When we were at Detroit last January for the official premiere of the all-new 2019 Volkswagen Jetta, there were some concerns amongst us auto scribes the car had lost some of its edge, styling wise. The vehicles in front of us looked, well, a bit bland. That's not to say the new Jetta isn't an excellent car all-around, but those of us who remember past generations felt the new car's design was a bit of a letdown. Fortunately, Autoblog has some good news for us today, following their conversation with a VW representative on the subject of the next Jetta GLI.

For starters, yes, it's happening, and it'll be arriving later this year. Better yet, it'll feature some enthusiast-focused improvements courtesy of the GTI hot hatch. What will those be? Supposedly, the Jetta GLI will not use the base car's torsion-beam rear suspension, but rather the GTI's multi-link independent rear suspension. In fact, this is used in the entire Golf lineup. Furthermore, the Jetta GLI will get the GTI's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, which produces 220 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. Both a six-speed manual (yes!) and the 7-speed dual-clutch gearboxes will be available.

Other performance-focused improvements, courtesy of the GTI, are also likely, along with the usual exterior enhancements previous Jetta GLI's received. Given the clarity of details here, expect the new Jetta GLI to make its first appearance as early as the LA Auto Show in November.