Volkswagen Jetta 1.6 Litre Petrol (Trendline) Test Drive, Review & Photos

[Karizma Fan]

Hi, My name is Deepak. I test drive a lot of bikes and I am very passionate about it. I also write about Indian bikes at my blog. Although I do not have the same kind of involvement with cars, this time it had been different because I needed to buy one. I was planning to buy a Honda Civic but I could not eliminate Volkswagen Jetta from my list. I did not have a VW showroom in my city so yesterday I went to Bangalore and I spent nearly half a day in the Volkswagen showroom. As a result I have gained a lot of insights on the Volkswagen Jetta and I want to share with you. There are three models in the Jetta, 1. The 1.6 litre petrol engine Trendline model which costs 15 lacs. 1.9 litre deisel engine Trendline model costing 16.4 laks and the 1.9 litre diesel engine Comfortline Auto-transmission model which costs 19.23 laks. There prices are in Karnataka (on-road) and it would be less by around one lakh if purchased in Tamil Nadu because of the less road tax.

The VW Jetta 1.6 Petrol Trendline

This was my model of interest because the price was competitive to Civic and within my range of affordability. This model is the lowest priced model in the stables of Volkswagen India. When I entered the car, I was disappointed by the not so good interiors. Right now I own a Honda City ZX which does a better job in the interiors with beige finish and wooden panels here and there. But the Jetta had only grey interiors (black optional) and no beige option for the Trendline model. The seats were not leather finished and just cloth covered. But however apprearances may be deceptive and I decided not to come to any conclusions before testing it on road. The sales guy was confident in me and put me bihing the wheel right away. The first cool thing I noticed about the car is the unique key chain. Unlike any other, the keychain was a rectangular one with buttons for opening the boot, opening the car and open/close all windows and a small metal button when pressed swings out a metal part of the key which is to be inserted. Just like a pocket knife, nice toy to play with!

I came to know that the car is equipped with tilt steering and I immediately checked it out, I adjusted the seats to my height and adjusted the steering to suit me. I pulled it a little to the front and then locked the lever below. I started the engine and decided to take the car for a real test. The engine sound was so silent and it was expected out of a german car for sure. The throttle response, the smoothness of the engine and cute gear were definitely more attractive than the Honda Civic. And the boot door is equipped with hydraulic levers, when I clicked the open boot button in the remote, it opened gracefully in slow motion! And hydraulic levers for the bonnet too!

The big screaming advantage in this German car is the wide tyres and heavy build. The sales guy told me to check out the suspension on rough roads. As he said, the suspesions performs the same amount in both single passenger and five passenger mode, which the other cars do not do. And yes, the suspension was great. When travelling at 60+ kmph, you wouldn't even notice that the roads have so many bumps. Definitely a plus point for Indian driving conditions. Another big plus for me was a short turning radius. When I took a U turn, it was awesome. You can do it fast and you won't feel like someone is trying to throw you away. That's because the weight of the car and the great feeling of stability. At this point I knew why all the fancy glossy car magazines gave 5 stars for the handling part.

The acceleration was much better than other 1.6 litre cars in the market. You wouldn't feel like you are driving at 80kmph unless you look at the speedometer. The wind noise is much less than the other cars and the weight adds more stability since there is no wobbling effect. In a magazine review of Honda Civic and Jetta, the writer mentioned that you can be safer while over-taking in the Civic because of the better engine capacity, but I guess I would feel safer in the Jetta because of the better stability. Civic kerb weight is just 1210kg being 1.8 litre, but Jetta wieghs 1343kgs which adds to the stability and solid feeling.

The sales person said 'Anyone would choose a Honda Civic in the first look because it looks more attractive. Germans are not good at attracting people, but they specialize in technology and safety. You have 6 airbags and Traction control system which is not common in other competing models. You need to get your Honda cars serviced for every 5000kms, but VW cars needs servicing only every 15000kms and that tells you a lot about the Jetta.'

Any sales man would blow the trumpets about their own cars, but this guy had worked for 2.5 years in Honda, so he knows what he is talking about. And I agreed with him. Upon closer inspection, Jetta proves itself to be a better car. As we finished the test drive, I commented that Jetta has 'passed' the test with a top grade! My wish was to buy a Honda Civic with beige coloured leather interirors and automatic transmission but I think I will trade some of my earthly desires for a German car with better technology and safety for the same pricing.

