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No, I have not checked which light is turned-on because it is not always ON. When I start from home or office I checked and it was not ON it turn on during the travel.

May be I will try this in a traffic less route where I can stop and check.

svkndv, In "0" position only DRL will be ON. They are your uppermost flick of bulbs. You can check them when you start the car. In HL, they are whitelight (LED). They cannot be turned off.
In "Auto" position, the whole light assembly come ON depending on the ambient conditions. Its same in HL and CL I guess.

+1 to what Sanjubose said - even on my CL Jet - the DRL's are on all the time and because they are not the decorative individual-led type that are usually seen in other cars - I've had many a passer-by point out that my headlights are on.

For Jetta without LED DRLs, the DRLs are normal halogen bulbs next to (outward of) the turn signal lights as seen in the below pic. This cannot be switched on or off by the HL switch. In Yeti, this could be done via MFD (activating DRLs on or off). It should be available on Jetta too. Once it is turned ON via MFD, DRLs come on whenever your ignition is turned ON. It switches off when the park lights/head lights are turned ON. If in auto mode, when the ambient light is low and head lights turn on, these DRLs switch off.

Other than the above 2 types, I don't think any other DRL systems (like low beam of main head lamps as seen in cars in some EU countries as per their law) have made it to Indian Jettas. However these options are seen in VCDS for activating (low beams permanently ON). But I don't think any one would have activated it on your car without your knowledge.


AFAIK what is called as daytime headlights are not really different from DRLs purpose-wise. Both are to improve detect-ability and notice-ability of your car by others in daylight. In many countries where day time visibility is compromised by foggy conditions, cars have (by law) their low beams ON during daytime. If you read anywhere "daytime headlights" it could be referring to that only. But Indian Jettas would not have this feature activated from factory.

I test drove the jetta dsg today. Like Ive mentioned, I'm very interested in this car. I currently drive a q5 2.0 and was leaning towards the jetta as a second car because of the same engine though it has been mapped for a lower output. A lot of statements have been made on the similarities in build quality between the a4 & the jetta but honestly, while the interiors of the jetta are good, I felt like it didn't come close to Audi's interiors. The sports mode was fun to drive no doubt but D had tons of lag and the dsg upshifts arent nearly as smooth as the q5 when you floor it. Suspension too seemed a little hard over bad patches.

Again, I've heard a lot about how the audio system is good for stock from other jetta owners but I found it very average, infact I found it very comparable to my i20 asta in terms of sound output.

The car also felt very light and is missing the weight that is typical of Audis & other german mid range brands.

I still am leaning towards is but my enthusiasm is a bit dittered after the td. I hope the new facelift does enough to win me over. At this point, if I do book this car, it would be because of a lack of a better option in the sub 24l bracket.

If you find the jetta light I wonder how you would feel with something like the elantra.

I have driven my share of Germans and the jetta is every bit one. Yes, it does not have the interiors of a car priced twice as much, but for its segment its really very well put together.

The music system is average to put it mildly.

You're right, the Elantra is very light. Infact, when I was considering cars, I did consider the Elantra since I also have an I20 CRDI which I think is a great car in its own right. While the elantra is loaded, it has a bit of a float to its ride. The hyundai sales man actually told me to go for the Jetta instead

That being said, I still felt that the Jetta was lighter than I hoped. Maybe the td cars was roughed around a bit (sales guy mentioned it was in a major accident) and I may have rushed the td a bit because I was in a hurry. I'm planning on a longer td when I have a bit more time on hand.

Agree on the audio setup, the salesman was clear that if I was unhappy with the music, all I could do was upgrade to a caska rcd from them but touching the speakers(swapping for say focal) would void warranty

Its all relative. He is coming from a higher segment so the Jetta hasn't impressed him that much. Most others here are upgrading to a Jetta so its really impressive.

The Jetta is a German, but its not one of the 3 haloed brands when it comes to refinement, stability and luxury.

What about the A3? That will be a bit small, but could be a good option.

Also if you found the music system average now, then upgrading to a Caska would only make the sound quality worse.

Why not the Octavia?

The reason I'm in the market for a new car is because I'm looking to replace a Mercedes c200. I wasn't intending to get a q5 initially but since I got it about 9 months ago, I figured I would get rid of my i20(18m old) & the aging c class(4y old) for something that isn't too much of a downgrade but is still punchy. The a3 is too small. Here I found the jetta to be quite good, on space & comfort, its better than the c class which is perfect for me.

I drive myself most of the time & I want something I don't need to worry about too much in terms of maintenance, scratches etc. This would make the Q5 my weekend car and the jetta (potentially) my daily drive.

I'm hoping I can swap out the speakers at some point without affecting warranty if I proceed with this car. I was told that the jetta comes with an amp so this would save me the trouble of any hilo converters. Should make for a clean swap.

Haven't considered the Octavia because of the horrible after sales stories. VW owners seem to be happier.

I would go for the Octavia as well. I own a Skoda Octavia (2006 L&K) and have never had an issue with the ASS but ofcourse more people have than not. But if you plan to change your car in a few years you don't have much servicing to do (except 3 or 4 I guess). Jetta would be my second option in that range, so you can't really go wrong :)

I'm still skeptical about the Octavia though I like the way it looks. Lack of paddle shift works against it too. I guess I can't dismiss it completely without a td. Since you own an Octavia, have you driven the jetta? Big difference on quality, ride & drivability?

Had been to Ahmedabad last Saturday and the 3M Car Care outlet’s owner drives the previous generation Jetta 1.9 TDI with the 6 speed DSG. Sat inside the car and noticed that it had clocked 144k km on the odo! The owner said that the car has been niggle-free since day one. I believe this is the same DSG that goes with the 2.0 L TDI engine of the current Jetta as well.

But the car’s interiors were in a completely pathetic state! The upholstery was soiled badly, a packet of Lays was lying on the co-driver side outlet, the cup-holders were filled with dirt, coins, toll slips etc. :p

Not really sure. Except for the engine the 3 series are cramped compared to the Jetta and are more driver cars than passenger ones even when compared to Jetta. I am not saying they are not better but calling then to be better in terms of luxury is something i dont agree.

The A4 is exactly the Jetta in most ways.

When you go higher up in the segment you will see all the three parameters coming into picture. At the starting end of the segment i actually feel a loaded Jetta gives more value for money than a loaded A4 3 series(I can buy to loaded Jetta for 1 loaded 320D) or even the rich by generations mans car Mercedes.

Skoda is no worse and the superb for its price range is the BEST value for money compared to any car in any segment. ANd they offer a free umbrella if that helps :)

I am sure i will end up owning a superb if they continue to not change the way the interiors are designed. Its like a luxury boat on road and with their transmission problem getting fixed with the new generation i wont mind driving that for another 10 years.Love the Superb.

That's kinda sorted out with the present generation F30 3 series. Not as cramped as E90. Better but not the best. Like you said, it's for enjoying the drive and not for chauffeur driven. Passat kinda scores above the 3/C/A4 in most areas.

Passat and A4 shares the platform IINM. Jetta is not the same. Passat could be a little more stretched for rear space. I haven't checked the figures to confirm that now. Too lazy, so some one could correct that if required. Anyways, I think it would be fair to compare A4 with the Passat than a Jetta.

Super inputs everyone. Passat is a great car. Too big for my needs and I don't want to spend so much on a mid size car.

On another note, has anyone upgraded the audio on the jetta in terms of speakers ?