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By
EWAN KENNEDY
1 May 2006
Volkswagen has just released a new mid-sized sedan called Jetta.
Though in reality it’s a sedan version of the popular VW Golf
hatchback, somehow it manages to be more than that, taking on a
personality in its own right. Jetta offers an alternative to the new
Volkswagen Passat, the latter also a four-door sedan, but larger and
more upmarket in its makeup.
Having said that, the price differential
between Jetta and Passat isn’t all that great and unless you really
want the compact dimensions of the Jetta it’s worth also adding the
Passat to your short list.
The frontal styling of the VW Jetta is neat without being a standout
head-turner. The deep V-trapezoidal shaped grille has become a common
theme in the latest Volkswagens and works well. Surprisingly, there are
also strong similarities with the new Audi range at the front of the VW.
Not a surprise when you realise that Volkswagen controls Audi these
days. But it is a surprise in that you would expect the bosses to insist
that VWs have more visual differentiation from their more expensive
close cousins at Audi. "Close cousins" because a lot of
out-of-sight components are shared between the two German marques.
At the rear, there are distinct
similarities between Jetta and Passat, but none to the Golf as the very
distinctive C-pillar shape of the Golf is entirely missing from the
sedan variant.
As seems to be almost inevitable these
days, VW Jetta is larger than the Bora that it replaces. This translates
into greater interior space in the cabin, there's good headroom and
width in the two front seats, but the rear seat’s legroom does become
slight restricted if the front seats are a fair way back. In other
words, some compromise will be necessary if there are four tall adults
travelling together.
Much of the extra length in the Jetta
compared with the Golf is visible in the Jetta's boot. At 527 litres it
is positively voluminous, being larger than that in the Commodore,
Falcon and Mitsubishi 380.
Visibility all round is excellent with
large windows and a relatively slim A-pillar. This visibility has been
gained without any loss in body rigidity. Indeed, as we have come to
admire in Volkswagens over the years, the new Jetta has a lovely solid
feel. Even on the roughest of Australian dirt roads there's nary a
squeak from the body and there's a feeling it could take that sort of
treatment year in and year out with no signs of complaint.
On the road, the Volkswagen Jetta is
well-balanced, with good steering feel and plenty of road grip. It tends
to understeer when you hustle it alone but until that starts to show up
it is really pleasant to drive.
These are very well equipped cars,
something that’s reflected in their prices as they sit at the top end
of their class.
Dual-zone climate-control air
conditioning is standard, as are a CD stereo, alloy wheels (16-inch on
the FSI and TDI, 17-inch on the Turbo FSI), cruise control, and
automatic windscreen wipers.
Safety has received high priority;
standard on all VW Jettas sold here are front, side and curtain airbags;
ABS brakes with electronic brake force distribution and brake assist;
electronic stability control; and tyre pressure sensors.
Apart from the larger alloys the Turbo
FSI 2.0-litre also receives sports suspension, front sports seats, front
fog lights, six-disc CD changer and aluminium inserts in the dashboard
and centre console.
Our test car was the Jetta Turbo FSI and
it featured the DSG gearbox we have come to admire in cars from both
Volkswagen and Audi. Without going into too much detail, the DSG is a
manual gearbox that can do its own shifts automatically if so requested.
It doesn’t have a clutch pedal and full manual gearchanges are carried
out simply by moving the gear lever.
Though not quite as smooth in action as a
conventional automatic transmission, the DSG has big advantages in low
fuel consumption and performance. In a straight line it’s often
quicker than a conventional manual gearbox due to rapid changes.
There's some lag from the turbo engine
but generally this won’t upset any other drivers than those who love
instant response.
Fuel consumption during our week’s test
was typically around six to seven litres per hundred kilometres in
country and motorway driving. Increasing to only eight to ten litres per
hundred when used in hard suburban commuting. These are exceptionally
good figures for a fair-sized family sedan with an automatic
transmission.
Volkswagen has never had a great deal of
success with Golf sedans (previously called Vento and Bora) in
Australia. This is likely to change with the introduction of the latest
model and we will be very interested to look at the sales figures a few
months down the track.
MODEL RANGE
Jetta 2.0 FSI 2.0-litre four-door sedan -
$32,990
Jetta 2.0 TDI 2.0-litre diesel four-door sedan - $35,490
Jetta 2.0 Turbo FSI 2.0-litre four-door sedan - $39,990
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard on all models
Air Conditioning: Standard on all models
Automatic Transmission: $2300 tiptronic option on FSI, $2300 DSG option
on TDI, DSG standard on Turbo FSI
CD Player: Standard on all models
Central Locking: Standard on all models
Cruise Control: Standard on all models
Driver Airbag: Standard on all models
Passenger Airbag: Standard on all models
Front Side Airbags: Standard on all models
SPECIFICATIONS (Volkswagen Jetta 2.0 FSI
2.0-litre four-door sedan)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.984 litres
Configuration: Transverse, four cylinders in line
Head Design: SOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 11.5:1
Bore/Stroke: 82.5 x 92.8mm
Maximum Power: 110kW @ 6000rpm
Maximum Torque: 200Nm @ 3500rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Six-speed
Automatic Transmission: Six-speed
Final Drive Ratio: NA
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4554mm
Wheelbase: 2578mm
Width: 1781mm
Height: 1459mm
Turning Circle: 10.9 metres
Kerb Mass: 1355kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 55 litres
Towing Ability: 690kg (1400kg with braked trailer)
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: Independent, MacPherson struts with lower A-arms,
anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Independent, four-link, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 9.2 secs
Standing 400 Metres: 16.5 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Fuel Type: Petrol 98RON
Fuel Consumption - Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 8.2 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/100,000km
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Marque Publishing Company
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