Is the 2026 Volkswagen Jetta GLI the last great affordable sports sedan? On this week's episode, we debate whether Volkswagen's final manual-transmission sedan is destined to become a future classic—or if the DSG automatic is actually the better buy. We break down the GLI's turbocharged performance, handling, ride comfort, practicality, and why it may be one of the best cars left to learn stick shift. Plus, we answer audience questions about the best used manual cars for beginners and whether driving a stick can actually make teen drivers safer.
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SHOW NOTES
-----------------------------------
0:00 - Intro
00:15 2026 Volkswagen Jetta GLI
02:01 Driving Experience
07:29 Performance, Handling, and Ride Quality
16:39 Comfort, Seats, and Interior Features
22:13 Manual vs. DSG Transmission Debate
26:50 Practicality and Interior Drawbacks
30:00 Would We Buy the Jetta GLI?
33:29 Questions #1: Where did Mike Quincy buy his classes?
36:25 Question #2: What is the best used manual transmission cars for teen drivers
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Test Results: Volkswagen Jetta
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/volkswagen/jetta/2026/overview/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
Who Makes the Most Reliable New Cars?
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/who-makes-the-most-reliable-cars-a7824554938/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
How Car Brands Stack Up on Repair Costs
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-maintenance/the-cost-of-car-ownership-a1854979198/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
Which Brands Make the Best Cars?
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/cars-driving/which-car-brands-make-the-best-vehicles-a6159221985/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
Best used cars under $20,000 for teens
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/teen-driving/best-cars-for-teens-a2115540753/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
Car Distractions: How to Stay Focused While Driving
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-safety/car-distractions-how-to-stay-focused-while-driving-a1144545692/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
00:00:16
Hi and welcome back.
00:00:17
I'm Mike Quincey.
00:00:17
I'm Ryan Koski and I'm Mike Monticello.
00:00:20
So we have a very special podcast today,
which I say all the time
00:00:24
because they're all special.
00:00:25
But today we're actually going
to be talking about a vehicle
00:00:29
that is somewhat unusual.
00:00:30
And that is the Volkswagen Jetta Gli.
00:00:32
And on the surface you think, well, it's
just a Jetta.
00:00:35
No, actually
this is a manual transmission.
00:00:39
Jetta, the last of its kind.
00:00:41
It is going away after the 2026
model year.
00:00:45
And, thanks to Dave,
Abrams, who allows us to dive
00:00:50
deep into this kind of discussion
about a kind of an obscure car,
00:00:54
as we did with the Mazda miata,
the manual transmission Miata.
00:00:57
We had a whole podcast on that.
Look it up on YouTube.
00:01:00
It was super fun.
00:01:01
And he was like,
00:01:02
would it be fun if you took this Jetta Gli
and talked about it like the Miata?
00:01:05
So that's what we're doing today.
You know what?
00:01:07
That is a spot on Dave
Abrams impersonation is spot on.
00:01:12
Seriously?
00:01:12
I'm afraid to look over.
00:01:13
And and, you know, listen, the chili
has always been in the shadow of the GTI.
00:01:18
You have to admit that, right? Yeah.
00:01:20
But still, credit Volkswagen, at least for
attempting to to put out a sports sedan.
00:01:25
It really is a dying breed.
00:01:26
And we borrowed a 2026
00:01:29
Gli autobahn from Volkswagen
with the six speed manual transmission.
00:01:33
It was equipped with a very handsome
monument, gray paint
00:01:36
and the black package, which includes
black 18 inch wheels and black side
00:01:40
mirror caps.
00:01:41
And it's stickers at $36.
00:01:46
And look good. Yeah,
that's a lot of fun.
00:01:49
It is, it is,
it is a lot of car for the money.
00:01:52
And according to my notes,
I just see free form discussion.
00:01:56
Hilarity ensues.
00:01:57
So let's just kind of jump into it.
00:01:59
Let's talk about this, this this gli.
00:02:02
And I'm just going to toss it out there.
00:02:04
Who wants to start?
00:02:05
Well, where do we start with the fact
that, like, this is what
00:02:08
the one of the only one
of a few manuals left that you can buy?
00:02:12
I mean, that's
that's that in any shape or form?
00:02:16
Yeah.
00:02:16
I mean, what that Miata was manual.
That's a little different.
00:02:19
This is an actual sedan, right?
00:02:21
This is had a little more utility to it
than a miata, for sure.
00:02:24
It's a great manual, I thought.
00:02:26
I mean, it's shifted quite well.
00:02:27
Yeah, I think easy, easy to drive.
00:02:29
You know, you could teach someone
how to drive a manual on this manual.
00:02:33
I think it's exactly what I put in the log
book notes.
00:02:36
And I just want to make it clear
the manual is going away.
00:02:39
The Gli is not correct.
00:02:41
So there's going to be the seven speed
DSG, which is, direct shift gearbox.
00:02:47
Right.
00:02:47
Which is basically what they call
their dual clutch transmission.
00:02:49
But I mean, I think the powertrain
is fantastic in this thing.
00:02:53
I mean, it's basically, you know,
a GTI with, you know, in a sedan form.
00:02:58
And to be note,
00:02:59
the GTI is not available with the manual
anyway, which is so bizarre.
00:03:02
So, yeah, let's kick that in backwards.
00:03:04
I mean, it's the like you said, Ryan.
00:03:06
It's so easy to use.
00:03:08
The clutch take
the clutch is nice and light.
00:03:11
The take up is very natural.
00:03:12
Like, it's intuitive to find out, you
know, where when it's, you know, engaging.
00:03:17
And the gearbox is nice and light.
00:03:20
It's precise through.
00:03:21
If there's if there's one criticism, it's
it's the throws are maybe a little long,
00:03:25
but honestly, you know, if you miss a gear
with this thing, it's you.
00:03:29
It's not the gearbox. It's
just so light and easy to use.
00:03:32
And because the clutch is so easy to use,
you can basically let out the clutch
00:03:36
without giving given hardly
any gas whatsoever.
00:03:38
Which is why it would be so great to teach
someone who's never driven a manual.
00:03:42
This would be, yeah, it works for that.
00:03:43
It's for giving a sense
that that throw is long.
00:03:45
So like, as you, you know, you're letting
out the clutch and RPM start to go down.
00:03:49
Like there's still time to like
just touch the throttle and not right.
00:03:53
And this tiny little. Yeah.
00:03:54
And it gives you a lot of information
about what where the clutch is at
00:03:58
and in terms of engagement
so that you can install it,
00:04:00
which makes it easy
for someone to learn how to drive.
00:04:02
Right.
00:04:03
So, so let's, let's, let's dive into
the easy to, to learn how to drive sync.
00:04:06
So one of the biggest fears
about learning on a manual
00:04:09
is having to start
when you're kind of facing uphill.
00:04:12
So so you got your foot on the brake,
00:04:14
you've got your foot in the clutch
and the light turns green
00:04:16
and you've got to let off the brake
00:04:18
and then ease off the clutch and
and roll on the throttle.
00:04:23
Now what the what the Gli has in
the manual transmission is a heel holder.
00:04:27
Yeah. And
00:04:27
can you guys just describe to the audience
what what does a heel holder do.
00:04:31
Well it does exactly what you said.
00:04:32
It holds you on the hill
while you take your foot off the brake.
00:04:35
It'll hold you there for a small amount
of time and it will let go eventually.
00:04:39
But that allows you to just get the clutch
00:04:41
almost engaged
in a little bit throttle going.
00:04:43
And then as you apply that,
transition, it'll,
00:04:47
you know, just take off from there
without rolling backward at all.
00:04:49
However, I find that
sometimes that doesn't help you.
