For the 2011 model year the VW Jetta was redesigned to appeal to a buyer in a less expensive price range. The main demographic they targeted was the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla buyer. The idea of a Jetta starting around $15,000 is very attractive, however bear in mind that everything from the interior to the suspension to body of the car has been economized to hit a certain price point. We had an opportunity to get our hands on a 2011 Jetta that had all ready done 28,750 miles(about 46,000km). One of the main concerns of the compact car buyer is the long term durability and reliability of their vehicle. Lets see how the latest incarnation of the Jetta stacks up after a thousand miles.
Inside the Jetta is a little disappointing. Gone are the Audi like soft touch materials on the dash and so is that intangible "solid" feeling. Slam the door shut and it sounds just like any other compact on the market today. The problem with the inside of the Jetta is the cheap feel of almost everything in the cabin. From the hard dash plastic to the cheesy shifter, fans of VW interior quality are going to be disappointed. Sitting in the Jetta you can see that VW has the same kind of engineers it always had, but now they answer to an accountant about every decision they make. At first glance the interior looks just like VW interiors always have but upon closer inspection you find it is not up to standard. It could be compared to a knock off watch or suit: looks like the real thing at first but doesn't hold up well upon closer inspection.
The seats are somewhat uncomfortable and they lack sufficient range of adjustment for short or tall drivers. As far as content goes the Jetta scores well enough in that category. Our test car come with heated seats which is always a welcome feature. All of the controls are logically placed and easy to use.
Our test Jetta's interior has stood up reasonably well to almost 30,000 miles. Most components showed little wear. Our test car suffered from a manufacturing defect on the driver's door next to the power window switches. The sliding in and out of many drivers has also caused some wear on the driver seat.
On the road the Jetta can only be described as underwhelming. The 2.0L 115 horsepower standard engine is scrounged from the VW corporate parts bin, and according to many sources its design dates back 19 years. All of these short comings become apparent when you try to accelerate. The Jetta's acceleration is leisurely at best and doesn't improve much even if the pedal is floored. The only up upside is the fact that the automatic transmission has a selectable sport mode that you can use to extract a little more go out of the engine. The Jetta is also available with a 177 horsepower 2.5L 5 cylinder engine and a 2.0L 140 horsepower diesel engine.
Handling is sub-par thanks to the Jetta's "return to the 1980s" mentality when it comes to the rear suspension. With the re-design of the Jetta VW did away with the independent rear suspension system and replaced it with a torsion beam set up. This is a total downgrade from the old Jetta and it is apparent that cost cutting is top of mind here as well. VW justifies this downgrade saying they have to engineer the car to a price point. Why then, one must ask does a similarly priced Chevrolet Cruze have a Z-link rear suspension set up that produces far better results?
At highway speeds the Jetta has above average wind and road noise when compared to others in its class. It is worth noting that VW has issued a recall to reduce the wind noise by replacing the front door seals. The ride is bumpier than that of either the Chevrolet Cruze or Hyundai Elantra. The cabin has a minimum of squeaks and rattles but it is one of the noisier interiors in the class overall.
The Jetta we tested has had two warranty claims at the time of the writing of this article. One for a new wiring harness for the washer fluid pump and one for a re-program of the fuel pump.
The Bottom Line: Why would you buy the Jetta when you can buy a Chevrolet Cruze or Hyundai Elantra instead?
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-By David Louis Johnson