[Aditya]

The 2015 Volkswagen Jetta Facelift has been launched in India at a price of between Rs. 14.15 - 20.17 lakhs (ex-Delhi).

What you’ll like:

• Classic, timeless and understated styling, mated with solid build quality
• 2.0L diesel is fast, torquey, refined & fuel-efficient. 6-speed manual is a joy to use
• Smooth, high-tech 6-speed DSG automatic (diesel). Lightning quick upshifts
• Spacious cabin, front & back
• Mature ride and handling package. Extremely well-tuned suspension
• Features such as bi-xenon headlamps, LED DRLs, dual-zone climate control, touchscreen ICE etc.
• 5 star NCAP rating. Safety kit includes 6 airbags, ABS + EBD, ESP, EDL and more

What you won’t:

• Leather seats, sunroof & reversing camera are conspicuous by their absence
• DSG only offered with the diesel's Highline variant. Octavia has it on the middle variant too
• Lacklustre 1.4L TSI petrol engine. Explosive 1.8L TSI isn't available in the Jetta
• Interior quality is a grade or two lower than the previous generation Jetta
• Unusually tall floor hump can make things uncomfortable for the 5th occupant
• Newer Skoda Octavia has more power, equipment & a bigger boot
• VW's substandard dealership & service experiences

[Aditya]

Since the Volkswagen Jetta has already been reviewed by Team-BHP, this report will only focus on changes made to the 2015 car. For easy reference, here are direct links to the complete Jetta road-test:

Exterior Design & Build Quality

Interior design, space, practicality & features

The 2.0 TDI Diesel Engine

The 1.4 TSI Petrol Engine

Other Pertinent Points

The Smaller & Significant Things

[Aditya]

So, what's new on the outside?

The 2015 Jetta gets a new radiator grille, air-dam & foglamps. It looks more like a Passat now (pre-facelift had semblance to the Vento). This 'Silk Blue' metallic shade is new:


Changes at the rear are more subtle - blink & you'll miss them. Only enthusiasts will notice the new boot lid, tail-lamps, bumper and reflectors. The boot has been reshaped to go with the new lights & bumper. It has less creases around the numberplate housing, which lend it a cleaner look:


Bumper is an all body-coloured affair now. The blackened portion (at the bottom) is far less prominent compared to the pre-facelift model:


The 'Toffee Brown' shade which was introduced in 2011. Looks very upmarket, Moderator Ajmat's Jetta wears the same colour:


Wide Passat-like grille with 3 chrome slats and a big VW logo in the middle. Notice that the logo no longer requires a cut in the bumper:


The lines of the new grille merge seamlessly with the headlamps, where the bonnet crease meets them too. The Highline variant gets bi-xenons with LED DRLs:


With the headlamp switched on:


On the other hand, the Comfortline trim has to make do with halogen units as before:


The new front bumper has prominent horizontal slats and a wider air dam. No touches of chrome here (pre-facelift had a classy chrome outline). Parking sensors are located just below the numberplate housing:


Round foglamps ditched for a more angular design:


"Pollution under control" certified by Skoda :


All variants get 16" rims. Same design as the earlier car. 'Atlanta' wheels for the Highline...


...and "Sedona" rims for the Trendline & Comfortline. The Sedonas were introduced in 2013:


A closer look at the new two-piece tail lamp. The "2.0 TDI" badge has been dropped. New badge simply says "TDI". TDI gets a blue "I"...


...while the TSI has the "I" in red. Someone from VW said that blue = efficiency, red = performance. In this case however, the 2.0 blue is a better performer than the 1.4 red :


New reflectors are housed in a recessed area:

[Aditya]

So, what's new on the inside?

The interiors of the 2015 Jetta remain largely unchanged. The most prominent upgrades are a new multifunction steering wheel and instrument cluster. While the faux wood inserts look nice, Volkswagen could've experimented with black inserts instead:


Lovely flat-bottom steering wheel with integrated controls (standard across all variants now). Piano black inserts & chrome lining (around the horn pad) look classy:


No less than 17 steering-mounted controls!! Cruise control and volume buttons are on the left. Those for the MID, audio and bluetooth telephony are on the right:


The new twin-pod instrument cluster. As before, the analogue temperature & fuel gauges are nestled within the tachometer & speedometer respectively. The overall design is clean and easy to read. It's a bit weird how the twin-pods protrude out from the bottom, and not the top as is usually the case (related image):


Cruise control is now standard on all variants. The Jetta also gets a fatigue detection system. How does it work? The system monitors driver input (including steering movements) above 65 km/h. If it feels that you are tired (say, erratic steering inputs), a warning chime + MID sign will follow. The warning is repeated after 15 minutes if the driver hasn't taken a break:


The MID is now standard across all variants:


Pairing your smartphone to the Jetta's infotainment system is a breeze:


