Volkswagen Jetta long term review, first report

Engineering objectives change with time. Old goals are regularly replaced by new standards and this directly impacts the character of the cars. This is why today’s cars are getting lighter and slighter in an attempt to get more and more fuel efficient. Some, like the new VW Jetta, however, that are built to more robust standards, still soldier on. While this does mean the new Jetta could have been a bit more efficient and might have been a bit quicker, there are other benefits.
It’s built tougher, for one, which is communicated clearly the instant I shut one of its ‘unnecessarily overbuilt’ doors. And it’s the same every time I select a gear, or so much as ride over a rough patch of road.

The Jetta also hits the spot when it comes to size, space and comfort. Almost as long as the new Passat (it’s only around four inches shorter), the cabin is wide and long enough to give passengers plenty of legroom. There’s a huge amount of shoulder room, the big seats are ample and quite supportive, and the massive boot easily swallows four full-sized bags, which makes it great for airport pick-ups. The 1.4 TSI petrol engine isn’t the most exciting piece of kit on the car, however. The 120bhp and 20kgm of torque are only sufficient for a car of this size, nothing more, and this manifests itself when I’m looking for an occasional spot of spirited driving.

That said, the Jetta recently proved to be great company on an over 100km drive from Aamby Valley to Mumbai. Set with the task of taking me home after more than 12 hours behind the wheels of other more exotic cars, it started off by first allowing me to relax and be comfortable. The large driver’s seat, the super support for the thighs and lower back and the adjustable steering all contributed in making me feel right at home.

We’d been testing luxury cars all day, most of them more than five times the value of the Jetta, but still, getting into the cabin didn’t feel like a huge step down. Yes, the bulky centre console feels a bit old fashioned, and its two-tone display should have had a colour touchscreen, especially in this day and age where affordable smartphones and tablets are available a dime a dozen. But the general build of the cabin, the use of the materials and the way everything just fits together perfectly, give it an old world charm so difficult to come by today. Volkswagen has upgraded the instrument panel, and it now gets gorgeous luminescent white numbers set on a matte-black background. And there’s a new wheel as well, similar to the one on the Vento, which, though well put together, has a bit too many buttons on it for my liking.