2019 Jetta is Volkswagen’s best compact sedan
Volkswagen is the world’s largest automaker, rich and powerful beyond the dreams of avarice, but the German powerhouse’s execs could be excused if they sometimes feel like a cartoon character about to get an anvil dropped on its head.
The 2019 Jetta is the company’s best compact sedan by far, a car that should make VW a must-have for the average American buyer. It’s a perfect vehicle to help rehabilitate VW’s image after the self-inflicted wound of rigging a half-million diesel engines to cheat U.S. emissions law.
Except. The mostly marvelous new Jetta arrives at the exact moment when U.S. car shoppers have turned their backs on compact sedans, abandoning what used to be a massive market segment in favor of taller, hipper small SUVs.
Don’t cry for VW. It also builds small SUVs so it’s not shut out of the boom, but the Jetta is the car the company had been promising for decades: a good value with Germanic handling and a handsome new design.
Behind the Wheel 2019 Volkswagen Jetta SE Front-wheel-drive, five-passenger compact sedan
Price as tested: $22,155 (excluding destination charge)
Rating: Three out of four stars
Reasons to buy: Value; fuel economy; easy-to-use controls; fun to drive
Shortcomings: Poor audio for hands-free phone calls; antiquated displays for touch screen and trip computer; engine vibration How much? The Jetta is entirely new for 2019. Like the Golf hatchback, it rides on VW’s MQB platform, an elaborate set of parts and systems that will eventually underpin a wide variety of compact and midsize cars and SUVs.
The Jetta competes with compact cars like the Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Kia Forte, Nissan Sentra, Subaru Impreza and Toyota Corolla.
Prices for the new Jetta start at $18,545 with a six-speed manual transmission, $19,345 with an eight-speed automatic.
All Jettas come with a 147-hp 1.4-liter turbocharged engine. The very good eight-speed automatic is standard automatic on all models above the base S.
I tested an SE, the second step in the model lineup. It stickered at $22,155 and came with features including a touch screen; Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink; front collision warning and automatic braking; Bluetooth compatibility; heated seats; four-speaker audio; 16-in. gloss black alloy wheels; LED headlights, taillights and running lights; backup camera; blind spot alert; cruise control; power sun roof and more. It stickered at $22,155. The top Jetta loads on features like Beats audio, satellite radio and leather seats.
Jetta prices compare well to similarly equipped competitors.
Competitive base prices
(Excluding destination charges) VW Jetta SE: $22,155 Chevrolet Cruze LT sedan: $21,520 Ford Focus SEL sedan: $21,870 Honda Civic EX-T: $22,500 Hyundai Elantra SEL: $19,850 Kia Forte EX: $21,700 Mazda 3 Touring sedan: $21,140
Nissan $20,500
Subaru Impreza Premium sedan: $21,295
Toyota Corolla XLE CVT: $22,135
Source: Autotrader Sentra SR CVT:
Outstanding features
The Jetta’s fuel economy in real-world driving is very good. I averaged 37.3 mpg on a long drive that included hot, heavy air, constant air conditioner use, hilly countryside, traffic jams and long highway runs with the cruise control set near the 70mph speed limit.
The new sedan is quiet and comfortable on the highway, with little road noise, comfortable seats and plenty of storage bins. The controls are very easy to use, with a touch screen, Apple CarPlay and dials and buttons for oft-used functions like volume, tuning fan and temperature.
Passenger and luggage room are good, and there are plenty of cubbies and bins for cups, glasses and the like.
The small engine delivers good acceleration around town, thank to 184 lb-ft of torque available from just 1,400 rpm and quick upshifts from VW’s smooth eightspeed transmission.
The Jetta’s steering is firm and precise, perfectly in tune with a suspension that combines a smooth ride with responsive handling.
The 2019 Jetta is longer, wider and much better looking than its predecessors. The exterior has a fast-sloping rear window, crisp character lines and a wide chrome grille that sweeps dramatically into the headlights for a striking departure from VW’s usual restrained styling.
The downside
The Jetta’s good fuel economy comes in part at the cost of noticeable engine vibration, as the transmission holds higher gears at low rpm to squeeze maximum distance from every gallon of gasoline. The tendency to hold high gears also shows up in lagging downshifts that delay throttle response for passing at highway speeds.
The audio quality of handsfree phone calls is very poor. Every person I called complained and asked me to switch to the handset. I did that in jurisdictions that allow hand-held calls while driving, but I lost access to my phone everywhere else.
The touch screen’s display mirrors an iPhone’s vivid colors when you’re using CarPlay, but reverts to a grainy B&W display like a 1980s video-game when controlling the car’s built-in functions. It’s enough to make you fear a message saying “You have died of dysentery” around every corner. our Mustang predates scan tool diagnostics for the SRS (supplemental restraint system) but is friendly enough to automatically display diagnostic trouble codes via the SRS malfunction indicator lamp. Those flashes you see can be counted; each code is a two digit number. For example a code 32 will be three flashes, a pause, then two more. There’s a three second pause, then the code will repeat, or another code will follow.
On your Mustang there are 17 possible faults that can be identified and displayed via the light. Codes typically indicate a circuit or component fault. On your fairly simple two-bag system not containing passenger seat sensors, my best guess would be possibly a code 32, caused by a faulty clock spring. This is a wind-up ribbon cable at the top of the steering column that allows a continuous electrical connection to the driver’s side (steering wheel) airbag regardless of rotational position. After many steering
It seems your vehicle may have detected an EVAP system leak (can be caused by a loose gas cap among other more permanent causes) and you fixed it! An illuminated MIL (malfunction indicator lamp) caused by this fault will remain on until three consecutive good trips with a fuel gauge reading between and
have occurred. A good trip is a specific driving sequence where the diagnostic monitor runs to completion without incident. Depending on one’s driving habits and refueling regimen, clearing the light may take some time! I’m hoping this wasn’t an intermittent fault caused by something else and the light turned off by coincidence.