Following are some of the photos which I took there. These are all 1.6L Petrol engine Trendline models. Interiors are in 'Art Grey' which is one of the 2 options. Another one is black, 'Anthracite' which is was not avaliable there at that point of time.

Colour: Campenella White



Colour: Reflex Grey





















Notice the Reverse gear... you have to press down and put 1st gear for reverse!!










The Jetta 1.9 TDI (Diesel) Trendline

This model is just as same as the 1.6 petrol trendline but comes with a diesel engine. If you are travelling a lot, then justify for yourself whether spending an additional 1.4 laks is worth. Although this model has an engine bigger by 300cc, it performs same as the 1.6 litre petrol. The numbers for the acceleration from 0-100kmph are 12.2 secs for the 1.6L Petrol and 11.9 secs for the 1.9L TDI. So you see, the 1.6L Petrol performs a little better than the 1.9L TDI.

I did not test drive the 1.9 TDI Comfortline but checked out the features and took a lot of photos which I will post as another thread, because this thread has already become too long with a lot of Images

Note from the Team-BHP Support : Please note that it is now imperative for you to upload pictures directly to the Team-BHP Server. Click here to view our simple help article on uploading pictures.

[FenderBender]

Nice Review, i also had a chance to drove Jetta in europe, about 5 months back on a business trip. First i decided to fly then thought nah! will drive admiring scenic routes of europe. Got a rental from amsterdam and to my delight was a Jetta , had requested a manual version (you know german autobahns here i come).

Drove straight about 450 kms from amsterdam to celle, germany, and can tell you one thing that this baby held on road like train on rails, and bieng on german autobahns who can resist the temptation floored it to 230 kmph, max on speedo was 260 !!! and at that speed man it was still holding nicely steering got a bit iffy . Attaching some pics too...



Well got my mobile on autoclicking mode got this one , but its not the fastest...





But the biggest let down was interiors, i mean i dont for how much its sold in europe, but if you ask me .. did you like it ? yes ride is better than civic, handling is prime german....Will you put 15-16 lacs in it ? Nope

[AMATMO]

indeed cars below that price range have better interiors,infact optra and indigo XL have better intetiors

even skoda has good interiors,i wonder why vw ended up like this

infact now i feel optra is a great option for half the price

[aaggoswami]

Nice review.

About the point of safety while overtaking. Its true that Jetta is not as safe as Honda Civic while overtaking because its good if you spend least time out of your lane and overtake quickly. Here the Civic is fast and if in right gear ( in powerband ), can be real fast. Jetta is a lot slower.

Jetta is one of the better built cars. Civic has score of 4/5 stars for front offset crash and jetta has 5/5. The reasons for low level of success are VW quality of parts ( news of DSG gearbox issues ), less dealerships and high cost of maintenance. VW Jetta and Laura are same under the skin. And about the diesel and petrol version performance comparison, diesel is much better for consistent stretches of high speed cruising. Petrol will start to strain after around 140 kmph.

EDIT : Did you buy the car ?

[Karizma Fan]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Nice review.

About the point of safety while overtaking. Its true that Jetta is not as safe as Honda Civic while overtaking because its good if you spend least time out of your lane and overtake quickly. Here the Civic is fast and if in right gear ( in powerband ), can be real fast. Jetta is a lot slower.

Jetta is one of the better built cars. Civic has score of 4/5 stars for front offset crash and jetta has 5/5. The reasons for low level of success are VW quality of parts ( news of DSG gearbox issues ), less dealerships and high cost of maintenance. VW Jetta and Laura are same under the skin. And about the diesel and petrol version performance comparison, diesel is much better for consistent stretches of high speed cruising. Petrol will start to strain after around 140 kmph.

EDIT : Did you buy the car ?

I have decided on this car for now. I will be buying one within 2-3 months. Do you advice on buying anything else? I can't spend more than 15 lacs.

[FenderBender]

Was just checking prices for Jetta in US, why it soo off, i mean its range of 17k - 23k same as civic in US. and top diesel for jetta is 19 lakhs as mentioned by karizmafan.



Does anybody knows is there a lot of difference in specs?. I know there is premium of taxes, and i think jetta here will be fully imported unit too , but that much !!

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by Karizma Fan

I have decided on this car for now. I will be buying one within 2-3 months. Do you advice on buying anything else? I can't spend more than 15 lacs.

If you ask for my opinion then I will say that buy VW Jetta if you are buying diesel. If you are buying petrol then there are Cedia, Civic, Corolla Altis. Also try out G3HC.

