Ive fallen in love with the refreshed Arteon. I think I'm going to go the luxury over performance direction this time. I have a terrible habit of buying a new car every 2 years. It'll be my 6th new VW! I've clearly got a problem.
When I sold my 2017 GTI for the 2019 GLI I wrote up a review on the differences on this forum. The thing I mentioned that still rings true to me 2 years later; They are more similar than different. When you have the steering wheel in your hands, they feel almost exactly the same. I have done a fair amount of road course racing in both. You can feel the longer wheel base of the GLI but its not a substantial difference. Maybe on an autocross it might be more noticeable but the track I race on is a big, fast track and it just doesn't matter. I did add a stiffer rear sway bar to the GLI and that really made it feel good. I'm sure a RSB on the GTI is a killer mod too, but it made the GLI drive better for sure. I highly recommend it. But the reality of the difference is this: tires make a bigger difference in how the car drives than the difference between the GTI and the GLI. Once I had sticky rubber and a stiffer rear sway bar on the GLI is handled really well. The other consideration I had was a strong desire to tune it so I got a DSG this time, while my old GTI was a 6 speed.
I got the GLI as the backseat space is important to me too. Kids in car seats take up a lot of room. The GLI backseat has something like 4 or 5 more inches of legroom and when you are dealing with car seats, every inch counts.
The interior is definitely cheaper feeling than the GTI. I know that's been covered here thoroughly but its a real difference. But again, the GLI is cheaper to buy, so I accepted the cheapness.
With a stage 2 tune, DSG, big intercooler, sticky tires, good brakes and RSB, the GLI can eat a race track alive. I have been super happy with how it does at the track. Here's my proof:
- Pikes Peak Intl Raceway
- High Plains Raceway