VW Jetta

Lucky for you guys, you get a car review right out of the gate! I'm lucky in my job that I get to drive different kinds of cars for long periods of time. Aside from getting to spend time out of the office, I also get to know my product and am able to pass that info on to my customers. This week it is the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta, a car for the people.

I plan to break these reviews into sections based on the things that are important to me, so pidly things like safety features will most likely be ignored while good features, like bluetooth and a Bose stereo will be highlighted. Mostly I'll be breaking this down into the following categories - exterior styling, interior styling and comfort, performance and overall impression. I will omit details that I don't really know, like price. If you like the car, you figure out if you can afford one. On to the Jetta!

Exterior styling - The Jetta is a German car and as such is very, well, German. What does that mean? It means the Jetta is very straightforward, not flashy and without anything unnecessary. Clean lines, unobtrusive curves, simple design. What I love about German cars, such as VW and BMW, is how they can be so simple without being boring. For comparison, lets look at the Toyota Corolla. The Corolla has a very uninteresting design. No lines catch your eyes, nothing stands out. It could be a Whatever Crapbox and no one would look twice at it. The Jetta, on the other hand, is different. Consider it the difference between a reprint of Whistler's Mother bought at the local craft store (Corolla) and a clean, simple chrome piece of modern art. Not flashy, but still modern and interesting. People driving the Corolla are listening to the oldies station, people driving the Jetta should be listening to techno. That's what fits the design. If you like loft apartments with chrome kitchens and steel furniture, you'll love a Jetta.

Interior styling - The German theme of simplicity and effeciency is carried over to the inside of the Jetta as well. Everything makes sense, and is exactly where you'd expect it. Well, almost everything. The fuel door release and trunk release are located under the driver's door armrest. At first it seemed strange and awkward, but as I spent time in the Jetta it made sense. There was no place else that really worked so the Germans were effecient and made good use of space. Kudos! Seats are comfortable and had seat heaters, unseen before in a non-leather, non-upgraded interior of any make or model. I'm not sure I like the manual/power recline hybrid seats. While I get my incline angle just right, seat height and distance is in premeasured chunks. I would hope full power seats are availble. Stereo sounded good, but lacked controls on the steering wheel. Not a big deal unless it's something you get used to in other cars. Not sure, but maybe it is an option through VW. The Jetta also has a preset, non adjustable stereo boost that raises the volume as the car increases in speed. I personally don't like how it is set up, I'd make the volume jumps less dramatic, and having a low/med/high option doesn't seem like an overly complex feature to include. We also have an I/O aux jack, my most important interior feature besides Siruis/XM, and an easy to read display that includes the most relevant of information - the outside temp! One weird quirk with the speedometer, though. Up through 80 mph, there are hashmarks every 5 mph with the 10, 20, etc, labeled on every other hash. After 80 mph, the labeling is every 20 mph, i.e. 80, -, 100, -, 110. Not a big problem since most of us aren't going over 80 anyway, but still curious. I assume it's so the speedo tops at 160 mph vs. 120 mph. But it does show someone wasted time thinking about it besides me. Other than that, as good inside as it is outside. Trunk space is average for cars these days, fitting 3-4 large suitcases. Also has Day Running Lights. I'm not personally a fan, but whatever, no big deal.

Performance - After being used to wimpy inline 4's in midsize cars, it was a nice change to flog a 6 for a while. Jetta didn't let me down. The low end has great torque but the real power kicks in around 3500 rpm. Unfortunately you have to shift from automatic to manual mode to do that, because the car will assume everyone wants to shift by 2500 rpm just before you can reach the power band. But maybe that's not so bad, since manual mode is much more fun that is added to with the Jetta's great sounding exhaust note. When it winds out to 5500 rpm there is no whining or crying, just a steady pull and a car that purrs like a kitten in a creamery. There is a little lag in first gear, I'm assuming it's the torque converter, until the engine and tranny start working together which causes the Jetta to shoot forward once it is online. Plus first gear winds up very quickly, so I was literally shifting within one second of leaving the line. I'd like to see a more balanced converter and more range for first gear to keep the crawling/shot out of rocket effect minimized. Speedwise, I was to 40 mph in second and 65 mph in third with three gears left to go. Great pickup and the way the engine was pulling, I don't doubt getting past 80-90 in a few more seconds was easily possible. 0-60 time was about 8-9 sec, slowed mostly by traffic conditions. MPG is unknown, and with the way I drive cars, probably irrelevant. Check out VW's website if you want to know. Handling was good, much less body roll than most cars, and a stiffer ride that gave good feedback. Understeer was managable, I never felt I was fighting the Jetta through a corner. Everything mechanical felt solid and precise, much more so than with many cars but exactly what I expect from the Germans.

Overall impression - I like this car...a lot! It appeals to the things that I like most, simplicity with function, performance, and effeciency. The only complaint I have is that I cannot for the life of me figure out how to reset the oil change light. The manual is no help at all. I suppose if this really bothered me I would have looked it up online already. Otherwise, if one of you know how to do this, please tweet @chkm8tr. Still, if that's the worst complaint, that's not too bad. If I were looking for a car today, this would definitely be in consideration. We'll see what I'm in next either tomorrow or Friday!