[Vinith7979]

Hello bhpian's hope everyone is doing good.

Beginning

This is a long term ownership review of my 2010 volkswagen jetta.

Selection

It was back then in 2010 when I was in school and we decided to get a sedan amidst having the good old innova 2.5 G. The decision of jetta was made by dad and it was jetta comfortline 2.0 tdi manual.

Living with the jetta

The jetta has been part of the family for a good 13 years, had travelled to a lots of places in the car and I have enjoyed the ride so much. Till 2016 I was only chauffeured in the car. After that I got my hands on this beautiful and well built German machine. Lovely car even though it has mixed likings over the looks department I personally like it.

Altogether the car has run more than 145000 kms almost trouble free , just the regular maintenance. I remember once the abs sensor was replaced. Other than that I call this one a reliable car just like our rapid.

May be I can call myself lucky because majority of the cars in our garage are Germans and none of them have caused any troubles till date.

Also to be mentioned we never abuse any of our cars, mostly highway cruising only.

Ok let me introduce the jetta to all of you!!

Front


The front looks like a typical volkswagen, houses a dual barrel headlamps with auto on/off function, manual leveling though. The fog lamp is not much effective!!

Side Profile


The car looks long from this angle and my favorite view point of the car!! Gets chrome treatment around the windows, glad that the fit and finish is excellent and haven't worn out even after years. Overall the paint quality of the car is amazing, the car still glows. No teflon or any kind of treatment done till date.

Rear


The rear of the car looks better than the front IMO!! The round tailamps looks cool during night time!!

The Dashboard




The player houses a 6 cd changer, aux connectivity, no Bluetooth though!!

The Steering


Gets the latest version steering of the face-lift jetta.

The Meter Console


The usual Vw setup , notice zero errors. The long red needles feels good and the background illuminates automatically when needed!! MID houses trip information, digital speed, alternative speed mph, fuel efficiency, drive time, average speed, a clock, range!!

The faithful Tdi


After almost 1.5 lakh kms the engine still pulls like anything and sounds very less while idling. The coolant is still pinkish in color, I think the coolant rust in more common in the 1.6 and 1.5 tdi whereas the 2.0 tdi is less prone to that!! Laura with 135000 km mark still the coolant remains new, whereas the rapid's coolant got contaminated around 80k kms!!

The alloy


16 inch rims which goes well with the car with 205/55 Tyres. Currently on michelin primacy 3st rubber!!

The Boot


A well spacious boot with practical holders and space, it can also be accessed from rear seat.

The Front Seat


Well bolstered leather seat , feels comfortable has electrical adjustment only for lumbar support, has this for passenger seat as well. Gets seat heating as well, wish It got cooled seats!!

Rear Seat


Best suited for 2 adults, comfortable. The quality of leather is something which can't be explained,no wrinkles till date

Rear Ac Console


Ac adjusters broke long time ago, also houses cup holders.

Cabin Lights


Dual lights illuminate well, also gives a red ambient light during night time. Comes with sunglass holder and interior monitoring function/motion sensor.

Glove Box


Opens/closes with hydraulic effect, also finishes in soft carpet material so no niggles can be heard.

Center Storage space/cupholders



Can be closed when not in use.

Armrest


A big armrest with height and reach adjust, also houses a small storage space below, also houses an aux port.

Door Pads


A well built door pad with leather finish and 2 speakers per door, total 8 apeakers and 2 tweeters. Just look at the leather treatment no wear and tear just excellent quality. The orvm is practical,gets electric adjustments and can be retracted electrically!!

Driving Experience

The car has been a breeze to drive in the city as well as the highways. The car feels rock solid at 3 digit speeds and breaking is great which helps build confidence at speeds.

The 2.0 tdi has a good torque and since its manual i feel more power in this than the laura AT IMO!!

The suspension and the car altogether feels planted, it just glides over small undulations without any feel inside, which i haven't experienced in any other cars of this segment!!