00:04:53
You need to learn with that rollback.
00:04:55
I think that really gives you
that feel of like
00:04:57
where you're supposed to be engaging
and how much you need more,
00:05:00
because now you're rolling backward down
a hill a little bit
00:05:01
and then you're not really a lot,
00:05:02
but your your momentum start to go
the opposite way, right.
00:05:05
So it's just hold you there for a moment.
00:05:07
While you can make that transition,
a lot of times you can turn that off.
00:05:11
Which it's it's all similar in that way.
00:05:14
It's also, yeah.
00:05:16
Actually, I want to talk about the way
00:05:17
you learned to cycle,
because that's how we all learn.
00:05:19
Well, but just so it's
can be a little it's helpful,
00:05:23
but it can also be odd when it's
00:05:24
when you're trying to get it to release
because it releases kind of a bra.
00:05:28
Some cars don't do it well.
00:05:29
And as you go forward, you need
you want it to be gone.
00:05:31
And it it's not quite like this one
does it a little bit.
00:05:34
I didn't find it.
I know some people here didn't like it.
00:05:36
I didn't find it a big deal,
but it can be a little bit annoying.
00:05:39
But I think what you were alluding to was
back in the day, because we're all over,
00:05:43
you would use your emergency brake
to do that,
00:05:45
so you'd put your emergency brake on
and then as you're getting,
00:05:48
you know, as you're about to get going,
you start giving it some gas
00:05:51
and you start, letting the clutch out
and then, you know,
00:05:55
then you kind of do everything at once
and let the let the emergency brake.
00:05:58
But you wouldn't always do that.
00:05:59
No, I'm saying
if you're on a really steep hill, right,
00:06:01
you might need some people
00:06:02
that learn how to drive with the manual
just like that, but learn.
00:06:04
And so that's what I'm trying to learn.
Yeah.
00:06:05
But eventually, I mean, you,
00:06:07
once you get good at driving a manual,
you should drive them all the time.
00:06:09
We don't do that anymore.
00:06:09
So there's a little bit of a little bit
of rust every time you go out there.
00:06:12
Right.
00:06:12
But yeah, to learn I guess back down was
or we just smoked a clutch.
00:06:17
You know what?
You're not to learn through.
00:06:19
Yeah. Fixing the clutch up.
00:06:21
So funny side story
with the manual on hills.
00:06:23
When when I first started dating my wife,
we flew out to San Francisco
00:06:27
and we rented a miata.
00:06:28
And you could rent me out of back
in the 90s with a manual.
00:06:32
And I was like,
we're going to drive the Miata,
00:06:34
the hills of San Francisco,
with this manual transmission.
00:06:37
And we both took turns with it, and
we both had fun and didn't stall at once.
00:06:41
So, so learning
how to drive in the steep hills,
00:06:44
I wasn't learning
how to drive a manual at that point,
00:06:46
but but yeah,
driving a manual in San Francisco.
00:06:48
I think that's really the badge of honor
that that people should be aspiring to.
00:06:53
Yeah. No, you're right, Mike,
some people did that.
00:06:55
We did that.
00:06:56
Drove the car here at a Consumer Reports
test track.
00:06:59
Did have some issues with the hill
holder with the Gli.
00:07:01
Like it.
00:07:02
Held onto it too long.
00:07:03
You know,
I didn't think it was a big deal. Yeah.
00:07:05
And it goes away pretty quick.
00:07:07
And for all the miles that I drove it,
it never.
00:07:09
And I didn't even know it was there.
00:07:11
I would because it never engaged
when I was when I was driving the car.
00:07:14
It takes a certain amount of a hill,
you know, certain steepness of a hill for,
00:07:17
to execute.
00:07:18
But but, but so there are some members
of the talking cars audience that
00:07:24
maybe they were interested
in in experiencing a manual transmission.
00:07:29
And so this is now kind of,
you know, you know, fodder for, for them,
00:07:32
you know, going forward with it.
00:07:33
But because this, this guy, it
00:07:36
did kind of elicit
a lot of discussion among us.
00:07:40
I know that I spent about, a long weekend
driving this car, but
00:07:44
over 600 miles of it, driving through the
the hills of, of Vermont.
00:07:47
And I really found
00:07:48
that the handling in particular
00:07:49
was really spot on for a front wheel
drive car, that the steering
00:07:53
was not quite telepathic,
but there was good weight to it.
00:07:56
There's a lot of grip.
00:07:58
There was really good communication.
00:08:00
I found it very satisfying from,
from a handling perspective.
00:08:04
Agree with you on the power.
00:08:05
This two liter turbo has great
power, has a big punch to it.
00:08:09
So much so that I was, on one of those,
backcountry Vermont roads.
00:08:13
And I went out to pass somebody
in a passing zone.
00:08:16
I downshift it, and I nailed it,
and I felt some torque steer.
00:08:20
Yeah.
00:08:20
A little talks to me that, you know, like,
like bad, like, a lot of times
00:08:23
people talk about torque steer, like,
from a standing start where the where
00:08:27
the wheels are spinning and the front end
is going all over the place.
00:08:29
So I'm rolling down a back road in Vermont
and I pass somebody
00:08:33
and and I just felt the car kind of move
a little bit side to side, you know,
00:08:37
and I was like,
oh, that's I'll just pay attention here.
00:08:39
It wasn't quite a pucker up moment,
but it wasn't exactly any fun either.
00:08:44
Well, that's why we call it
wrong wheel drive right there. So
00:08:49
it yeah.
00:08:49
So it is front wheel drive.
00:08:51
You are going to get
a little bit of torque steer.
00:08:52
I really didn't think it was that bad
considering it has 258
00:08:55
pound feet of torque.
I didn't think it was that bad.
00:08:57
It it's pretty good at managing it,
all things considered.
00:09:01
But I do agree
that the handling is really good.
00:09:03
And so it comes standard
with adaptive suspension. Right.
00:09:06
Which means you can
you can change the mode.
00:09:08
You can change you can go from say normal
the normal mode
00:09:12
that it's in to a sport mode
which firms everything up,
00:09:15
and it makes the handling even sharper
because now there's going to be less
00:09:18
body roll.
00:09:19
And I mean,
you can really flog it on a back road and,
00:09:25
go really hard
with it and feel very much in control,
00:09:28
even though it's front wheel drive
00:09:30
and just have like a lot of fun
with and its limits are quite high.
00:09:33
It's honestly impressive.
00:09:34
Yeah, it had a lot of grip for sure.
00:09:36
I I'll be honest,
I was a little underwhelmed
00:09:40
because I think I got into it
expecting, you know, we don't get cars.
00:09:43
We don't really have cars like that
that often anymore that are,
00:09:46
you know, manual that are supposed to be
like the sporty thing.
00:09:48
Right? To me
it was it was good, very good.
00:09:50
But the manual made it fun for me.
00:09:53
The handling was good,
but it was also like, we have a civic.
00:09:56
I, you know, the hybrid sport.
00:09:58
The handles really well. Yeah.
00:10:00
Like really. Well it doesn't have that
powertrain though.
00:10:02
So that's for me
that was like the disconnect.
00:10:04
The other thing that I didn't necessarily
love and I don't maybe
00:10:07
I haven't sat in a jet in a while
was a seating position.
00:10:10
I felt very like upright
which doesn't feel sporty to me.
00:10:13
It just and not me. I don't know, it's
just the way I was sitting in the car.
00:10:15
But other than that,
I mean, yeah, it's fantastic.
00:10:18
You know what's funny is I worried
sometimes when we get a manual
00:10:21
and because it is so rare,
that's what I made it.
00:10:23
But I'm like,
maybe my judgment is clouded.
