2019 Volkswagen Jetta Expert Reviews, Specs And Photos
Volkswagen鈥檚 Jetta compact sedan is like an old friend 鈥?familiar and aging well, but aging nonetheless. The current generation was launched with great fanfare as a 2011 model (VW had Katy Perry dance on the hood in New York City鈥檚 Times Square). It was a Jetta redone for American tastes (and sales), replacing the European model that had been a little too small and expensive for the U.S. That model鈥檚 cheaper interior materials and other cost-cutting factors were justifiably criticized for creating a car that was less special, yet 鈥済ood enough鈥?for Americans. But it brought more buyers, so maybe the Germans were right. The car has improved a lot since then, though mostly in how it drives rather than what you see or touch. It鈥檚 good enough now for the budget-priced 2017 Jetta SE to have earned fourth place versus seven mostly newer rivals in Cars.com鈥檚 2017 Compact Sedan Challenge. In that contest, it scored within the leader group that included 2017 versions of the Honda Civic, Kia Forte and Subaru Impreza over a second tier that included the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra, Mazda3 and Chevrolet Cruze.
22,815 with destination as tested) was more fun to drive than most similarly priced rivals; it might have finished higher if it delivered a little more curb appeal. If you liked the restrained, conservative look of the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta, you鈥檒l recognize the 2017 鈥?even if you have a hard time picking it out in a parking lot. The shape translates into an ample rear seat for two adults, rivaling the Impreza鈥檚 top-of-the-class backseat. At 6-foot-2, I could sit behind a front-seat occupant my size but wasn鈥檛 comfortable in the middle due to an intrusive console between the front seats. The console at least includes cubbies and 12-volt power for the rear, but sadly no air-conditioning vents. The Jetta鈥檚 exterior shape also makes for a 15.7-cubic-foot trunk, rivaling mid-size cars (a 2017 Toyota Camry has 15.4 cubic feet, for example). The sedan鈥檚 trunk is well-designed for convenience, with a lid that pops all the way up when you press the key fob, plus both a center pass-through and a 60/40-split folding backseat for extra room.
If you were OK with the earlier Volkswagen Jetta鈥檚 nicely grained but brittle plastic pieces inside, you鈥檒l be fine with the 2017 SE; the SEL and GLI have some softer-touch panels. I didn鈥檛 mind them, except for the hard door trim against my arm, but the overall design and trim looks dated versus newer, jazzier rivals. And as it has from the start, the interior also suffers by comparison to the love VW lavishes on its Golf鈥檚 cabin 鈥?the Jetta appears to be the neglected American stepchild. The Jetta鈥檚 heavy, perforated imitation leather (V-Tex) on the seats (newly standard on the SE for 2017) looks more serviceable than the cloth you get in most compacts at this base price. I found it to be comfortable, but you鈥檒l never mistake it for the Mazda3鈥檚 soft, is-it-or-isn鈥檛-it faux leather. The two-tone cloth in the base S is your only other choice; even the pricey GLI doesn鈥檛 offer real leather.
The SE鈥檚 front driver鈥檚 seat is manually adjustable six ways, plus lumbar. I managed to find a just-so position, but it would have been easier to do if the big side levers were less clunky to operate (the SEL and GLI have a power seat). The Jetta SE鈥檚 front seats are also heated, a feature that was not universally standard in the budget-price Challenge cars. The dash layout is simple and logical, offering buttons and knobs (thank you, VW!) that make common functions intuitive, unlike sleeker but harder-to-use systems that rely on small and distracting touch-sensitive panels and touchscreen menus, such as the Honda Civic鈥檚. The Jetta, however, lags behind the Civic when it comes to front cabin storage, offering a just-adequate device tray and a small center console bin versus the Honda鈥檚 large and clever new configurable bin. The Volkswagen Jetta is also notably lacking such pizazz as the Civic鈥檚 new digital color gauge display, the Forte鈥檚 sculpted dashboard and the Mazda3鈥檚 classy trim. Even Subaru, known for simpler designs, is looking more up-to-date with its redesigned 2017 Impreza. One Jetta touch does stand above the crowd: its chunky, leather-wrapped, flat-bottom steering wheel with controls.
