PERFORMANCE, RIDE & HANDLING
Seventh-generation Volkswagen compact sedan impresses Calgarian
Volkswagen’s 2019 Jetta should appeal to all demographics. At least, that’s what VW’s latest TV commercial would have you believe. That’s the one where Dad sneaks out in Junior’s car and takes his senior friends for a midnight joyride.
“With the Beats Audio sound system and the custom ambient lighting, it seems the car would suit a younger generation of drivers,” says Richard Phillips. “But if you prefer a smaller sedan over a CUV, the Jetta is a good option, regardless of your age.”
Phillips spent a week in Calgary with the brand-new, seventh-generation 2019 Jetta. The German automaker has redesigned the car top to bottom and front to back. With a new grille and LED lights followed by a coupe-like roofline and a crisp ridge around the belt line, the Jetta has been given some much-needed character.
At least, that’s how Phillips feels. “I’m a VW driver,” Phillips says. “I’ve had a 2008 Golf, and currently have a 2017 model. I’d never really looked at the Jetta before because I just thought they were nondescript.
“But this new styling is much more distinctive, and much more visually interesting, even at the rear end with that little built-in spoiler on the trunk.”
The revised Jetta is based on VW’s MQB platform, the same as found under the Atlas, thereby increasing overall dimensions of the car in every direction.
“Although it falls into the small sedan segment, the Jetta has the look and presence of a bigger car,” Phillips says of the Execline model he drove that cost just a bit more than $30,000.
Volkswagen offers the Jetta in Comfortline and Highline trims, too, and all models are equipped with a standard six-speed transmission. An eight-speed automatic with Tiptronic is a $1,400 option.
Finished in Silk Blue metallic paint, Phillips’s top-of-the-line Execline featured the eight-speed transmission. With the automatic, the Jetta comes with a start/stop system that shuts the engine off while the brake pedal is held down, re-starting as soon as the pedal is released.
Because of his familiarity with VW products, Phillips says many of the knobs and buttons inside the Jetta were recognizable.
“The dash is clean and uncluttered,” he says of the driver’s view. “It’s ergonomically friendly. Most of the interface is done via touch screen, and there are just two control stalks on the steering column.”
The Execline comes equipped with a digital cockpit display, and this is a feature Phillips liked.
“You could mix and match what you wanted to see in terms of vehicle information,” he says. “But my preference was to run it with the analog-style instruments.”
At five-foot-eleven, Phillips is an average-size driver. He had no trouble getting into or out of the Jetta and found the driver’s seat — with its six-way power-adjustable function and two-way power lumbar support — a comfortable chair.
“The seating surfaces were leather, but it didn’t feel very natural to me,” Phillips says of the hide covering the heated and cooled front seats.
On the road, Phillips found the 1.4-litre turbocharged engine provided adequate power — it makes 147 horsepower and 184 poundfeet of torque — to motivate the Jetta through most circumstances. And fuel consumption is good, too, with VW claiming when equipped with either the manual or automatic transmission a return of 7.8 L/100 kilometres in the city and 5.9 L/100 km on the highway.
The Jetta has four selectable drive modes, including Eco, Normal, Sport and Custom. Phillips enjoyed driving the car in Sport mode, and says the steering felt better weighted in that position. He also found the car performed well in the Eco setting.
“Regardless of the mode,” he says, “the transmission shifted seamlessly. Only under hard acceleration could you feel the shift points.”
Potholes and speed bumps were smoothed out nicely by the Jetta, and the ride wasn’t stiff. Phillips did detect a small degree of body roll in some corners and mentions that changing the drive mode settings did not alter suspension stiffness.
The Jetta is filled with technology, and in Phillips’s car the $995 driver-assistance package added adaptive cruise control, front assist emergency autonomous braking, lane assist, and automatic high-beam control.
“We drove up to Red Deer and back, and I just set the cruise control and off we went,” Phillips says. “The ride was very quiet, and the car wasn’t bothered much by cross winds, either.”
His only bone to pick with the Jetta would be the trunk lid. He says the lid is perhaps too heavy for its springs and threatened to close on his head unless he ensured it was in the fully open position.
Regardless of the springs, Phillips found plenty of room in the trunk for all he hauled during the week, including bags of groceries and a few suitcases.
“The automotive world seems to be trending toward CUVs and SUVs, and that’s just evolution,” Phillips concludes. “But I’ve always been a car guy due to overall handling and a lower centre of gravity. I’m just glad an automaker is still dedicated to the sedan, and VW’s built a fine-looking example with the new Jetta.”