Highline gets an RCD 510 touchscreen audio system with 8 speakers, 6 CD changer, Aux-in and Bluetooth. The touchscreen also acts as a display for the parking system & climate control. There is no reversing camera or navigation system though. I would expect that after paying 20 big ones:


Comfortline gets an ordinary RCD 320 music system with no touchscreen. Inputs for the SD card, Aux and USB are located at the bottom of the head-unit. Shockingly, the Jetta's brochure states that the Trendline and Comfortline get 2 speakers + 2 tweeters at the front only:


The Highline variant's center console has piano black finishing around the A/C vents, infotainment system, climate control knobs and gear lever:


No such piano black inserts for the Comfortline:


The A/C vents are new with thinner chrome inserts on the direction adjusters. The hazard light switch has shrunk in size (sure looks weird!). It's now a square button with the front passenger airbag indicator right above. Speaking of which, the Highline variant went from 8 airbags to 6 in 2014 :


All variants are equipped with dual-zone climate control:


The DSG gear lever is unchanged. Its surrounding area is finished in piano black. On the pre-facelift model, this was finished in aluminium:


The 6-speed MT :


Parking sensor button shifts a couple of notches to the right:


Armrest height and position cannot be adjusted:


The three black buttons shown here are non-functional on the India-spec Jetta:


iPod connector has been updated from the 30-pin version to the newer lightning connector:


This light in the glovebox is very helpful after sunset:


Boot hinges are no longer clad in plastic:


Disclaimer: Volkswagen invited Team-BHP for the Jetta test-drive. They covered all the travel expenses for this driving event.

[Aditya]

How the VW Jetta stands vis a vis competition

[Zahir]

Originally Posted by ishlinea7260

Any information regarding the prices of the new Jetta?

Prices are up 20-30k ex-showroom Mumbai
TL TSI was 13.58, now 13.87
HL TDI DSG was 19.58, now 19.77

[PPS]

Prices seem to suggest its slightly cheaper than the Octavia!
Octavia is priced at Rs 16.6 to 21.1 lakh ex-showroom Mumbai.

pic source: https://twitter.com/bertrandOD/statu...297668/photo/1

[spyder_p8]

The safety features across the range are simply awesome. 6 airbags across all variants. They have also introduced "Driver Fatigue Detection". Thats a wow in this segment.

[Contrapunto]

Now all prospective Passsat owners are going to be really ticked off. Why would you pay near-C-class money that all your neighbours and friends will confuse with a 17-22 Lakh car?

Bye bye, Passat sales. You will not be missed, because your "mini me" is here with us.

[Gannu_1]

Good to see all the variants getting 6 airbags across all the models just like how the Polo facelift got 2 during the facelift launch.

But the lower variants getting a basic audio HU is not done. A 15+L car with the same unit that goes into the Polo/Vento. Unfair!

Originally Posted by Contrapunto

Bye bye, Passat sales.

Passat has never had any sales TBH. In the last two quarters, the sales haven't crossed 10 numbers! Aug' 14 to Jan '15 numbers below:



Just look at how the Superb demolishes it!

[Zahir]

Originally Posted by Contrapunto

Bye bye, Passat sales. You will not be missed, because your "mini me" is here with us.

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Passat has never had any sales TBH. In the last two quarters, the sales haven't crossed 10 numbers! Aug' 14 to Jan '15 numbers below:

Just look at how the Superb demolishes it!

The Passat has been discontinued for awhile now actually. Any sales you're seeing are just old stock clearance so comparison to a car current on sale with active stocks isn't a correct approach

The new passat would launch in the months to come with a new design

[Baddychat]

The face lift as many have mentioned is more cosmetic than anything else. The front now resembles the Passat(current-gen) more as compared to the Vento which the pre-face lift model did.

I haven't driven the 1.4 TSi so I would like to know from someone here how it stands in comparison to the Altis petrol. Come what may it will not set the sales charts on fire.

Also I have no idea why VW does not provide the same ACC unit as the Yeti even on the HL variant.

[vb-san]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Good to see all the variants getting 6 airbags across all the models just like how the Polo facelift got 2 during the facelift launch.

Even before the facelift, I believe Jetta always had 6 airbags, and ESP/Traction Control standard across all variants.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Even before the facelift, I believe Jetta always had 6 airbags, and ESP/Traction Control standard across all variants.

Jetta Highline back in 2011-12 came with 8 Airbags, VW then quietly deleted 2 airbags later on!

[Vid6639]

So the inevitable has happened. Ex showroom Delhi of the Highline DSG has crossed 20L. That means that road tax for states like Karnataka goes up by 5% which is 1L more.

Effectively 30-40K price increase of facelift means it crosses 20L by 17 thousand rupees. This 17 thousand results in additional road tax increase of 1 lakh!!

This makes it a big problem.