Refreshed 2025 Volkswagen Jetta and Jetta GLI Debut With Subtle Changes, Start at $21,995

As promised when the company announced its summer updates for the 2025 model year, the upgraded Volkswagen Jetta sedan and its sporty Jetta GLI counterpart have been officially presented with a subtle facelift, additional refinements, and "better value."

The Jetta nameplate debuted back in 1980, and more than four decades later, it's still going strong in America – unlike the classic Golf, which isn't around anymore aside from the sporty Golf GTI and performance Golf R versions, or the iconic Passat, which has been dropped in favor of the stylish Arteon alternative or the upcoming all-electric ID. 7 that's coming to dealers later this year.

Back to the compact sedan, Volkswagen's best-selling passenger car in North America, it is refreshed for the 2025 model year with additional exterior details, new interior features, and technology, plus a higher than 2024MY starting price of $21,995. However, since it lost the manual transmission, this MSRP is actually better than the outgoing 2024 automatic transmission model. The exteriors of the Jetta sedan and Jetta GLI come with modified upper and lower grilles, refreshed LED headlights, plus an optional light bar starting with the Sport trim.

At the back, there's a new trunk lid with a standard light bar stretching between the taillights, and new alloy wheels come with 17-inch or 18-inch designs for the SE and SEL plus GLI, respectively. There's also an optional black-wheel package offered on SE and GLI.  Last but not least, Volkswagen didn't forget to add a couple of new exterior colors: Monterey Blue Pearl and Monument Gray.

Moving inside, Volkswagen equipped the 2025 Jetta and Jetta GLI with a reworked dashboard, a standard 8-inch floating touchscreen infotainment system plus standard Climatronic Touch automatic climate control, and new upholstery options for the different trims – the new, perforated, two-tone Microcloud leatherette in Grey/Titan Black or Seawall Blue/Storm Grey for SE, Rhombus cloth seats in either Titan Black or Storm Grey for Jetta S, embossed molekular cloth seats in Titan Black for Jetta Sport, and perforated Vienna leather in Grey/Titan Black or a new Brown/Titan Black for SEL.

Of course, the Jetta GLI also gets something fresh – the new perforated Vienna leather in Grey/Red or  Crust/Titan Black and featuring red contrast stitching plus a Magnum matte atmosphere for the cabin trim. However, there are no changes under the hood – the standard 2025 Jetta remains equipped with the 1.5-liter, 158-hp turbocharged inline four-cylinder mill now matched with a standard eight-speed automatic transmission. As for the Jetta GLI, it gets the same 2.0-liter EA888 engine packing 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, which the customer can select with a six-speed manual transmission or the company's iconic seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

The sporty version, labeled as the "GTI with a trunk," also has beefier brakes, VAQ electronically-controlled torque-sensing limited-slip differential, and an XDS electronic differential lock, plus the DCC adaptive damping system, as well as a bespoke sports exhaust system. Both models will arrive at nationwide Volkswagen dealerships by the end of the third quarter of this year.