with it. It has great response and just makes you want to drive it harder.. then you remember how much you paid for it and decide that you're driving it hard enough.
August 19, 2008I absolutely love my car! It's a 6 speed so it's fun to drive. It's so cute! It's very sporty looking. It's quick and handles great! So good on gas. Very reliable! I haven't had any major problems with it. Definitely a keeper!
September 12, 2009I love my car because i feel its unique. you can do alot with it performance wise and styling wise if you have the cash... I like it becasue it rides really well and its been really reliable for the way i drive it and i used to beat on it. its rather suprising on how quick it is for some people as well. all in all i think its been the best jetta so far and if money wasnt an option i could do some fun stuff with it without overdoing the tuning on it like some stupid honda civic.
October 3, 2008The Volkswagen Jetta GLI is a great made vehicle with more power than the 1.8T its the fastest model of Jetta. It comes standard with 17" rims a sunroof and a six-speed manual transmission. The Jetta comes standard with 4 anti lock disc brakes and a 2.8 liter VR6. The vehicle takes premium for the performance engine. The back seats are usable enough to fit two full sized adults in the back. Which is rare to come by in the sport compact sedan class. All in all the Volkswagen Jetta GLI has a little bit of everything, including a Monsoon stereo.
July 1, 2008It is a sleeper. The car does not have too much to show that is is a six speed v6. Very peppy acceleration. It is a fun day to day car with a little sport to it: sport rims, sport seats, sun roof, exhaust tips etc.
February 19, 2008It's quick, has six speeds, amazing stock suspension, Monsoon audio, sunroof/moonroof, heated leather and mirrors, indigo dash lights. Only thing I don't like is how CarMax gave it to me broken, and then pretended to fix it. I haven't driven it in weeks. Also, parts are expensive.
June 21, 2008I love this car. It is my first car and with the power and 6 speed transmission with the sporty handling of the gli trim i could not have asked for better vehicle. I would recommend this car to any young driver looking for cheap fun and reliability. this car also has some nice cheap mods you could do if you wanted.
August 6, 2014fun to drive, look at, and listen to.
February 16, 2008
