Is the Volkswagen Jetta a Good Car? Yes, the Volkswagen Jetta is a good car. It does a lot of things well: It gets good fuel economy, provides a smooth ride, comes with a user-friendly infotainment system, and has good trunk space for a small sedan. It also has great safety scores. There aren't a ton of obvious flaws with this Volkswagen, but there are areas where some or many competitors surpass it. For example, some cars in the class have more energetic powertrains and are more engaging to drive. Others also provide more upscale interiors or offer more passenger space. Should I Buy the Volkswagen Jetta? Depending on your priorities, the Jetta may not be the right buying choice for you, but it certainly merits consideration. This VW displays some clear strengths and few obvious weaknesses, and it carries a competitive price tag, making it a better value than some rivals.
Still, you may want to consider cars like the Honda Civic and Ford Focus. Should I Buy a New or Used Volkswagen Jetta? The Volkswagen Jetta is redesigned for the 2019 model year. It is possible for you to save money by purchasing a used Jetta, but you won't get the benefits of the vehicle's redesign. If you're considering an older model, be sure to read our 2018 Jetta review to help you decide if you can live without the 2019 model's additional features. We don鈥檛 base our car reviews on our personal opinions. Instead, we combine the findings of professional test drivers with data such as reliability ratings and safety scores to give you a complete overview of every vehicle we rank. U.S. News & World Report has been ranking the best cars, trucks, and SUVs since 2007, and our staff has more than 75 years鈥?worth of auto industry experience combined. To keep our reviews unbiased, we don鈥檛 accept expensive gifts or trips from car companies, and an outside company manages our advertising.
How Much Does the Volkswagen Jetta Cost? 18,745 isn鈥檛 unreasonable for a compact sedan. Many class rivals are more expensive, though several have lower starting prices. Check out our U.S. News Best Price Program for great savings at your local Volkswagen dealer. You can also find excellent manufacturer incentives on our Volkswagen deals page. Which Is Better: Volkswagen Jetta or Ford Focus? The Ford Focus provides a much more diverse powertrain lineup than the Jetta, including two high-performance options and an all-electric option (for an electric VW compact car, check out the VW e-Golf). The Focus generally delivers a smooth ride, but it handles much more adeptly than the Volkswagen and is considerably more fun to drive. The Ford's cabin quality matches its price point, and while the front seats provide adequate comfort, the rear seats are cramped. The Focus sedan's trunk is smaller than the Jetta's, but the Focus is available in a hatchback body style for those who want more space. The choice between these two boils down to whether you'd prefer a more fun-to-drive car or a more practical, spacious interior.
Which Is Better: Volkswagen Jetta or Honda Civic? The Honda Civic challenges for the top spot in our compact car rankings almost every year. It's available in coupe, sedan, and hatchback body styles, and the sedan and hatchback have more cargo space than the Jetta. The Civic's cabin looks and feels upscale, and the seats are supportive and comfortable. The Civic has several engine choices that deliver more horsepower than the Jetta's engine, and the Civic is more agile. The two have similar price tags as well. The Jetta has a better predicted reliability rating, but even so, go with the Honda. How Many People Does the Jetta Seat? This four-door sedan seats five people, and the seats remain supportive even on long drives. They're also comfortable, and most reviewers think there is ample space in both rows. There are two full sets of LATCH connectors for installing car seats in the Jetta and an additional tether anchor for the middle seat.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the Jetta's LATCH system an ease-of-use rating of Acceptable, noting that the lower anchors can be tricky to maneuver around. The Jetta's cabin is nice, but it won't blow you away. It remains quiet at highway speeds and features some soft-touch materials, but you can also spot some hard plastics that detract from the overall feel. The Jetta provides just over 14 cubic feet of cargo space, which is enough room for about 10 pieces of carry-on luggage. That's a good amount of room for this class, and you can fold down the rear seats if you need to carry larger items. Standard features in the Jetta include the MIB II infotainment system with a 6.5-inch touch screen, four speakers, a USB port, Bluetooth, and VW Car-Net App-Connect, which includes connectivity options like Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and MirrorLink. Available features include a sunroof, an eight-speaker BeatsAudio sound system, HD Radio, satellite radio, and an upgraded infotainment system with an 8-inch touch screen, navigation, additional VW Car-Net services, and an additional USB port.