00:10:25
That's what I'm saying.
00:10:26
I love driving manual so much
that maybe I'm loving this thing.
00:10:29
But I do think this is a really,
really good car.
00:10:32
I totally understand
what you're saying about that.
00:10:35
Maybe the handling wasn't quite spot
on for you, but I also want to say
00:10:39
another thing sort of with still kind of
keep an eye on the powertrain front.
00:10:42
First of all, the engine's really good.
00:10:44
Like we talked great power.
00:10:45
It's tractable,
which means, you know, like, you know,
00:10:48
if you hit the gas at, say, 2500 rpm,
it has good power from there on up.
00:10:52
And again, that the transmission
that the gearbox is so fond of,
00:10:56
you row through the gears
nice and precise.
00:10:58
And it's like, you know, slick
00:11:00
and you can neck through the gears,
as we say, without a problem.
00:11:04
And but also part of driving a manual for
some people is heel and toe downshifting.
00:11:09
Right.
00:11:09
And so it's important
that the pedals are spaced correctly
00:11:12
so that you can have part of your right
foot on the brake and be able to blip
00:11:16
the throttle, you know, to, to match
revs, to make the downshifts smoother.
00:11:20
And I thought the pedals were spaced
really nicely here for that.
00:11:23
And I don't want to pick on your Miata
because I know you had a whole Love
00:11:26
Fest podcast with the Miata,
but remember we borrowed that Miata.
00:11:30
That was actually one of the things
that really was a bummer about that
00:11:33
is you have to stab that gas pedal
so hard in that Miata
00:11:36
to get the throttle to blip
because of the angles or the up the back.
00:11:39
And there's just
something about the tuning. Oh, that's it.
00:11:42
You have to basically florid almost,
00:11:44
which is really hard to do
when you're using half your foot.
00:11:46
This one flips super nicely.
00:11:48
And so I just was kind of impressed
with how good that is.
00:11:51
That said, the brakes
kind of typical for Volkswagen and Audi.
00:11:56
They're a little touchy.
00:11:57
So if you're kind of just I like to heel
until all the time, anytime I'm coming,
00:12:01
I'm downshift
and I'm going to heel toe and rev match.
00:12:04
And so
but if you're just mildly on the brakes,
00:12:07
you have to be just a little more careful
because you can end up
00:12:10
kind of stabbing the brakes
a little too hard. Yeah.
00:12:12
Because there's not there sensitive up
top, but in general really good.
00:12:15
But but according to the to the car's
logbook, not everybody was happy
00:12:18
with the with the, with the foot,
space for the pedals.
00:12:22
Well, you know wrong.
00:12:23
Well yeah, I mean wrong.
00:12:25
And also, let's also keep
a little bit of perspective here.
00:12:28
I know how to heel toe.
00:12:29
I almost never do it anymore. Why?
00:12:32
Because it's, it's get into it.
00:12:34
But it just seems like you're
a therapist about that.
00:12:36
It just seems like, not childish, but
00:12:39
it's like going through this racy motion
every time you drive a manual.
00:12:42
Like, I just.
00:12:43
I can't say I do it on the street
all the time, but.
00:12:46
But I will say, I will say no. It's fun.
00:12:48
It's the limited fun,
but it's sort of unnecessary.
00:12:50
No it's not you're
00:12:51
you're you're making a smoother downshift
and a quicker downshift,
00:12:54
but you're doing lap times in a road
that you don't.
00:12:58
Isn't one of your main goals
as being a professional driver,
00:13:01
to be as smooth and precise
as you possibly can at all times, right?
00:13:05
But I'm not always under the spotlight.
00:13:06
I don't really think about it that much.
00:13:08
Sometimes I just kind of downshift
00:13:09
casually approaching a corner,
and I don't think about the matching.
00:13:13
I will allow these rare occasions.
00:13:15
I'm gonna interrupt, okay.
00:13:16
With these rare occasions
that we have manuals now.
00:13:18
Now it's like,
all right, we're going to do this
00:13:19
because like we went to next,
we're gonna drop a manual.
00:13:22
Sadly, I don't know.
00:13:23
We know it's true.
00:13:24
So you're going to take
full advantage of the. Well yeah. Yeah.
00:13:26
Use that beautiful mechanical device
so that we don't get to these.
00:13:29
Not just heel and toe
downshifting. He's double clutch him.
00:13:34
Yeah I had no I actually don't heel
until I just left foot wide enough.
00:13:38
I just use half of my go big.
00:13:40
Well so it's called heel toe.
00:13:41
But I mean honestly
00:13:43
that's kind of an old school term,
when the pedals really weren't very well.
00:13:47
And these days it's really more,
00:13:49
half your half, your half
the ball of your foot is on the brake.
00:13:53
Half the ball of your foot is.
00:13:54
So maybe that's called heel and telling,
but really it's well,
00:13:57
I'm gonna come up with a new.
00:13:58
So you tell the talking cars audience.
00:14:01
Yeah. Google it. Yeah.
00:14:02
And you'll get a better explanation
that we're getting to it in
00:14:05
just a quick way
to go around a racing circuit.
00:14:08
It's actually in normal like day to day
driving to me.
00:14:11
I think it's kind of if you watch,
but it's like you are making it down.
00:14:15
You're making for a smoother
and quicker downshift.
00:14:18
So yeah, because otherwise if you don't,
if you don't put the throttle Quinn's,
00:14:21
then you have to kind of gently
let the clutch out here.
00:14:23
You don't have to gently let the clutch
out at all and it's going to be smoother,
00:14:26
am I right?
00:14:27
So I'm I'm not saying you're wrong,
but is it necessary?
00:14:29
It's not necessary.
00:14:30
It's not a lot.
00:14:32
It's a it's like manuals.
00:14:34
It's a lot of driving a manual.
00:14:35
It's not a you have the auto.
00:14:37
I don't think so.
00:14:38
It's the Monticello
method of driving on the street.
00:14:42
Yeah.
00:14:42
But,
along the lines of the engine. Yeah.
00:14:46
I was seeing like 36 to 38
00:14:47
miles per gallon in all of my driving,
which is really terrific.
00:14:52
Well, you can. Yeah,
because you can drive it very gently.
00:14:54
I mean, you're
control of shifting is so awesome.
00:14:57
I mean, as in a losing range,
it does not require premium fuel.
00:15:01
So again, there's
there's so many positives about this car.
00:15:05
Let's, let's let's touch on the ride.
00:15:07
So it is kind of a sports sedan.
00:15:09
What did you think of the ride.
00:15:10
It's firm
I mean and it should be minimal.
00:15:13
Body roll body control is pretty good
but it's firm on impacts.
00:15:16
It's got low profile
18 inch wheels and tires.
00:15:18
So it's going to be firm.
00:15:20
And if you are expecting something else
I don't know what to tell you, but
00:15:23
but I will say but again
with not the standard adaptive suspension,
00:15:26
you have the best of both worlds, right?
00:15:28
Because yes, even in normal mode,
it's still firm.
00:15:31
No question about that. Ryan,
you're 100% right.
00:15:32
There's there's going to be times where
some hard hits are going to come through.
00:15:35
Right? It's just the way it is.
00:15:37
But I think most of the time when you're,
you know, like
00:15:40
I wouldn't drive it in sport mode,
the majority of the time,
00:15:43
even though it does make
for a slightly different engine note.
00:15:47
And again,
which I think is piped in anyway, probably
00:15:50
slightly fake, but,
and it firms up the suspension.
00:15:53
My normal trip to a little bit. Right.
00:15:55
Was that does it
I thought it ended up the steering wheel.
00:15:57
I think it does. Yeah.
