2012 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA TDI SEDAN
Right now, Volkswagen is on a roll in North America, setting sales records that haven’t been approached in years by the German (though very much “international” automaker. As each month goes by, new marks seem to be set, so the popularity of these long-established products (and Audis too) is riding high.
One of the cornerstones of this success is the Jetta sedan, which for many Canadians, seems to encompass exactly what they want in a compact, roomy, stylish and affordable automobile. The Jetta I most recently tested was one of the outstanding diesel versions, VW having stayed faithful to the diesel cause while rival automakers have branched off into other directions - though not all of them. Thankfully, more diesels are on the way - Mazda will have one on the market in little more than a year.
The bad old days of smoky, smelly, rattling diesels have long gone and todays compression-ignition engines are silky smooth, quiet and pollution free. Best of all, they seem to last forever, don’t need much maintenance, are very economical and give a vehicle impressive range. Looking at my metallic brown Jetta diesel, it occurred to me that in BC in particular with its mostly salt-free roads, this car, if looked after, could look much the same 20 years from now with no rust (today’s anti-corrosion treatments are amazing) and it would probably still be using the same engine with 200,000 - 300,000 km on the clock.
To recap on Jetta styling, for 2011, there was an all-new Jetta and for the first time, it didn’t have that “Golf with a trunk” appearance about it. It looks like a model that’s completely individual from the wheels up. Obviously, this model continues for 2012. VW intended to separate the Jetta and Golf lines to some extent and make the Jetta more of a “stand alone” model.
The transformation has worked remarkably well. The car is very sleek and stylish and there’s no hint of the bulkiness that characterized many other generations of Jetta. My favourite has always been the Golf, but for the first time, I could be coaxed into a sedan and perhaps there are many other buyers who will feel that way too.
The diesel that came in my test Jetta was a 2.0-litre TDI turbo diesel with 140-horsepower. Transmissions include a 6-speed DSG automatic with Tiptronic (as in my test car) and a 6-speed manual. According to VW, 40 per cent of all Jettas sold are diesels and this is no surprise at all. The Jetta TDI is an amazingly economical car and it has a range of at least 1,000-km with a full tank if it’s driven intelligently. One of the great features of all diesel engines is that they have a little more torque than conventional gasoline units. You can really feel this when climbing hills or even during acceleration onto a freeway ramp. You just don’t need massive horsepower to get impressive response from a diesel.
The Jetta cabin is very much “German contemporary” and characteristic of products from BMW and even Mercedes-Benz. The interior fabrics and materials are very well chosen and you get the impression that they will hold up and look good after many years of service. The seats are comfortable and supportive and the instrumentation is well laid out with switchgear intelligently placed. Even with the base model, there’s no hint of “cheapness” or cost-cutting. The trunk is huge and the interior very spacious for a small sedan. My test car was fairly high up the model ranges and had a very efficient navigation system in a central position on the dash. I liked the sound system controls, which were easy to figure out and use. I was interested to see that some of the sound equipment was supplied by legendary guitar maker Fender. The car was equipped with Bluetooth technology and it was easy to hook up my mobile phone for hands-free calls without looking at the owner’s manual (Always a “plus” the way I see it. Some Bluetooth hookups are impossible to figure out, even with the manual).
This is a great car in so many ways and it’s small wonder it sells so well. The diesel especially is almost as thrifty as a hybrid and will offer considerably durability and reliability. Despite having “only” 140-horsepower, the torque makes it feel like a larger-engined car when you need some get-up-and-go. It’s certainly great fun to drive while at the same time, being very easy on the environment.