Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Official New Car Reviews (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/)

-   -   Volkswagen Jetta : Test Drive & Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/107073-volkswagen-jetta-test-drive-review-83.html)

Chethan above has posted most of the salient points. I am adding a file with the complete details including the fine print.

People suggest a tyre for Jetta as it comes with the Goodyear Eagle NCT 5 and is very noisy.

Are you keeping the same tire size and profile?

In any case, I'd recommend the Michelin primacy LC and Pirelli P7's. You should get between 5600-6000 per tire if you trade them in straight away. The Pirelli's should cost about 8300 per tire and the Michelin's about 9300.

I went for the Pirelli's. They're a good choice, although road noise at high speeds is slightly loud for my taste, although it is well within acceptable limits. I'm told the longevity of these tires is good and I can vouch for the performance. I'd recommend them as much as I would the Michelin's.

Do trade them in straight away, you'll get the best valuation for your tires.

I had booked an Octavia 1.8TSI in the 3rd week of December with delivery promised by mid April. Every time I see a thread on a Skoda failure or a malpractice by a Skoda dealer, I used to have second thoughts about the booking. But everytime I used to stick to my decision as the 1.8TSI is the best petrol car one could get this side of 25L. After 3 months of wait, I came to know a few days back that due to very small allocations of petrol cars, the delivery of my car may happen only in May or beyond. This was the last straw for me.

After reading the experience of iliketurtles and his encouraging words, I decided to give Jetta a try. I visited the VW showroom on Friday to check out the Jetta. Though I had done many comparisions on Jetta vs. Octavia, this was the first time I saw the car in flesh. There were two cars in the showroom, one in grey and one in silver.





I totally loved the grey one. After checking out the interior space, look and feel etc, I decided to take a test drive. They promised me a test drive on Saturday evening, but for some reason this did not happen. They promised to bring the car to my palce today. As promised they brought a white test drive car in the afternoon.



Took a long test drive of around 40km and below are my thoughts.

The performance of the 2.0TDI + 6 speed DSG is in one word, Exhilerating! With a light foot, the car is very mild (like Dr. Banner) and accelerates very smoothly. The gear shifts are seamless and in no time the car has touched 80kmph (I did not notice the gear number at this speed though). Change over to S mode, or floor the pedal in D mode, the Hulk inside wakes up. The accelaration is brutal and you are pushed back in your seat. Due to the winding roads, I could not touch 100, but that was really not required. I am sure the car would cruise effortlessly at 100-120.

The test drive was through some winding roads with very irregular surfaces and in some places through roads under construction. The multi-link suspension is very effective in masking these undulations and rough patches. Except for a couple of steep humps, it was very comfortable inside the cabin. I was able to take a couple of steep curves at 80+, which I would not have dared with my Getz at any speed above 50.

I tested the cruise control. Pressing the "SET" button at any speed above 40 puts the car in cruise mode. Applying the brake exits cruise mode. But pressing the "RES" button immediately puts the car in cruise mode and the car quickly accelerates to the previously set speed. Also, while in cruise mode pressing the SET or RES buttons increases or decreases the cruise speed. This is a very convenient feature I liked.

One of the concerns I had was the NVH levels. As I am hard of hearing, I need a very quiet cabin to be able to understand others conversation. I had earlier test drove the Vento TDI and the Octavia TDI. The noise inside the Vento was totally unbearable and I could not understand a word being said by the others. The Octavia was better, but still there was this constant thrumming noise which was very unsettling. This was the primary reason I was not changing over to Diesel. With these past experiences, I was very sceptic about what to expect in Jetta. But I felt the refinement of the engine was far better than the Octavia and totally acceptable.

I also tested the music system, the phone pairing and the bluetooth streaming of music. Due to my hearing, I cannot comment about the quality of the music, but it is leagues ahead of the one that I have in my Getz :) Pairing the cell phone to the system was also very easy and while streaming music from the cell phone, the track information is being displayed on the HU. I love this technology stuff.

The build is very solid. Tried to lift the bonnet, and it was quiet heavy. Similarly all the doors have this solid feeling and close with a thud.

Below are some negatives in Jetta compared to Octavia TSi

• Lack of sunroof. For me the sunroof is a good to have, and not a show stopper
• Boot space. Octavia has a 590ltr boot with notchback opening which provides a wide access. Compared to this the boot in Jetta with its narrow opening feels cramped.
• Octavia has the more advanced BiXenons with AFS, whereas Jetta has Xenons without the AFS. But the Xenons are quiet bright and one could live without the AFS. But this is one feature that I sorely miss in the Jetta.
• Compared to the Octavia, the HU in the Jetta feels dull and outdated.

But I consider these negatives as the price I pay for the peace of mind (I hope VW A.S.S is better than Skoda). Overall, I am very happy with the performance of the Jetta and have decided to give up the Octavia TSi. I am visiting the dealer tomorrow. The SA promised immediate delivery on some color choices. Provided they do not throw some surprises I plan to finalize the deal tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Too bad from Skoda, if they delay like this then they are going to loose so many customers.
Few other things I noticed during my Jetta test drive was interiors looks outdated and not as spacious as Octavia, VAG will soon phase out current Jetta and will introduce MQB platform based Jetta(in Vag India site itself you can find the benefits of MQB even though they did not launch any vehicle in India), service cost will be higher than Skoda, looks too similar to Vento. It's main advantages are solid build and multilink suspension.