I have been reading VW group's Skoda A.S & S ( After Sales and Service ) and its not reported good. We at T-BHP have many threads about this. I doubt that VW can do better. Aslo there are issues reported with Passat's DSG box and engine's excessive oil consumption. So I dont rate their quality as high. The only distinct advantage VW has is that Skoda Laura and Jetta come with diesel engines that are good and both the cars are delight to drive.

Much of this depends on what are duty the car will be doing for you. Hauling the family for highway trips or doing city duties or both.

So IMO, if diesel engine is requirement, then go for VW Jetta and if diesel is not the basic requirement, then you have option to choose from Civic, Corolla Altis, Lancer Cedia and may be G3HC.

EDIT : Some information with regards to VW Passat.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ems-alert.html (VW Passat - Problems Alert!)

Excessive Oil consumption was reported by AutoCar India ( ACI ) also.

[abhi1309]

I wonder why it is so expensive. The taxes are ridiculous or it is just so much for a basic 1.6 which does not even have climate control. 15 lacs for a car with manual a/c that too a VW.

[Dose]

Does m_t_rbeam dot com have t-bhp.com's permission to post Deepak's review on their site: http://www.**************/cars/vw-je...ndline-review/

[abhinav.gupta88]

Originally Posted by Dose

Does m_t_rbeam dot com have t-bhp.com's permission to post Deepak's review on their site: http://www.**************/cars/vw-je...ndline-review/

It doesn't need it.
Deepak has himself posted the review there.

Nice review by the way.
And I would suggest, try the Corolla Altis also before making the final call.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by Karizma Fan

I have decided on this car for now. I will be buying one within 2-3 months. Do you advice on buying anything else? I can't spend more than 15 lacs.

For about the same price you can get a Civic V spec that comes with more horsepower, climate control and leather seating. You can get an Altis with all these and lot more like Xenon headlights, sunshade etc etc. Go thru some other threads. Altis is the most VFM followed by Civic and Jetta. The VW however has the solid German car feel that the others cant match.

[StarScream]

Depends how much of a premium one is willing to pay for the solid German feel. In my opinion 15 lacs for a car with really basic interiors is not worth it even if it has 6 airbags and traction control. It is over-priced by 1-2 lacs for sure.
Im curious about the mileage though. What is the FE of the 1.6 petrol Trendline?

[d_himan]

deepak, well, if your heart's set on it, fine, but pls. rethink! The interiors look very, very ordinary - almost spartan. The lack of climate control is disgusting at this price point. I'm also guessing it wont be very pretty when almost every sedan in the upper C/D segment can zip past you in the expressway.

[Karizma Fan]

Originally Posted by d_himan

deepak, well, if your heart's set on it, fine, but pls. rethink! The interiors look very, very ordinary - almost spartan. The lack of climate control is disgusting at this price point. I'm also guessing it wont be very pretty when almost every sedan in the upper C/D segment can zip past you in the expressway.

The replies in this thread is making me rethink. For the same price... auto transmission, leather seats etc is more inviting in the Civic AT. After some research I found out that Civic V AT has almost all the features in Jetta Comfortline but is more than 4 laks cheaper. And I get extra power!

And I had a preconceived notion that VW are the best in build quality, but the reports of Passat gearbox problem is a let down. Another guy in another forum commented...

Volkswagen has a lesser reliablity rating than Skoda in the UK. VW is resting on past laurels, it has to rise like a Phoenix from the ashes and increase it's reliability rating if it has to hit the sweet spot, here. It will also be an expensive ride to maintain.

And I may not travel a lot and diesel is not a necessity for me. Nothing decided for final yet. I am going to get another test drive of the Civic. (had one several months back). I will post whats going on here.

[Caramelo]

if you ask me. i think the petrol jetta has its pros and cons.
1.6 petrol doesnt make you feel that excited.(needs 2.0 tsi)
no auto AC awww man. i cant live withouth a controled climate.

the few things i like in jetta. rear AC vents, good build quality. german sedan confidence. six airbags. traction control and stuff like that.

now whats value to me, i would pay 18 lacs. for top of the line jetta. for which i get 1.9 tdi, 8 airbags, FATC, trac con, good interiors, and basically everything.

but i will tell you one thing jetta is 10 times safer than any other car. just watch SAFE happens ad for vw jetta on youtube. you will know.

i would pay money for value. on condition, that they generously provide it. i mean i would prefer airbags to leather seats any day.