I think it affected everybody.
00:16:00
Yeah. In normal driving
I would drive it in normal mode.
00:16:02
If I knew I was about to hit a good road,
then I'm going to switch it over to sport
00:16:05
because sport mode is is definitely too
firm for me for regular driving.
00:16:09
It does.
00:16:09
It really does firm it up quite a bit,
but normal mode is quite good.
00:16:13
It's got that German tautness
that we always talk about. Right.
00:16:16
So I mean 100% livable.
00:16:18
Is it on the firm side? 100. Absolutely.
00:16:20
But I did exactly that in my time
with this GLE.
00:16:23
I was
I was flipping between modes all the time.
00:16:26
Sometimes I'd go in sport,
sometimes I just went into comfort.
00:16:28
Sometimes I went in a normal
I like having the option,
00:16:31
you know,
because sometimes you're in the mood
00:16:33
to just kind of chill and other times,
and it's easy to do at that button
00:16:36
on the console.
They also made enough of a difference.
00:16:39
It wasn't gimmicky exactly.
00:16:40
Sometimes they're like gimmicky.
I don't even bother. Right.
00:16:42
This these made enough of a change
to warrant changing it.
00:16:45
Right.
00:16:46
And you brought up you brought up noise.
00:16:48
I on the side of
I kind of wished it was a little sportier.
00:16:53
I kind of wish that there was a the sound.
00:16:55
Yeah, I wish there was a little bit
more exhaust bark, but.
00:16:58
But if you're,
00:16:59
you know, using this as a normal car,
you're going on road trips or whatever.
00:17:03
It's not it.
00:17:05
I wouldn't call it a quiet car,
but but in my assessment of the GLE,
00:17:09
I'm putting it in context of the Acura
Integra and the Honda Civic Si,
00:17:14
which are sort of a sporty sedans.
00:17:15
You can get manual transmissions. Yes.
00:17:17
So so I'm looking at those three
all at the same time.
00:17:21
And I in my assessment, I think
the guy's quieter than the Honda Accord.
00:17:25
Yeah. And I think that's been typical
I mean right.
00:17:27
But and I think you're right though
like I would have liked
00:17:31
if you're going to give it a sport mode
and you're going to make it
00:17:33
have a slightly different note,
why not be a little more aggressive.
00:17:36
Yeah. You know, you know what I mean.
00:17:38
Like they could have gone
a little more fun with it.
00:17:40
I mean Ryan, I think you can
you can relate to this years ago,
00:17:42
we borrowed, a Volkswagen R 32, you know,
and that was a V6,
00:17:47
the narrow angle V6 You know,
that thing is something that sucker barked.
00:17:51
Yeah, that one that once crackle popped,
it was all I had.
00:17:55
A raspy, raspy like, angry
note to it at times first.
00:17:59
Oh, you know, a regular street legal road
going from the factory
00:18:02
and made enough noise.
00:18:03
Not yet.
00:18:03
Not a modified exhaust,
but I thought that was magical.
00:18:07
Yeah, and I know it's
00:18:08
probably asking too much for the for the
the Jetta Gli to to to do that.
00:18:13
But but certainly Volkswagen
knows how to spice it up.
00:18:16
Those were the good old days, you know.
00:18:19
And you mentioned you mentioned the seat
in the driving position.
00:18:22
Let's talk about the seat, because not
everybody, that drove this car loved it.
00:18:26
Well, yeah.
00:18:27
I mean, listen, that's
00:18:28
no matter what car you drive,
we we test your seat comfort zone.
00:18:32
We're all different. Shaped. Yeah.
00:18:33
Highly. So.
00:18:34
Yeah. Yeah, it's it's very right.
00:18:36
You know, it depends on your body type
and all that stuff.
00:18:39
So, I thought they fit me right,
you know, decent bolstering,
00:18:43
keep you in place. What you want.
Not like the.
00:18:45
I mean, I remember the Gli, like,
going back several generations of it.
00:18:48
Like they had these big Recaro
with a bolsters, like, I mean, like,
00:18:52
almost annoying. Painful. Yeah.
00:18:54
You know, and like,
I was probably a little leaner then
00:18:57
and they still still dug in to me,
you know, and like, so if you're,
00:19:00
you know, you have a more broad torso
or wider legs like those cars were tough.
00:19:04
This fits
00:19:05
I think fits a little better for,
you know, a wider audience, if you will.
00:19:08
Totally agree.
00:19:08
Yeah. For me, the seat was it was more
00:19:10
the position than the actual seat
I didn't get to.
00:19:12
So, a lot of people talked
00:19:14
about the front end,
the front of the cushion tilting adjuster,
00:19:17
and you couldn't bring it down.
00:19:18
I actually like
the can only tilt the back up or down,
00:19:21
so you can't usually we like, you know,
in a car that's about this price.
00:19:25
Usually you can tilt the, the leading edge
of the bottom cushion up and down.
00:19:28
You can't in this case.
00:19:29
For me, again, personally,
00:19:31
it didn't bother me because there's
the seat actually has a pretty good
00:19:35
rearward rake to the bottom cushion
and the it does have good lateral support.
00:19:40
Anyway, the seat worked well for me.
00:19:42
I thought it was a nice combination
between comfort,
00:19:44
as is kind of a little bit
on the soft side and decent bolsters.
00:19:47
Not amazing bolsters, but decent bolts.
00:19:49
Yeah, but that I it is a little
it was a little weird that you can only do
00:19:53
the rear of the seat up and down. Yeah.
And that limits people.
00:19:56
I mean like if I want to go, if I want to
get rid of some of that, I have to go up.
00:19:59
But if I go up in the back, guess what?
00:20:00
I'm tall, my head not on the ceiling,
and there's plenty of headroom.
00:20:02
This car, Jim, German cars
typically do have enough headroom, but,
00:20:05
it just limits to, you know,
I think you just adjust the front edge.
00:20:08
The probably saved half of the people
that were complaining about it.
00:20:10
Yeah. Yeah.
00:20:11
I mean, that was
that was one of the main complaints
00:20:13
about the driving position of this is,
00:20:14
is, is the lack of adjustability
for the seat.
00:20:17
It fit me perfectly.
00:20:18
I like the seat a lot
all day. Comfort. Yeah.
00:20:20
Something Honda and Acura
could learn something from.
00:20:23
If you're out there listening, Honda
and Acura work on those seats, please.
00:20:27
Touch on the controls.
00:20:30
Generally, I found it pretty easy to use.
00:20:33
There was a lot of complaints
about the climate system.
00:20:37
Yeah, guys want to dive into that.
00:20:39
Honestly, a car like this,
I only had it for night.
00:20:41
I get in it, and I just.
I want to focus on driving.
00:20:43
He put all the windows down.
00:20:45
He's like, I'm serious.
00:20:46
It was like I wasn't,
these are gonna roll the windows down.
00:20:49
And I because Volkswagen for a while had
the controls were horrific, right?
00:20:52
I mean, the last GTI we had play around
with it this generation better.
00:20:56
But it was a nice night.
I rolled the windows down.
00:20:58
I wanted to drive.
00:21:00
I want to drive again because they're not
one of the next time I gonna drive.
00:21:03
But, But I know what you're talking about.
00:21:04
Since you're talking about the what?
00:21:06
You know, capacitive
touch climate controls. Right?
00:21:08
And I know there were some complaints,
but the reality is,
00:21:12
I didn't mind them so much because A
they're in their own panel.
00:21:15
Right. You don't have to go digital
screen. They're in their own panel.
00:21:18
The fan speed has a slider,
but you don't have to use the slider.
00:21:22
So you can
you can press on either end to go.
00:21:25
I usually could just go up.
