2019 Volkswagen Jetta (VW) Review, Ratings, Specs, Prices, And Photos

The 2017 Volkswagen Jetta is a compact car in a cutthroat segment that carves costs—not canyon corners. It's VW's best-selling car and is sedan-only these days—anything with a hatch is called a Golf now. The Jetta competes with heavy hitters such as the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus, and Chevy Cruze, but also the Mazda 3 and Hyundai Elantra. Yeah, it's a dense segment. It earns a 6.5 out of 10 on our overall scale thanks to good safety and fuel economy. After seven years on the market, the Jetta's plain take on a three-box compact still looks a little old-fashioned to us, and a recent light refresh didn't help. It's nondescript, and exactly what we picture when we think of some car with some doors and some people. Inside, the same approach keeps us from getting jazzed about the interior, but the conservative approach has its perks: the Jetta has good outward visibility.

The Jetta Hybrid is gone this year and the troubled turbodiesel is getting a deserved timeout, but what's left is promising. A base 1.4-liter turbo-4 is available in S and SE trims and makes 150 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. It's mated to a 6-speed automatic in most trims; a 5-speed manual is available in the base model. It shuffles up to 60 mph from a stop in just over seven seconds, but it's plenty for around-town commutes and returns decent fuel economy. In SEL trims, the mid-range 1.8-liter turbo-4 that makes 170 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque is available. It's not any quicker, rather its just a little more confident and sweeter sounding. It's mated to a 6-speed automatic only. A 2.0-liter turbo-4 is available in the hot-rod GLI and returns 210 hp and 207 lb-ft of twist. It comes with its own dual-clutch automatic or a 6-speed manual, both of which are fun to drive. The Jetta is one of the larger compact sedans on the market with room for four adults and plenty of cargo.

Its upright style makes it easy to get in and out, rear passengers get plenty of leg room once they're in. The trunk's 15.7 cubic feet of available space is capacious, but with a caveat: big elbow hinges swing into the cargo area and somewhat ruin the space. IIHS. All Jettas come with a rearview camera this year, and SE-equipped models add blind-spot monitors with rear cross-traffic alert. Top-of-the-line SEL models add a bigger engine and advanced safety tech such as forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking. VW packs every Jetta with a 5.0-inch touchscreen radio, although higher trims get a bigger display. As base, many Jettas are equipped with good features such as Bluetooth connectivity and a multifunction steering wheel. Higher trims are budget Audis, we say, although there's no way to pick and choose a la carte items to get there: VW walls off many features in trim levels to keep dealers happy.

This reduces the steering effort required when parking and provides precise response and feedback at high speed. The electromechanical parking brake with Auto Hold function is standard specification on the new BMW X5. The BMW X5 xDrive30d and BMW X5 xDrive50 are supplied with 18- and 19-inch alloy wheels respectively, while the BMW X5 M50d comes as standard with 19-inch "M" alloy wheels with mixed tyre sizes. Optionally, other 19- or 20-inch alloy wheels are available. Run-flat tyres are standard or optional, depending on the model. A Tyre Defect Indicator is standard on all versions of the new BMW X5. The powerful braking system offers stable and consistent braking performance even under heavy braking, assisted by Dynamic Stability Control (DSC). Among other functions, the DSC system includes the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Dynamic Traction Control (DTC), Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Dynamic Brake Control (DBC) and the Automatic Differential Brake (ADB-X).

Further functions include Brake Assist, the Brake Standby feature, Start-Off Assistant, Fading Compensation, the Brake Drying function, trailer stability control and Hill Descent Control (HDC). The new BMW X5 is also equipped with xDrive full-time intelligent all-wheel drive, which actively manages the drive power split between the front and rear wheels at all times. The latest version of the xDrive power divider boasts optimised efficiency and a 1.4 kg reduction in weight. If xDrive is combined with Dynamic Performance Control, the drive power split can be even more finely controlled. DPC, likewise electronically controlled, is integrated in the rear differential. In combination with xDrive it takes handling dynamics and directional stability to new levels. All-wheel-drive models come with a new xDrive status display in the control display boasting 3D graphics. This standard-fitted feature shows real-time information about body roll and pitch. Plus, on vehicles equipped with the optional Navigation system Professional, a compass display is also shown in the instrument cluster.