Jetta sports new refinement, comfort
Inside most small cars is a big car trying to grow up.
Even the humblest entry-level car grows bigger, stronger and more luxurious with each generation.
So it is with the fifth-generation Volkswagen Jetta. Marketed under the banner “All grown up. Sort of,” the 2005 edition of VW’s entry sedan sports a new maturity.
If the old one accompanied college grads to new careers and new cities, the new one wants to park in their first garages, squire home their offspring, and reflect their growing professional prestige.
It’s so sophisticated and well equipped it may also win over young-thinking oldsters whose transportation needs have shrunk along with the size of their families.
The Jetta was content to grow slowly over its first 25 years of existence, but explodes this year in a spurt worthy of adolescence. Larger in nearly every dimension, it grows most significantly in rear-seat legroom and trunk capacity.
By adding 2 full inches to the space that must be negotiated by hips, thighs, knees and toes, VW has turned the backseats into adult-ready territory.
And the trunk is large enough — it adds 2.5 cubic feet for a total of 16 — to handle more gear than any other sedan in the compact class.
Of course, the new Jetta strains the definition of compact, pushing the envelope nearly into the midsize arena. Its wheelbase has grown 2.6 inches, to 101.5; overall length is up nearly 7 inches, to 178.3; and width and height both increase incrementally.
The new growth is accompanied by a new body style. Dominated by an oversized grille, the new look is at once more dramatic and less distinctive; rearward of that unmistakable proboscis, the new look is less Germanic, more generic.
On the inside, the Jetta maintains its class-leading sense of style. Indigo dash lights glow coolly in the dark and a hidden red light casts a soft light over the console. Well-bolstered seats, with simple armrests, provide outstanding thigh and lumbar support. The driver’s seat is power-operated and the passenger seat is adjustable in a variety of ways via knobs and levers. The steering wheel tilts and telescopes.
As noted, the rear seats are now spacious enough for adults, though, as always, the center position is best left for kids.
Kids who will be safe, by the way; a good chunk of the Jetta’s weight gain can be attributed to a strengthening of the body shell, which helps produce a big-car ride and also provides an extra measure of crash resistance.
The Jetta earns top safety points in both government and insurance-industry tests and supplements its inherent safety qualities with a full complement of six airbags. Anti-lock brakes are standard throughout the line. New crash-active headrests tilt forward on impact to reduce whiplash injuries and the foot pedals break away when the front begins to crumple, minimizing reduce lower-extremity injuries.
Unfortunately, girth means weight as inescapably for cars as for humans and the new Jetta tips the scales at a hefty 3,340 pounds.
The traditional solution to more weight is more power. VW complies with an all-new, 148-horsepower, five-cylinder engine fabricated from bits of three parts-bin engines (including a V-10 developed for VW subsidiary Lamborghini).
The new engine is mated to either a five-speed manual, or — get this — an optional six-speed Tiptronic automatic (when was the last time you saw an entry-level vehicle with a six-speed slush box?) with sport-shift mode. VW’s DSG no-shift manual transmission, which is now running around under the hoods of certain Audis, will be fitted into the Jetta, as well.
The base Jetta has never been quick and still isn’t. Thanks to a broad power band, torque comes on early, so the Jetta is quick off the line, and the six-speed box keeps the engine in its sweet spot. Still, 0-60 is a 9-plus-second stroll.
Thanks to its 9.5-1 compression ratio, the engine runs happily on regular gas.
Those who crave more power will need to bide their time. Turbocharged versions are on their way, including a 200-hp GLI due next month. An existing, 1.9-liter turbodiesel is the family economy champ, but heads in the wrong direction power-wise, with an output of 100 hp.
VW’s 4Motion AWD system isn’t yet available on the Jetta and may not be until more powerful versions are available, as AWD contributes serious poundage.
The upside to weight is on-the-road feel and the Jetta feels like a substantially larger car than it is. Traditionally, it has had a taut, Teutonic feel, although that has seemed somewhat dialed-back in the last couple of iterations. Still, the steering is tight, well weighted and communicative and the brakes are strong under foot and linear in their response.
Despite what feels to me like a softer approach to suspension tuning, VW claims best-ever handling for the Jetta.
Badly pitted and broken roadways betray its big-car feel, but under most conditions it is remarkably smooth and comfortable.
It is also among the quietest of the small sedans, although the new five puts up quite a racket under acceleration.
As you would expect, this is not the most affordable of the compact sedans, with an entry price of $19,590, including destination. Still, that price includes not only the safety equipment noted above, but also power windows, heated front seats, power heated mirrors, dual-zone climate control, power driver’s seat and rain-sensing windshield wipers, the latter a feature previously the domain of cars costing at least twice as much.
Not every youthful aspirant aspires to stuff the garage with a German car, but those who do will likely turn here. The new Jetta reminds us that big cars don’t own the franchise on comfort, security and a great drive.