00:21:26
I, you know, you can do tap it,
you can tap.
00:21:29
And so also the temperature controls
were easy to just tap as well.
00:21:32
So in the end certainly far far, far
from a deal breaker for me.
00:21:36
As far as capacity.
00:21:38
It's all when you talk about
capacitive buttons for climate system,
00:21:42
I go back to the worst of the worse,
and that's Mercedes Benz.
00:21:45
Anything that's better than than
the Mercedes system is good for me.
00:21:48
I'm with you, Marty.
00:21:49
I didn't I wasn't bothered
by these climate controls at all.
00:21:54
And all the other the seat
heater buttons in the, in the seat that.
00:21:56
Yeah. Let's talk about content
and climate stuff.
00:21:59
The GLE comes with heated seats, vented
seats, a heated steering wheel.
00:22:04
Again, a lot of value for the money here.
00:22:06
That's just content.
00:22:07
And then don't forget about
all the performance you're getting, right.
00:22:10
The way the powertrain works
and the how good the handling is and yet
00:22:14
still decent ride and blah, blah, blah.
00:22:15
And let's,
let's do a slight, slight U-turn here.
00:22:18
Talk about performance.
00:22:19
I am grateful that there is a vehicle out
there that offers a manual transmission.
00:22:24
Three pedals.
00:22:25
I thought this manual was terrible.
00:22:28
I thought the throws were way too long.
00:22:30
I thought the shift action was weak,
sloppy, vague.
00:22:34
I was.
00:22:35
I grew frustrated with this
the more I drove it.
00:22:38
Probably because of the experience
that I've had with the Miata,
00:22:43
with the civic Si, with the Integra,
whose shifters I really, really like.
00:22:49
When I'm thinking back to,
that the last GTI that we tested with
00:22:53
that also had a manual,
I also thought that was sloppy.
00:22:56
Do you know,
do you know what we said about that car?
00:22:58
We loved it. Okay, I we did.
00:23:01
You want me to read the quote? Yeah. Yeah.
00:23:02
And I've got one for you, too,
but go ahead. Okay.
00:23:05
What's that about the last GTI manual that
we drove, which is basically the same.
00:23:09
Yeah. Right.
00:23:10
Right. What?
00:23:10
This is this the six speed
manual transmission is nearly perfect
00:23:14
with such a light and precise to feel that
00:23:15
sometimes you find yourself shifting gears
just for the heck of it.
00:23:18
Yeah.
And you might wind up in the wrong gear.
00:23:21
No, no, no, I did not not.
00:23:24
And I understand the sentiment of it.
00:23:26
I just disagree with it.
00:23:27
I, I'm putting in comparison
with other manual transmissions
00:23:30
that we've driven in the last five years
or something like that.
00:23:33
Yeah, this one is awful.
00:23:35
We've, we've driven, the DSG
version of the Gli a couple of years ago.
00:23:40
I vastly prefer that over the manual.
00:23:42
And I know sacrilege.
All the hate. Sacrilege.
00:23:45
It's crazy.
00:23:46
All the people are going
to come out of the woodworks
00:23:48
and say that you better hide for a while,
but I'm done.
00:23:50
I'm a lunatic.
00:23:51
But I didn't find it.
I didn't find it crisp.
00:23:53
I even prefer the notching
this of that last shifter over this one.
00:23:59
I want a little bit more beefy
00:24:00
feedback from from a manual,
and the glide just doesn't have it.
00:24:04
And, and again, this is,
this is like a personal thing for sure.
00:24:08
And some people love it
and some people don't.
00:24:10
For me, it felt absolutely dead.
00:24:13
And so so I pulled out a quote
from the last GTI test two.
00:24:17
And we said,
00:24:20
let me see if I could find it.
00:24:21
So we just going to go back and forth
and I'm just going to go, right.
00:24:25
So this is what he said
about the last GTI.
00:24:29
The optional seven speed dual clutch
automatic
00:24:32
barely dilutes the driving thrills.
00:24:34
That's what we said.
00:24:35
This is so funny because I, you know,
the audience should know I didn't
00:24:38
I didn't know Monty was going to pull out
a quote from the last GTI.
00:24:41
And then you knew that I was good.
00:24:43
He dilutes it means it did dilute some.
00:24:47
But here's here's what I will say, Quince.
00:24:48
First of all, it's
very it's very personal.
00:24:51
I guess,
but I understand what you're talking about
00:24:54
as far as a more robust manual,
like my favorite manual I've ever driven.
00:24:59
And I wouldn't be surprised
if this German car lover over
00:25:01
for me is a Porsche 911 GT3.
00:25:04
That gearbox is so wonderfully soft,
00:25:08
like, you have to use a heavy hand
with that thing,
00:25:10
but it is so incredibly precise
and so amazing every time it goes through
00:25:14
the gears.
00:25:15
Original Acura NSX was unbelievable.
00:25:18
Honda S2000 right, but you can it.
00:25:22
The gearbox
doesn't have to be crazy robust like that
00:25:25
to still be a good gearbox.
00:25:27
And I think being so light
and easy to use like this one
00:25:30
is better for more
people is my my personal.
00:25:33
Yes, you know what I mean?
And it's just so easy to use.
00:25:35
If it's easy, if it's now it's one thing
if the throws are really long,
00:25:39
which these are just slightly long,
but if it's not precise, meaning you
00:25:42
go to the next gear and it's like, wait,
where is it then that's a bad gearbox.
00:25:46
That isn't the case here.
00:25:47
You should not be missing
00:25:48
any gears with this gearbox
because the throws are very precise.
00:25:51
I didn't have that issue missing.
00:25:53
I will say this again. This is just me.
00:25:54
It's a build quality issue. Did you notice
how. Lucy.
00:25:57
Yes. Knob is.
00:25:58
Yes, but that's not the transmission
itself. No.
00:26:00
Not itself.
00:26:01
Like the toilet in your hand.
00:26:02
Yeah, but also when it was in gear,
you could also the whole shifter
00:26:05
would kind of move back and forth to it
just a little.
00:26:08
It was
it just didn't feel connected to anything.
00:26:10
And it again is kind of sacrilege,
but not every manual option is good.
00:26:15
I was at a press event years ago.
00:26:17
Remember the Chevrolet SS? Yeah.
00:26:19
Okay.
00:26:19
Rear wheel drive Corvette engine
originally came out with an automatic.
00:26:23
They also brought out a manual.
Same thing with me.
00:26:26
That shifter was terrible.
00:26:27
That was it was awful.
00:26:29
And so the manual option
isn't always the best way to go here.
00:26:33
Yeah, you can have bad manuals.
00:26:35
I just I think Brian and I disagree
with you that this is a bad one.
00:26:38
Yeah. I don't think it's a bad one.
00:26:40
Well, it's certainly it's clear
that I'm not neutral on this transmission.
00:26:43
Oh, look at that one.
00:26:45
Yeah I did I did right with that one down
you from insert joke here.
00:26:49
Yeah. No not really
not not that not that specific.
00:26:52
But, can I talk about a couple other,
good things?
00:26:56
Yeah, I had more negatives to go,
but go ahead, go ahead.
00:26:59
Well, I just want to say
that the rear seat is huge,
00:27:02
and I had forgotten
how big the rear seat in the Jetta is.
00:27:05
And the trunk turn that.
00:27:07
I was going to say that
I just wrote down trunk, but.
00:27:10
But it's not.
00:27:10
These do.
00:27:11
It's not to be fit.
00:27:13
It's not really a small car
anymore is it? Yeah.
00:27:15
I mean, is the Jetta going back to
the beginning was a tiny little car.
00:27:19
This is not a small car. So.