Features

The car is packed with a good list of features including 8 airbags, abs,ebd,traction control,hill hold assist yes hill hold for a manual car!! All 4 disc brakes, auto dimming rear view mirrors. 6cd changer with aux, cruise control,Rain sensing wipers,coming home and leaving home light guidance!!

Maintenance

The car never gave much trouble in the maintenance department, just regular services 15000kms or yearly once. The car is maintained at ASC till date.Abs sensor gave up one time in one of the wheels.
Clutch and front suspension have been replaced and the timing belt kit all changed at 1 lakh km mark. Headlamp was cleaned at 1 lakh kms. No issues in the car till date.
The interior lights and door pad lights have fused out and have to be changed!! The windshield is due for replacement, no cracks but a lot of scratches quite normal for a 13 year old car!! So far no failures in the electrical department as well as mechanical!!

Pros

(+)Solid build quality as in its like built for life.
(+)Excellent Driveability
(+)Quality of interior is top-notch the fit and finish is perfect,no niggles or rattles till date.
(+)Still feels premium.
(+)Excellent insulation.

Cons
(-)Absence of parking sensors is a headache especially during urban commute. Can install an aftermarket unit though.
(-)Unavailability of some spares and cost of spares is high.
(-)The ac vents are weak which is common in a volkswagen, broke in no time.
(-)Future availability of oe spare parts is a question mark!!

Conclusion
The jetta is one well built car, to say even VW does not make cars like this anymore. Solid built, safe, lot of features,etc. It has been a faithful companion to the family and never let's us down anywhere. The car is due for Fitness test in 2 years!!

Thank you all !! Everyone stay happy andhealthy!!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[GTO]

*Rubbing eyes in disbelief & awe*

Is that a 13-year old car with almost 1.5 lakh km on the odo? Brother, it looks simply fantastic. Big congrats on the Jetta and keeping it so well. This generation of the Jetta was known as the "TANK", with a superior build & quality to the 6th-generation that replaced it (I love the 6th-gen too).

Appreciate the timeless exterior styling as well as the interiors. You got the better 2.0 TDI engine too. I am a big fan of buying the right car, maintaining it in top shape and keeping it for 10+ years. Anyone can buy a new VW Virtus today, but it takes a real enthusiast to have such an impeccably-kept 5th-gen Jetta in the garage. My own German car is 10 years old and I hope to retain it for another 2 - 3 years.

Unavailability of some spares and cost of spares is high.

Future availability of oe spare parts is a question mark!!

There are lakhs of these cars on the road internationally. You shouldn't have much of a problem. Find a great independent garage who can source parts for you from international sources. Lots of Europe-based websites too which will happily ship parts to you.

Your Jetta is going to be on the top of our homepage today .

[sudeepg]

Wow! Just wow. I am amazed at how well this machine has been maintained by your family.

This is ONE of those cars I have always drooled over. I've even had the chance of sitting in one and am absolutely impressed with its design, interiors, and engine. This was a long time ago though.

Man - those simple timeless designs, and that head unit console, the build quality inside out is just too good. I wish all companies made parts to such standards these days.

Congratulations on a well-kept car and hope you will retain it for a few more years at the least.

[Axe77]

Immaculately kept indeed. What a fabulous machine and hats off to the way you’ve maintained it.

Not taking anything away from your upkeep which is the main contributor of why it looks the way it does - but this is one thing you’ve gotta love about the Germans in general. They’re expensive to buy, pinch in their upkeep and throw the occasional serious gremlin. But man, do they last, if kept well!! My near about 8 year old GT still feels tight, and apart from some serial issue like door handle rubber pads that had to be changed, the car has aged beautifully indeed. Same for some other decade old Germans on this forum.

Welcome to Team BHP and would love to read more of your ownership experiences.

Cheers.

