2015 Volkswagen Jetta Facelift : A Close Look

[itwasntme]

October offer for Jetta is free third year extended warranty worth 27k. Plus 20 k corporate bonus for large corporates as well as 20k loyalty bonus if anyone in immediate family owns a VW. Adds upto 67k, not a bad amount at all!

[tilt]

Originally Posted by gautam99

I checked the VW UK website for the emissions issues *SNIP* My Jetta has come up affected and have sent the screen shot to VW India customer care. *SNIP*

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Ditto, Gautam99. My car is showing up as affected too on Volkswagen UK's website, *SNIP*

Oddly enough, my Jetta shows as unaffected, both on the German site and on the UK site!

Cheers

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by tilt

Oddly enough, my Jetta shows as unaffected, both on the German site and on the UK site!

Cheers

Both my 2012 Jetta & 2013 Rapid come up as unaffected too. Hope thats the "truth".

[itwasntme]

Am pretty sure that VW India had briefly modified the TDI update page to state that other country VIN checkers are not accurate, hence to await the India specific page. Now again changed back to the vanilla statement.

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

October offer for Jetta is free third year extended warranty worth 27k. Plus 20 k corporate bonus for large corporates as well as 20k loyalty bonus if anyone in immediate family owns a VW. Adds upto 67k, not a bad amount at all!

I was told this is applicable only for HL AT. Can you confirm which dealer gave you this info ?

[R17]

(Am copying-pasting an issue highlighted on the original Jetta thread - may be a useful read for the buyers of the 2015 model)

Hi folks,

Just wanted to highlight an interesting discussion I had with VW India recently. Will be showing snapshots of the e-mail exchange we had.

Lets start with the bottom-line: It seems that VW India is selling us a Jetta with a different crash test structure compared to the globally sold Jettas. Or more correctly, a crash structure which hasnt received the same upgrades which the American market Jetta did, even though theyre both manufactured in the same plant in Puebla, Mexico (from where our CKDs come), even though they come with the same passive safety equipment (6 airbags etc).

Why this matters: At least for the more expensive cars, Indian buyers would expect to receive the same safety standards as our global counterparts. As an example, Audi India confirmed to me (in writing) that the Indian Q3 and the A6 have received the same structural upgrades as their American counterparts and would perform absolutely similarly in crash tests since all models were built of the same plant and making any structural changes would actually be a cost and ops-intensive process for Audi. Read differently, this may imply that VW India went out of its way to avoid deploying the standardized upgraded body structure for the Indian market to perhaps save a few pennies.

Which then contradicts VW's grand public statements that any Indian VW is built to the exact same standards as its global counterparts. Read the VW India MD's (now ex-MD) take on this issue - http://www.autocarpro.in/interview/p...ess-build-6284

(one of many - a simple google search will through up a few more)

The issue: A VW India representative confirmed to me on an email that the Indian Jetta and the North American Jetta have different body structures. This, despite the fact that they are built in the same plant in Mexico, with the same passive safety kit. The confirmation came in response to my query if the Indian Jetta had received the structural upgrades on its A-pillars and door sills which the American Jetta received. These upgrades had enabled the American Jetta's crash ratings on the IIHS small overlap test (the most stringent crash test today, in the world) to move from a 'Marginal' (http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/veh...oor-sedan/2014) to a 'Good' (http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/veh...a-4-door-sedan)

The catch: Its more than a little surprising that VW would degrade the body structure of a CKD to save a few pennies. Whatever we may have against VW, they've always prioritized safety on their Indian vehicles (the Indian VW Polo was one of the few vehicles which didnt disgrace itself in the Global NCAP tests). Moreover, it may be complicated and expensive to change the body structure for a single export market (Industrial engineering - aware junta - please correct my understanding if wrong). Could this be a case of the VW Customer care representative not knowing what hes talking about or not having checked with the Engineering team before responding? But thats perhaps wishful thinking on my part in mind - VW India confirmed on 2 separate emails that the crash structures are indeed different - see snapshots below.

If so, this is a bit of a disappointment. Brought it to GTO's notice the other day and he was also wondering if the knowledgeable folks on our forum would have a perspective on this issue.

Would also help if someone here knew the right folks in the VW CKD / Engineering team who could either confirm or deny the VW India representative's statements.

[vb-san]

Originally Posted by R17

Its more than a little surprising that VW would degrade the body structure of a CKD to save a few pennies. Whatever we may have against VW, they've always prioritized safety on their Indian vehicles (the Indian VW Polo was one of the few vehicles which didnt disgrace itself in the Global NCAP tests). Moreover, it may be complicated and expensive to change the body structure for a single export market (Industrial engineering - aware junta - please correct my understanding if wrong). Could this be a case of the VW Customer care representative not knowing what hes talking about or not having checked with the Engineering team before responding? But thats perhaps wishful thinking on my part in mind - VW India confirmed on 2 separate emails that the crash structures are indeed different - see snapshots below.