00:27:20
But it is considering
still the size for yesterday.
00:27:24
The backseat is good in the front
and that's important.
00:27:27
And the trunk is important to that.
That's a car.
00:27:29
Especially at a time
when like, sedans are kind of like
00:27:32
I'm surprised even making a story I know.
00:27:34
So I'm glad they are though. Me too.
I'm so happy.
00:27:36
One of the thing I want to touch on
with the driving position.
00:27:39
Yes, is that hard
plastic panel on the center console.
00:27:42
You know, that's my pet peeve.
I'm. I'm with you on that.
00:27:44
Yeah.
00:27:45
I was so annoyed by that over and over.
00:27:47
And my leg is, like,
more or less than what the manual,
00:27:53
I did had to go back to Kitty.
00:27:55
My right lane stays at the same spot.
00:27:57
No, it was it was annoying.
It was for me, too.
00:27:59
But but it made me think.
It's like, gosh, if I.
00:28:01
If I drove the car every day,
would I get a look,
00:28:03
a little towel and, like, put it on
the side of the the center console might.
00:28:06
So my knee rubs
against that personal tidbit.
00:28:10
You guys know I wear shorts a lot, right?
00:28:12
Almost every day in the office,
like 90% of the days throughout the year.
00:28:18
There, besides that being hard
00:28:19
plastic that your knee is rubbing on
and it really does hem you in.
00:28:23
There's some fake plastic stitching
that when you wear shorts, it was rubbing.
00:28:28
My knee was rubbing right on the fake
like like I just plastic.
00:28:32
Then it's right on this weird stitching,
which just makes it worse.
00:28:34
Yeah.
00:28:35
It was, it was a, it was a
it was a bad detail.
00:28:38
We praised it
for having lots of good content,
00:28:40
but we're going to like, knock it down
a little bit with all the hard plastics.
00:28:43
They,
they cut some corners with the interior.
00:28:45
There's no rubber liners for the cup
holders.
00:28:47
I mean, that's like today,
00:28:49
almost every car we test
has some rubber liners for the couples.
00:28:52
It's it's a small detail,
00:28:53
but if you got something rattling around
the shoulder, it'll it'll it'll add up.
00:28:57
I mean, it's not even that small.
00:28:58
What do you do when something's
rattling in the car?
00:28:59
That drives me insane.
00:29:00
Especially like
if you have that little compartment up
00:29:02
where you put, like, sunglasses
or something, and it's not exactly.
00:29:04
And you have some change in there, travels
00:29:06
back and forth
pushing a car that handles well.
00:29:07
Right.
00:29:08
And you're, you know, going to be you're
going to be drinking it around a little.
00:29:10
Yeah. It's so annoying.
00:29:11
And one of the trademark Volkswagen
of details that I've always loved
00:29:15
is they often come
with an adjustable center armrest.
00:29:18
Yeah.
00:29:19
So you've got this bin
00:29:20
in between the seats and you can,
you can raise the armrest
00:29:23
as to where you want it
to make it comfortable.
00:29:24
And it kind of ratchets down.
It stays in that position.
00:29:27
This guy does not have that
which is which was kind of a bummer.
00:29:31
Like, oh man, what was that out?
00:29:32
And it was a bummer for me because the way
so the armrests aren't perfect. Mr..
00:29:37
Symmetrical over here. Yeah.
00:29:38
Mr.. Symmetrical,
I guess that's my new nickname.
00:29:40
I wanted a nickname,
and that's it. Mr. symmetrical,
00:29:44
that came out right.
00:29:45
And so you're a little bit
like, off kilter.
00:29:47
Yeah.
00:29:48
And it doesn't
because it doesn't adjust. Like,
00:29:50
I feel like my right elbow is about again,
because I sit closer than you.
00:29:53
So I feel like my right elbow is about
to fall off at times that you have.
00:29:57
That is welcome, because I know you sit
pretty close as well. So. Yeah.
00:29:59
No, that was that was kind of a bummer.
00:30:01
I was I was disappointed to see that.
00:30:04
But when it comes down to it
though, you know, if you had to have
00:30:06
blasphemy, leave auto test
and buy yourself a car.
00:30:10
Would you consider would you buy this? No.
00:30:13
But it's funny you say that
because for the longest time, back
00:30:18
when there was the GTI was fun
and it had a manual.
00:30:22
That was always an option to me
because it was somewhat affordable.
00:30:25
Front wheel drive, not the best,
but you can slap some winter tires on it.
00:30:28
Go anywhere you need to go in the winter.
But it's it was functional.
00:30:31
But explain your no why?
00:30:32
Why wouldn't you buy this?
00:30:34
And I need more retailed you than that.
I mean the back backseat.
00:30:36
Like I would rather have a hatchback
or an SUV at that point, right?
00:30:39
Because I've only got one car.
00:30:41
This wouldn't be enough for me, right?
00:30:42
I probably have a truck, for Christ's
sakes. But.
00:30:44
Okay, so, you know,
I didn't even the body type.
00:30:47
It was not doesn't fit your lifestyle
precisely. Yeah.
00:30:50
I mean, if it was a wagon or a hatchback,
maybe, and I just.
00:30:53
I didn't love it that much.
I like the car.
00:30:55
I think it's great. It's a manual.
00:30:56
We had a lot of fun with it, but it just
didn't light my world on fire completely.
00:31:00
Yeah. You would you buy it?
00:31:01
I liked it a lot, let's put it that way.
00:31:03
I really liked it and I would consider it.
00:31:06
I'm not a huge fan of front wheel
drive performance, so that's the thing.
00:31:09
That's kind of my biggest sticking point
00:31:10
really, is this
I don't love front wheel drive.
00:31:12
You know, like when you're really trying
to put the power down,
00:31:14
especially in
any kind of rainy conditions, you know,
00:31:17
you get that axle hop and it's just it's
just a little frustrating to deal with.
00:31:21
I love a good rear wheel drive car.
00:31:23
We do live in the northeast.
00:31:24
So again, consider that you have one car
to drive every day.
00:31:28
It can be done all season.
00:31:29
I did it for years,
probably again, probably not for me.
00:31:32
I put snow tires on first of all.
00:31:34
Yeah, well, you'd have to,
but I think for someone else possibly.
00:31:39
I think actually, heck yeah
is what I wrote in my notes.
00:31:41
Because if you like driving
00:31:43
for the sake of driving, and
especially if you want to drive a manual,
00:31:46
and especially if you want to learn
how to drive a manual.
00:31:49
This is a fantastic car.
00:31:50
I think that not only
is it easy to learn how to drive a manual,
00:31:54
but it's easy to drive.
00:31:55
It has very high limits.
00:31:56
You're not going to get tired of this car
quickly.
00:31:58
There's a lot of content for the money
and get it now because it's going away,
00:32:02
you know? Right.
00:32:03
So I mean, we wrote down and said
and keyboard.
00:32:05
As soon as I saw it, I said something
like last of the VW manuals.
00:32:09
I'm like, what?
00:32:10
Yeah.
00:32:10
You know, like, so this is
that's a sad day and a happy day.
00:32:13
It's a, it's a sad day
because they're going away.
00:32:15
But it's a happy day
because this is a really good car. Right.
00:32:17
And if you are considering it just buy it.
00:32:20
Yeah.
00:32:20
Start start a card writing campaign
to Volkswagen to
00:32:24
to keep manual transmissions going.
00:32:26
I'd say for me if, if,
if they could put the Honda transmission
00:32:31
in the Gli, I'd buy
it, I'd buy the manual.
00:32:34
As it stands now, if I were going to get
a Gli, I'd get the DSG.
00:32:39
I'd get the DSG and take all the hate
from all the haters, I don't care.