[Kkumar]

Vow, what a car. A big salute to you for maintaining the car in such an impeccable condition. Someone once said “A car acts like a mirror of one’s personality” and I think it’s true. In the past things were made to last and your car is an excellent example for that. All the best and keep on munching miles.

[RunGaDa]

Congratulations on maintaining the car so well. For Indian conditions this is a remarkable feat. I’ve owned a Jetta, but in the USA and it’s easier to maintain cars there. They also go easily for long miles.

This model you have is particularly good. I’ve had older boxy model. There’s no compromise on the build quality though.

[Raghu M]

That's a fantastic car. The looks and styling is timeless. The list of features just blew me away. It was a car well ahead of it's time. Very well maintained!

[GreasyCarb55]

A fantastic example of how good a well maintained German car looks like. I've always had a soft spot for these 2.0L TDI Jetta's.

I still remember back in 2017 when we were looking to replace our 2005 WagonR with a C2 segment sedan. I practically begged my father to at least consider the then newly launched Skoda Rapid Monte Carlo 1.5TDI MT with that beautiful red paint and black wheels but unfortunately for me he was fixed on buying a Japanese brand and an Automatic. So that left us with pretty much one option, the Honda City Petrol as while I would've loved a Corolla Altis 1.8, it would've be too expensive.

[veedub89]

Having owned a Jetta of this very same generation myself, I can tell you that you have a keeper!

Don't ever sell it. You will regret it!

Correct me if I am wrong, but you have the 1.9 litre pumpe duse engine and the not the 2.0 litre. The 2.0 litre was introduced in the subsequent generation of the Jetta sold here.

I say this because even I had the 1.9 litre pumpe duse Comfortline MT model.

Here's a really low quality of my really high quality car, taken towards the end of a 7 year ownership-

[GeeTee TSI]

Excellent example of a wonderfully engineered car. This was an era where VW has the best of its global range on offer in India (including the mighty Touareg and the Phaeton!) and truly aspirational a brand in the run up to the Polo

To appreciate this particular model one needs to benchmark it against cars of that era (2009-10) and it stands out as mind-blowing, especially the refinement and NVH

[ChandraSekarMN]

Originally Posted by veedub89

Correct me if I am wrong, but you have the 1.9 litre pumpe duse engine and the not the 2.0 litre. The 2.0 litre was introduced in the subsequent generation of the Jetta sold here.

Exactly my doubt as well. As far as my memory goes, it was 1.9 TDi till MK5 version and 2.0 TDi came in from MK6 version. Can someone confirm on this understanding?

[TheGearBox]

Awesome job retaining your Mk5 Jetta!
Hope you clock many more miles with it.

We also used to have a Mk5. It was a 2009 1.6 Trendline, which we let go at the 10 year mark with 68xxx km on the odo.

Originally Posted by veedub89

Correct me if I am wrong, but you have the 1.9 litre pumpe duse engine and the not the 2.0 litre. The 2.0 litre was introduced in the subsequent generation of the Jetta sold here.

Originally Posted by ChandraSekarMN

Exactly my doubt as well. As far as my memory goes, it was 1.9 TDi till MK5 version and 2.0 TDi came in from MK6 version. Can someone confirm on this understanding?

The 2.0 TDI was first introduced in the Jetta in its Mk5 generation. See here:

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-rev...009-old-269288

[Drivethru]

i drive the 2012 VW Jetta Highline AT and its true, OEMs have stopped making cars like this. Built like a tank, cruises without any noise, provides driving pleasure while giving great fuel efficiency. Difficult to let this one go. deserves to be called timeless.

[AYP]

Excellent review mate! While I knew that the MK5 Jetta was much more premium on the inside than the MK6(that my father owns), the pictures of the interior makes it much more apparent. You have maintained the car brilliantly. Wish you many more miles with the Jetta. Any plans to get a remap?

From your post, it seems that you either own a Laura or have had a lot of experience with it. Which car is better in terms of quality? The MK5 or the Laura?