Even though originating from the same plant, the American and European Jetta had different setups. For e.g.; I remember the US initially got a cheaper suspension setup compared to the Euro model. The CKD kits for India are on the European template, and if you have to make a realistic comparison to see if the Indian model is watered down, probably its best to check with the European Jetta.

[Vitalstatistiks]

Originally Posted by R17

Just wanted to highlight an interesting discussion I had with VW India recently. Will be showing snapshots of the e-mail exchange we had.

Hey, can you reproduce the query you asked the VW folks? At times, how a question is asked can influence the answer. For e.g. the answers seem to be cheerful about the fact 'structure is the same'.

The way question was put may help ascertain whether this is an over-enthusiastic employee going beyond the call of duty, with little knowledge. Thanks !

[R17]

Originally Posted by Vitalstatistiks

Hey, can you reproduce the query you asked the VW folks? At times, how a question is asked can influence the answer. For e.g. the answers seem to be cheerful about the fact 'structure is the same'.

The way question was put may help ascertain whether this is an over-enthusiastic employee going beyond the call of duty, with little knowledge. Thanks !

Here you go - Ive highlighted the bits which may be of interest.

The questions were pretty pointed so rationally, there should have been no chirpiness around the 'structure is the same' response

Basically, its what the VW customer care representative truly believes or has been told, by an equally uninformed (or worse, well informed) colleague.

[Vitalstatistiks]

Originally Posted by R17

Here you go - Ive highlighted the bits which may be of interest.

Oh wow! Depending on what is meant by 'structure', it could be a pretty big deal. Does it mean that while VW is paying duty for importing a CKD unit, but the end product is not just assembly? Rather, some Indian component replaces one or more parts? Why would anyone do that? To use that imported component for a piece to be exported (from India) elsewhere?

Or, does it mean that VW doesn't import a CKD car, but just some components. See where the VW rep says "manufactured from CKD kits manufactured in Mexico"?

[R17]

Originally Posted by Vitalstatistiks

Oh wow! Depending on what is meant by 'structure', it could be a pretty big deal. Does it mean that while VW is paying duty for importing a CKD unit, but the end product is not just assembly? Rather, some Indian component replaces one or more parts? Why would anyone do that? To use that imported component for a piece to be exported (from India) elsewhere?

Agreed - its difficult to fathom the rationale. My guess would be as good as yours.

Though, it might also help to remember that Global NCap's crash tests clearly highlighted that the Suzuki Swift here is structurally very different from the Swift sold in Europe (its much, much weaker - to which the Maruti Chairman's callous response was "it meets Indian safety requirements"). And that the export Ford Ecosport manufactured in India but sold in Europe, had its body structure reinforced for the crash tests, thereby implying we Indian consumers drew a short straw there too - http://autoportal.com/news/ford-has-...rket-1369.html

All of the above basically comes down to - there is more to the underlying passive safety of our Indian vehicles than meets the eye. It explains why the Indian Auto manufacturers are lobbying so hard to dilute / delay Bharat NCAP crash tests.

In the case of VW, I still wonder if this is just the Customer Care rep being uninformed? As things stand for now, this is the official line from the company.

Wondering if any folks here have any connects in the CKD / Technical side of VW to get some validation of this. Or if someone can help relay this to the higher authorities of VW to get their inputs on it?

[man_and_machine]

Originally Posted by R17

Or if someone can help relay this to the higher authorities of VW to get their inputs on it?

Forget it. There is nothing like higher authorities of VW that will answer any of you queries. I have so far not got response from them on the TDI engine issue and the show cause notice from ARAI which is "clear and present danger" (pun intentional). The authorities have not been responsive so far.

[dharmapurikar]

I just booked a new Jetta and it has the new composition media like (here).

The same media system is also launched in Beetle. I have checked the VIN and it shows the model year is 2016.

2015 Jetta still carries the older RCxxx media systems.

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by dharmapurikar

I just booked a new Jetta and it has the new composition media like (here).

The same media system is also launched in Beetle. I have checked the VIN and it shows the model year is 2016.

2015 Jetta still carries the older RCxxx media systems.

Wow, Thats nice, Do post some pictures and also a video if you can. It certainly is better than the RCD 510.

[dharmapurikar]

Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558

Wow, Thats nice, Do post some pictures and also a video if you can. It certainly is better than the RCD 510.

Yes. I suppose it supports Apple CarPlay and Android auto.

I will post photos as soon as I get delivery of car next week. Can't wait.