00:32:44
But because just to me, that this
driving this one for as long as I did,
00:32:48
it just got a little bit tedious.
00:32:49
And if you want to find out
where I drove that I drove it 600 miles.
00:32:54
I went up to Vermont, up route
100 and route 17.
00:32:57
Just punch in mad River Glen and your GPS
and check out those Vermont roads.
00:33:02
They're fantastic.
00:33:04
It's a good place for
the Gli is a great car for those roads.
00:33:09
But, listen, check
00:33:10
out what we have to say
on, on on all Volkswagens.
00:33:14
The Jetta in particular,
Consumer reports.org.
00:33:17
We've got all this information
on all of our experiences with the Jetta.
00:33:20
And again,
you know, weigh in on, on the comments.
00:33:24
Would you go for kind of a so-so manual
or an okay, DSG,
00:33:29
if you're going to buy this,
let us know what you think.
00:33:31
I have an idea that our audience is going
to say, you know, manual only you worse.
00:33:35
Come on, get over it.
00:33:36
But whatever.
00:33:38
Hey. So so that's what we got on the Gli.
00:33:40
Which brings us to our audience questions.
00:33:43
We love your questions.
00:33:44
Text 32nd videos.
00:33:45
Go to Talking Cars at Icloud.com.
00:33:47
That's talking cars at Icloud.com.
00:33:50
And if we use your question
on the podcast,
00:33:52
we'll send you a t shirt
or some other groovy auto test swag.
00:33:56
And luckily,
luckily for our, awesome audience,
00:33:59
we have two questions, for this episode,
and we're going to start out
00:34:03
with a question from Wil,
who writes two things.
00:34:07
Where did Mike Quincy get his glasses?
00:34:10
They are cool and retro and want
I want a copy.
00:34:13
Can you believe this?
00:34:15
Can you believe Abrams allowed this?
00:34:17
Question three with a compliment to
I want to be like you.
00:34:19
And look,
my goal is to be like you, Quincy.
00:34:22
Anyway, that's
that's the first part of his question.
00:34:24
Will also writes,
I know you guys had a meet up
00:34:27
in New York City before the New York Auto
Show earlier this year,
00:34:30
and you mentioned that you hope to do
more such meet ups in the future.
00:34:34
I love this idea,
00:34:35
but I think you should do a meetup event
that's maybe more centrally located,
00:34:38
like Chicago,
and also make it a fundraiser for CR.
00:34:42
My rationale
I can get Consumer Reports via free via
00:34:46
the library of the university I work at,
so there's not a specific reason
00:34:49
for me to subscribe.
Will, I'd like you to rethink that.
00:34:53
But I also
00:34:54
love, the YouTube content
and I want to support it.
00:34:58
And if you held a meetup
that was also a fundraiser,
00:35:00
I would gladly attend and donate
to Consumer Reports.
00:35:04
Wil, thanks so much for the love.
00:35:06
Especially the glasses.
00:35:08
The glasses.
00:35:09
The company that that I that
that makes my glasses is called lunar.
00:35:13
So go to lunar dot com loony lunar alone.
00:35:17
I'm sorry.
00:35:17
Oh, and Lou and o r I can spell l.
00:35:21
You know,
00:35:22
you can pay for this guy.
00:35:24
I wish I was getting free glasses.
00:35:25
Yeah, I see what's going on.
00:35:27
I just happened to see these frames
at a glasses place somewhere in Hartford.
00:35:31
I'm not going to say where,
And I, they just appealed to me.
00:35:34
They do kind of have a classic design,
and I.
00:35:37
And I like them a lot.
00:35:37
And I'm glad you to do to in relation
to to to the meetups.
00:35:41
We love hanging out with the talking
that was fun.
00:35:44
Cards. Crew.
00:35:45
Ryan,
you were there with me in New York City
00:35:47
with with Abrams and all the video
crew and, and a bunch of other people.
00:35:51
We love hearing your stories.
00:35:53
Why you buy the cars that you buy?
00:35:55
We often got long histories
from viewers saying, oh, you know, I,
00:35:59
I read your stuff and I bought this one,
and then I need another car.
00:36:02
And I was about to have another baby,
so I needed more room.
00:36:04
So I bought this one.
00:36:05
And and that the people that love cars
love to talk about them and
00:36:09
and that is really it's it's a miracle
that we actually get paid to do that here.
00:36:14
That was a good.
00:36:15
So we're going to
we're going to keep doing these meetups.
00:36:18
Stay tuned for more information,
more announcements in the future.
00:36:21
We really hope, to do more of them.
00:36:23
If you know when when
when time allows you, you never know.
00:36:26
We're going to show
up, in a city near you.
00:36:29
Which brings us to our second question.
00:36:31
And this is Andy from Elk
Grove, California.
00:36:34
He writes,
our oldest son is of driving age,
00:36:37
and within the next year
00:36:38
or so, we'll be looking to add a used car
to our household for him to drive.
00:36:42
Will be looking to spend no more
than $20 and this is non negotiable.
00:36:48
Boy that sounds like a dad that the car
must have a manual transmission.
00:36:52
I'm sold on their advantages
for teen drivers,
00:36:56
one of them being that it's very difficult
to use a phone while driving a stick.
00:37:00
Your video of best cars for teens under
$20 was helpful,
00:37:05
but not all the vehicles mentioned
are available with a stick shift.
00:37:09
I do like the Mazda three.
00:37:10
Any others that you would recommend,
Mister Mana?
00:37:14
So let's start with you.
00:37:15
And he's a pretty cool dad. Yeah.
00:37:18
Come on.
00:37:21
I love the manual is mandatory.
00:37:23
Yeah.
I don't know if that's a new saying.
00:37:25
I can go with my new nickname.
00:37:26
It is natural.
00:37:29
The manual is mandatory.
00:37:30
I think that's really awesome.
00:37:31
I think you can't go wrong with the manual
Mazda three.
00:37:33
So I think, first of all,
00:37:34
if that's where he's leaning of going,
you can't go wrong there.
00:37:38
I just want to say, though, that,
00:37:39
I understand where he's going
as far as the manual, sort of.
00:37:43
I think it definitely makes a driver
more engaged because you have to be,
00:37:47
but you still have to be a good driver,
and you.
00:37:50
And the reality is, you still need
to teach your teen really well,
00:37:54
because I've seen very bad drivers,
I've seen very bad drivers
00:37:59
driving manual transmissions
who are actually bad
00:38:01
at driving manual transmission, yet
still highly distracted.
00:38:04
So the point is,
a teen is going to figure out
00:38:06
if they want to use their phone,
they're going to use their phone.
00:38:08
But I do agree that
this probably lessens it somewhat.
00:38:11
But you still, it's no substitute
for still teaching them
00:38:14
how important it is to not use that phone
just because
00:38:17
just throwing them in manuals,
they go for it. You're going to be fine.
00:38:20
You still got to make sure
that's really, really important.
00:38:22
But I again, I agree that it it makes you
more engaged in the whole process.
00:38:25
But you still got to stay off that phone.
00:38:27
Yeah.
00:38:27
I've got to say my
my sons are in their 20s now.
00:38:30
So I did teach them to drive.
00:38:32
And I will say confidently
that my boys never saw
00:38:36
my wife or me fiddle with our phones
while we were driving.
00:38:41
So it starts from the top.
00:38:42
You're right.
00:38:42
If the parents are messing
with their phones
00:38:44
or they're driving their kids see this?
00:38:46
The kids are going to like,
well, that's okay, right?
00:38:48
So, you know, that's absolutely true.
00:38:51
But that would also
that was a different time.
