Christian Wardlaw’s Opinion of the 2006 Volkswagen Jetta GLI’s Design:
The 2006 Volkswagen Jetta GLI isn’t going to win any beauty awards, even with these gorgeous 18-inch wheels. After driving the car for a few days, I sent a friend an email: “I’m in love again, and it’s funny – she’s kinda ugly.” Of course, this friend, knowing that I’ve finally found the one woman who makes my knees go weak, instantly called to find out what was up. When I explained that I was talking about the Jetta GLI, he said: “Oh, the car that looks like J Lo with an overbite?” My reply: “Well, you can’t see what’s outside from the inside.”

Inside, the Jetta would put you in a somber mood were it not so damn fun to drive. All that breaks the darkness is a few strips of real aluminum trim and some polished metal accents here and there. Black leather seats. Black headliner. Black dashboard. Black door panels. Black carpet. Hope you like seeing every speck of dust, lint, and dirt inside your ride. At the very least, I’d stick a gray headliner and pillar covers in this thing.

As for the control layout, it’s perfect. Everything is right where you expect to find it, is clearly labeled, and operates intuitively. Even the trip computer controls on the steering wheel take just a few seconds of acclimation. And VW has equipped with Jetta with lots of storage spots, including handy bottle holders molded into the front door panels that securely held a one-liter vessel of Aquafina during my most spirited driving stints.

Liz Kim’s Opinion of the 2006 Volkswagen Jetta GLI’s Design:
The 2006 Volkswagen Jetta has lost, to its detriment, its once sleek yet muscular demeanor, with sheetmetal tautly and elegantly stretched over its framework. In its place are a seemingly flabby skin and a fascia with features of cartoonish proportions. Still, the brightwork around the exaggerated grille and the front and side sills go a long way toward giving the Corolla…er, Jetta, a more athletic appearance, and the optional 18-inch sport wheels delivers a good measure of gravitas. Add the GLI model’s blacked-out trim and bigger wheels, and the new Jetta is about as appealing as it’s gonna get. Nevertheless, I haven’t been particularly pleased with the design direction that VW has been pursuing as of late; hopefully they can find the same style mojo that led to the sales spurt of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Thom Blackett’s Opinion of the 2006 Volkswagen Jetta GLI’s Design:
Volkswagen uses the pre-tuned, subtle design approach in its marketing of the Jetta GLI’s sibling, the GTI. It’s meant to be the antithesis of those overdone, hopped-up import econoboxes that every street racer seems insistent about coveting. With the GTI, as well as the GLI, VW is more about go and less about an obnoxious show. Thankfully absent are the garish and useless (unless you consider lessening visibility useful) rear wings, the nonfunctional scoops, an exhaust note that’ll wake the dead, wheels that are ridiculously large, and the various assortment of neon lights and clear tail lamps. Instead, buyers of the 2006 VW Jetta GLI get a sophisticated sedan, one that the CEO could be seen in, with aggressive wheels, just enough tweaking to the fascias, and a honeycomb, blackened grille that adds some sport to the overall package.

Mandy Ison’s Opinion of the 2006 Volkswagen Jetta GLI’s Design:
What didn’t I love about its looks? Walking around the 2006 Volkswagen Jetta GLI, the car has a shortened front end with a bubble-like appearance, faintly reminiscent of hybrids I’ve seen on the road. Overall, I thought the car was CUTE, and I mean that in a girl way, which translates to “Good Looking!” After flipping open the trunk, I was delighted to discover a very spacious cargo area with a 12-volt plug as well as a flip-down two-sided grocery hook. Ah, my inner gizmo fiend was happy.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, the dashboard is situated high, as is the steering wheel, which obstructed my view out just a tad, but not enough to bother me. The steering wheel has comfortably thick grips, but the gas and oil pressure gauges were hidden behind them just below my line of sight. Maybe if I had jacked up the seat, this would have resolved the problem. One of the most noticeable features is the large, rectangular readout in the center of the instrument panel. At a glance, you can ascertain the time, fuel economy, odometer, trip meter, outside temperature, what doors are open, and more. Nice! What I really would have loved is to see a digital display of miles per hour as part of the readout.

Strangely enough, or maybe this is common to imported cars, the Jetta is yet another car I’ve driven recently where the “AC Off” button turns off the AC, but the little green light turns on. So, you depress the button, the light comes on, and the AC turns off. A bit of counterintuitive design that is just plain strange to me. After figuring this out, the vents for the air are placed at the top of the dashboard, so I had to point the vanes as far down and to the left as they would go to hit me with some air, at which point the vents were almost closed. That was a minor annoyance that didn’t prevent me from ooohing and aaahing over the two 12-volt plug-ins by the driver’s seat, the sunglasses holder in the ceiling, and the pop-out cupholders in the center stack.