But really, that’s not the primary purpose of a car like the Jetta. This is, instead, a decently priced sedan that can accommodate four people and a reasonable amount of luggage, provides pretty good fuel economy, and is versatile enough to handle mainly city driving and long weekend road trips on highway and country roads.
The powertrain
Like its predecessor, the 2019 Jetta comes fitted with a 1.4L turbo engine delivering 147 hp working with either a 6-speed manual or 8-speed automatic transmission. For its category, this powertrain provides drivers with above-average acceleration and nimble handling.
The R-Line trim of the new Jetta brings with it not only some pretty pleasing visual upgrades, but it improves handling via an electronic front differential that transfers horses instantaneously between the front wheels as needed.
My tester was not the R-Line trim, but I did recently road test the thusly equipped Passat, and in my view it did wonders in beautifying that car. The R-Line model features 17-inch wheels, a sunroof, simulated leather upholstery, leather-wrapped steering wheel and heated seats and customizable interior ambient lighting, as well as special R-Line badging and a blacked-out front grille that really spiffs up the front end. If you can afford the extra $1,700 cost, it’s seriously worth considering.
The competition
We started out by saying that the Jetta is playing defence in its difficult segment. To be sure, it has recently experienced the travails that most popular models that have been around for a while go through. The manufacturer is loath to tinker too much with a winning formula, and meanwhile rivals, who know just what they need to beat, start coming up with sleeker, faster, more economical and cheaper alternatives. Credit to VW for giving its Jetta a significant shakeup for 2019 and not just trying to slop lipstick on a pig and calling it new. Now the question is can it maintain momentum, or stop that of its rivals.
Those rivals, by the way, are for the moment 2018 models, and they’re called the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra, Mazda3 and Hyundai Elantra, among a few others. In terms of power, the Sentra (188 hp) and Civic (174 hp) outperform the Jetta, but the VW gets it revenge in the torque category, where it beats out all of those models with 184 lb-ft.
Pluses
Very good fuel economy
Quite a bit of car for the money
Well put-together interior, feels large for its class
Handles well, acceleration is decent
New look suits it well, particularly in R-Line version
Typically excellent ergonomics for the interior commands, instrument cluster
Minuses
Doesn’t do any one thing extraordinarily well
Rear legroom slightly less than last year
New rear suspension is a bit rough around the edges