00:38:54
I grew up my parents in have cell phone
like they they eventually did.
00:38:57
But like I when I started driving,
I think we had like the Nokia brick thing,
00:39:01
like you could, you know,
it would ring once in a while.
00:39:03
Nobody
they were cell phones like that, you know.
00:39:06
So when I got my license
it was like, well,
00:39:08
but I was so into driving,
they didn't care.
00:39:10
And it wasn't like the phones today.
00:39:12
I mean, you pick it up and it's just like
this iPad, like it does all these things.
00:39:15
They didn't do that much back
then. It rang.
00:39:17
And you could make the argument
that cars controls in cars today
00:39:20
are super distracting.
00:39:22
Yeah. It's even taking even
taking the phone argument.
00:39:24
And I get that,
and that is one of the Crusades
00:39:27
that Consumer Reports has been on
for a while to, to pressure manufacturers
00:39:31
to making cars with easier controls,
with less distraction and whatnot.
00:39:34
But that still doesn't take away
from the fact that that no one
00:39:39
should be messing with their phones,
whether they're driving. Right?
00:39:41
Whatever text it is, whatever call it is,
whatever, it can probably weight or
00:39:47
I know this sounds old fashioned,
but pull over in a safe place,
00:39:50
the side of the road,
00:39:51
put your car park and do whatever you need
to do on your phone right now.
00:39:55
Luckily with with with modern systems
like Android
00:39:58
Auto and Apple CarPlay, when you've got
your phone hooked up to that,
00:40:01
you can see a call coming in.
00:40:02
You hit the
00:40:03
you hit the screen to accept a call
or whenever somebody can text you
00:40:06
and it'll read you the text and it'll say,
do you want to reply?
00:40:08
And all you do is talk,
and so you want to send it.
00:40:11
You say, yes, send it. Good. Better. Yeah.
00:40:13
I think it was that.
00:40:14
I think of that though still, that's
00:40:16
so much more than we had in those
like my 86 325 right.
00:40:20
Manual. I mean it was
there was nothing to play with.
00:40:22
It was, it was I mean, the radio
barely worked. There was nothing there.
00:40:25
But now these cars are, you know,
the screen talking to you and stuff like,
00:40:28
that's distracting, right.
Even that, you know.
00:40:30
But but let's also look,
I feel like you got a question for me.
00:40:32
Yeah, well,
you want me to answer the question?
00:40:34
I don't want to lose sight of, actually,
what Andy is talking about here.
00:40:38
And that's what's the best car
for a manual for, for for their for son.
00:40:42
So. So what we besides the Mazda three,
which we all agree with.
00:40:46
Yeah.
00:40:46
And that's what I was going to say
as well.
00:40:48
First
I think you can't go wrong with that.
00:40:49
But I would say another option
since he's looking for other options,
00:40:52
I would say something like a Honda Civic,
right.
00:40:54
Just had a very good manual
for a while now.
00:40:57
And if the kid is an enthusiast,
maybe a Honda Civic, I,
00:41:01
you know, if you're looking
00:41:02
something like the 2015 that was back
when it's still had the high revving,
00:41:06
naturally aspirated four cylinder
or they didn't have a 2016, I think.
00:41:10
So they had 2017.
00:41:11
That's when they had the 1.5l turbo four.
00:41:13
I think either one of those
would be really good options.
00:41:17
You could also go with something
like a golf, again,
00:41:21
if you like the manual,
maybe not like the fast,
00:41:24
but, you know, would be
a little more expensive to maintain.
00:41:27
Well, that's.
00:41:28
Yeah,
I was going to mention the golf. Yeah.
00:41:30
Because, I was like that.
00:41:32
That was always a good in that
00:41:33
I don't the manual is not the best,
but I think it's pretty darn good.
00:41:36
But then again, I guess a little more.
00:41:38
The mouse is going to be super reliable,
right?
00:41:40
The Volkswagen, that can be terrible.
00:41:42
But when you have to fix is going to cost
more money, there's no doubt. Right?
00:41:44
Yeah.
00:41:44
And just,
you know, just to be for clarification,
00:41:48
the manuals were available on on 2025
and earlier Honda Civics.
00:41:53
Right.
00:41:53
So I got to yeah the civic also lost.
00:41:56
It's it's manual. Yeah.
00:41:57
Well they're looking for you
right. Right, right.
00:41:58
But I'm just so.
00:41:59
But every new car
I eventually becomes a used car.
00:42:01
So. Yes. Can't go wrong with the Mazda3.
00:42:04
Check out the civic, manuals.
00:42:07
Also, I will say there's one that
00:42:09
that neither of you guys brought up,
which I'm glad.
00:42:12
Which is, a
00:42:14
don't get your new early driver.
00:42:16
That sounds, sounds number one.
00:42:19
Yes, you can get it with the manual,
but they're way too.
00:42:23
There's
there's too much car for a young driver.
00:42:25
And, Andy, from father to father.
00:42:28
Here, you better check your insurance
rates before you sign your son up
00:42:33
for a sporty car, because that can be
a deal breaker in and of itself.
00:42:38
But, yeah. Sure.
00:42:39
You know, but again, I'm glad you.
00:42:41
Nobody mentioned the accident.
I've just a first car. That's.
00:42:44
Yeah. Yeah.
00:42:44
I mean, I'd also be, say, sporty
specifically mentioned.
00:42:48
Man manual.
00:42:49
I went, I mentioned this
if I guess I that's my fault.
00:42:52
All right.
00:42:52
But,
just because it's, Well, I mean, Jake
00:42:56
Fisher, one, you know, one of his sons,
I believe, has the seven, I guess I.
00:43:00
Right.
00:43:00
And so, there's proof that we're even
saying here that's okay to to do that.
00:43:05
And as and as we talked about
in our pre-production meeting,
00:43:08
all three of us
grew up driving manual transmission.
00:43:10
So I know for me, it was I drove a manual
before I drove an automatic.
00:43:14
That's what that's all there was I yeah,
well I thought it was, it was.
00:43:18
But yeah, but I mean, I
and I think we gave super producer
00:43:21
Dave Abraham some pictures of the cars
that we owned, specifically for me.
00:43:25
I had a Mazda R seven, I had a civic, 87
00:43:28
civic s I, and a few others.
00:43:31
And so we're all for it.
00:43:33
And and learning to drive
a manual is is awesome.
00:43:36
And one of the things that we haven't
mentioned,
00:43:38
it's also like an anti-theft device
right now
00:43:42
because hardly anyone can drive a manual.
00:43:45
And and so you're the likelihood of your
car being stolen goes way down the point.
00:43:51
I thought about that.
00:43:52
You know something?
00:43:53
So anyway, love, love your questions.
00:43:56
And just a reminder,
if you're watching on YouTube,
00:43:59
we recently added a donate button
to our page.
00:44:02
Consumer reports is a nonprofit,
so if you're able to help us keep doing
00:44:06
this important work like talking cars,
we always appreciate it.
00:44:10
Every little bit helps.
00:44:12
And that'll do it.
00:44:13
For this episode, which was masterfully
orchestrated by super producer Dave Abrams
00:44:17
and expertly edited by Andrew.
00:44:19
I still play hockey believes so.
00:44:22
That right Belize beliefs.
00:44:25
As I see even in practice,
I messed it up.
00:44:28
And also, Anatoly the great Chomsky
helps out, all the time.
00:44:33
As always,
check the show notes for more information
00:44:35
on the vehicles and topics
that we discussed.
00:44:37
And just a reminder,
please keep your questions coming.
00:44:40
Go to Talking Cars at Icloud.com.
00:44:43
Thanks so much for tuning in.
00:44:44
We had a blast
and we'll see you next week.