2011 Volkswagen Jetta: First Look

[kimona]

Rather mundane looking. And yes, it will certanly cost an arm and a leg to routinely maintain and repair a Volks. Cost of ownership is outrageous!

[Kal-El]

Originally Posted by vwtech

the car is a step down for vw solid beam rear axle and rear drum brakes are not impressing me at all. they also got away from the electric rack because they said it was too exspensive our 12k yarises have them!!!!. I am glad I got my jetta it is very nice on road trips being able to go 600 miles on a tank and the ride is so much nicer than the yaris and it has WAY more power. vw has toyota beat on styling but toyota wins in the reliability department.

VW has made it clear that the intention was to bring the Jetta down in line with the Corolla /Civic class. Until now, it's been a premium compact and for that reason, VW couldn't achieve the sales levels they want. So they had to cheapen the Jetta by giving it rear drums, non- independent rear suspension, cheaper interior, weak base engine, ect. I believe they finally did what they had to do. They've been selling Jetta's for the price of Camry's.

And it kind of seems you're comparing elements of the Jetta with the Yaris. I sure hope the Jetta has a better ride than the Yaris. It costs like $7K more.

Originally Posted by vwtech

my mother had a highlander with a bad sludge problem and shesnever missed an oil change but that didnt stop me from buying the yaris. Ever car line has problems they all break weather anyone on this board wants to believe it or not thats why all of them even toyota have service bays even though people on this forum think that their toyota will never break.

Sure, a rare repair might be needed but usually not until well after 100,000 miles.

Mine hasn't needed a single repair as of 93,000 miles and it feels like it just rolled of the assembly line.

A VW with 93K on it is all but worthless.

[vwtech]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

VW has made it clear that the intention was to bring the Jetta down in line with the Corolla /Civic class. Until now, it's been a premium compact and for that reason, VW couldn't achieve the sales levels they want. So they had to cheapen the Jetta by giving it rear drums, non- independent rear suspension, cheaper interior, weak base engine, ect. I believe they finally did what they had to do. They've been selling Jetta's for the price of Camry's.

And it kind of seems you're comparing elements of the Jetta with the Yaris. I sure hope the Jetta has a better ride than the Yaris. It costs like $7K more.





Sure, a rare repair might be needed but usually not until well after 100,000 miles.

Mine hasn't needed a single repair as of 93,000 miles and it feels like it just rolled of the assembly line.

A VW with 93K on it is all but worthless.

I know toyota's never break right....I bet the techs are going broke LOL. Last time I went to get my recall done there was a 2 week wait. I understand they are making a car people can afford in this economy but I wish they would have brought over another car to sell instead of making the jetta cheap although still loads nicer than a carolla. we did get a 2 litre 5 speed in and wow was that thing a slug.

[DevilGirl]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

A VW with 93K on it is all but worthless.

Really? We have 2 VW's:

2002 Golf TDI: 198,000 miles (approximate, but definitely over 197k last I checked). Still runs great. Bought at 175k in 2007. No pussy-foot driving of this car. Only repairs since ownership: replacement of turbo.

2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI: just turned over 16,000 the other day. Do we expect that it will continue the same as the Golf? Umm, hell yea!!!

[why?]

Originally Posted by 09box

The base motor for the base Jetta is going to be the good ole 2.0 iron block. A 115 hp/123 lb ft of tq motor pushing around a 3k pound car is a little much for me. I've driven the 2.5 powered car and that was a little bit of a turd too..

That was the base engine for VW for many, many years. And they still were ridiculously overpriced. And had major electrical issues.

Originally Posted by DevilGirl

Really? We have 2 VW's:

2002 Golf TDI: 198,000 miles (approximate, but definitely over 197k last I checked). Still runs great. Bought at 175k in 2007. No pussy-foot driving of this car. Only repairs since ownership: replacement of turbo.

2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI: just turned over 16,000 the other day. Do we expect that it will continue the same as the Golf? Umm, hell yea!!!

You have two TDI's. I am pretty sure they are from a different company, or something, because they never have any of the usual vw issues from what I've seen.

[DevilGirl]

Originally Posted by why?

You have two TDI's. I am pretty sure they are from a different company, or something, because they never have any of the usual vw issues from what I've seen.

To my knowledge (which I could be wrong, and I admit that possibility), they are made by VW. But they are designed differently due to the use of diesel as opposed to gas. I wouldn't even consider a VW if it weren't a TDI. While the diesel engine adds to a higher costing car, the MPG and reliabilty are better than the gassers, thereby making it worth the extra upfront cost. At least in my opinion anyway.

[vwtech]

Originally Posted by DevilGirl

Really? We have 2 VW's:

2002 Golf TDI: 198,000 miles (approximate, but definitely over 197k last I checked). Still runs great. Bought at 175k in 2007. No pussy-foot driving of this car. Only repairs since ownership: replacement of turbo.

2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI: just turned over 16,000 the other day. Do we expect that it will continue the same as the Golf? Umm, hell yea!!!

thankyou for chiming in there I have regular customers (oil changes and timing belts) who own tdi's who have over 300k trouble free miles. I also have 25k trouble free HARD miles on my 09 tdi I beat the tar out of that car and nothing has gone wrong with it the low end torque is adicting. vw has gotten a bad rep because of the passat 1.8 and jetta 1.8 those cars are money pits and I'm sure toyota has their money pit cars as well.

[why?]

Originally Posted by vwtech

thankyou for chiming in there I have regular customers (oil changes and timing belts) who own tdi's who have over 300k trouble free miles. I also have 25k trouble free HARD miles on my 09 tdi I beat the tar out of that car and nothing has gone wrong with it the low end torque is adicting. vw has gotten a bad rep because of the passat 1.8 and jetta 1.8 those cars are money pits and I'm sure toyota has their money pit cars as well.

actually, that is the point, toyota does not. VW has some cars that can last forever, and a bunch of cars that have serious problems. Toyota, and to be honest most Japanese cars, have vehicles that are almost trouble free, with a few exceptions.

Now of course, German cars, including VW/Audi, are rather fun to drive, while most Toyota's are rather boring. It is a case of where the manufacturer chose to spend the money.

[Altitude]

The Jetta used to have distinctive styling. What happened?

[Darb]

Originally Posted by Altitude

The Jetta used to have distinctive styling. What happened?

+1

Mk. IV ftw.

[TickleTimeTim]

looks good. i like the jetta, always have. but maybe that's because i've never owned one.

[chrisj]

I have owned about 35 cars or trucks in my life, and although the Toyotas have had issues here and there, the rest were junk by a mile. I speak from experience, not opinion.