Cabin comfort overall is excellent and fatigue-free. The important controls and instruments are well placed and highly legible, and it was a refreshing throwback to find individual bass, midrange and treble knobs readily available to contour audio output.
TDI and DSG, a marriage made in automotive heaven
Giving the Jetta TDI its unique and highly appealing characteristics is a turbocharged DOHC 2.0-litre 16-valve I-4 diesel engine.
This stoic powerplant produces 140 horsepower @ 4,000 rpm but more impressive and important is its ability to effortlessly churn out torque, up to 235 pound-feet of it at only 1,750-2,500 rpm; that's barely above idle range for a 4-cylinder engine. It's also a very useable portion of the engine's rev band, meaning that scads of pulling power can be accessed without revving the daylights out of the engine.
Marrying the petit workhorse to VW's highly sophisticated, automatic 6-speed Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) establishes a harmonious but intense relationship that enables lightning-fast gear changes along with a strong sense of "connection" between the powertrain and the wheels, much like that experienced with a manual transmission.
Along with improving performance, DSG technology enhances fuel efficiency by eliminating the waste that automatic transmissions tend to incur by not maintaining direct engine-to-wheel linkage.
On the road
Irrespective of engine choice, I've always found the Jetta to be a pleasing car in which to administer the road, be it congested city streets or open highway. In fact, one can be easily misled into believing that the Jetta is a much more expensive import than it is; assembly in Mexico has its financial benefits.
Bearing in mind the Jetta's reasonable price points, it delivers a smooth highly composed ride and secure, stable handling dynamics. Steering response and brake performance both impart a genuine Euro-feel while the cabin remains quiet and rattle-free over the worst examples of urban decay.
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| Cabin comfort overall is excellent and fatigue-free. |
TDI and DSG, a marriage made in automotive heaven
Giving the Jetta TDI its unique and highly appealing characteristics is a turbocharged DOHC 2.0-litre 16-valve I-4 diesel engine.
This stoic powerplant produces 140 horsepower @ 4,000 rpm but more impressive and important is its ability to effortlessly churn out torque, up to 235 pound-feet of it at only 1,750-2,500 rpm; that's barely above idle range for a 4-cylinder engine. It's also a very useable portion of the engine's rev band, meaning that scads of pulling power can be accessed without revving the daylights out of the engine.
Marrying the petit workhorse to VW's highly sophisticated, automatic 6-speed Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) establishes a harmonious but intense relationship that enables lightning-fast gear changes along with a strong sense of "connection" between the powertrain and the wheels, much like that experienced with a manual transmission.
Along with improving performance, DSG technology enhances fuel efficiency by eliminating the waste that automatic transmissions tend to incur by not maintaining direct engine-to-wheel linkage.
On the road
Irrespective of engine choice, I've always found the Jetta to be a pleasing car in which to administer the road, be it congested city streets or open highway. In fact, one can be easily misled into believing that the Jetta is a much more expensive import than it is; assembly in Mexico has its financial benefits.
Bearing in mind the Jetta's reasonable price points, it delivers a smooth highly composed ride and secure, stable handling dynamics. Steering response and brake performance both impart a genuine Euro-feel while the cabin remains quiet and rattle-free over the worst examples of urban decay.
 |
| Its unique and highly appealing characteristics is a turbocharged 2.0-litre diesel engine. |