Absolutely true. My SA in Skoda said that two other customers cancelled their Octavia booking recently due to the wait time. And there is absolutely no clue on the reason for the dimnishing sales figures of Octavia, definitely not due to lack of orders.

Regarding space, I totally agree with you that Jetta does feel cramped and outdated when compared to Octavia. That is a big compromise I had to make. I remember having read that VW has no plans for any new cars till 2016. Not sure how true this is though. Actually I have sort of convinced myself "A bird (a very good one, that too) in hand (read Jetta) is better than two in the bush (read Octavia)". And believe me, it took lot of willpower to break away from my Octavia dream.

Definitely agree, no point in waiting for ever, Jetta is definitely a brilliant car, go ahead and enjoy it. Hope Skoda India is seeing this, they are going to loose lots of customers if they are not going to address production issues.

Graaja, You have done the right thing. I am seeing scores of people, including me, who have moved to Jetta from Octavia. I have been driving the Jetta for a month with some serious maneuvers on toll roads. I take it to office every day through the Graphite signal traffic. Have done 2K kms till now. Some quick observations are

• The NVH levels are indeed high. Moreso for petrolheads. I was used to Getz petrol. But the grunt of the Jetta diesel may not be annoying as its a little sporty and deep. You may ultimately end up playing with the RPM's to hear that roar :)
• The suspension is beautiful. Handling on corners and curves cannot be better. Did some serious curves at 120kmph and trust me, not a single moment felt the body flying away from center. Gives lot of confidence while driving.
• You wouldn't feel the speed at 80-120. Feels more like sweet cruising at 60's unless of course you check the speedo.
• The power on demand could have been a little better, though I amnt complaining having graduated from a Getz. Overtaking has to be planned atleast 2 secs ahead and not instant throttle at whim. Though I loved the way it handled the bad boy stunts. Moves like a snake in the overtaking spree without even a hint of worry that the tail may be kissed.
• The tyres are noisy, thanks to being stock goodyear. But the stance and hold is good enough.
• Slow traffic moving is something which you may not enjoy, but then that true for any big car of ~1.5 tonne.

Cannot compare to Octavia on each point as I haven't driven Octavia much. But I find Octavia isnt outscoring Jetta in any of the driving parameters. Reliability, looks and NVH level is something which you should be comparing for a decision.

Thanks Sanjubose for sharing your experience with the Jetta. With every such feedback, I am becoming happier with my decision.

I could feel all these positives very clearly during the test drive. I loved the suspension. It was totally comfortable inside when we were passing over very rough roads. There was a great improvement compared to my Getz. I took a couple of curves at 80. Did not try anything higher as I was driving the car for the first time and did not want to take any risks. Once I get the car, I look forward to a drive through the Sathyamangalam forests on the way to Mysore. Lots of twisties there and should be lots of fun.

Regarding speed, you sure have lots of courage to touch that high speeds. Anything above 120 is a big no for me :)

Yes. After driving a petrol Getz, the noise inside the cabin was indeed higher, but nowhere near that of the Vento and Octavia that I had TD'ed a few months back. I guess I will get used to the sound of Diesel after a couple of thousands of kilometers with the car. Same with the power on demand. Will have to get used to it.

I plan to change the tires immediately to either Michelin Primacy LC or Pirellis. So, I think that would solve the tire noise problem. As I do not do daily commute, I do not spend much time in slow moving traffic. Most of my drives are long ones in highways.

Overall, notwithstanding some of the drawbacks related to changing from petrol to diesel, I am very happy with Jetta.

The new grey colour on the Jetta is looking really nice. Seems like it was introduced very recently (there was some mention about in the Auto Expo post but that comment seemed to suggest that it was not being released in India).

My new fav colour - still love my silver 2.0!

Octavia may not be outscoring but it is not even a bit low, I felt octavia is more peppy to drive(Less weight and more wider torque range). Where Octavia wins is tons of features, more space, modern interiors and latest MQB platform, better NVH, and will be less costly to maintain.

I agree on everything except the last 2 points. While NVH is a personal, subjective opinion, maintenance costs really remain to be seen for the Octavia. I can't see the Octavia being much cheaper to maintain than the Octavia, I believe they'll be on par. To say that the Octavia will definitively be cheaper to maintain/own than a Jetta is premature. Let the Octavia be around for 1-2 years, a much clearer picture will be formed by then. MQB does offer its benefits, but whether they will be passed on to end-consumers remains to be seen.

Agreed B747. Octavia is latest genre, interiors and gadgets ought to beat the oldies. Driving fun seekers may loose on the suspension set up in the diesel though. 1.8 TSI is a different matter altogether.
On a separate note, I spotted a black octavia in Hassan highway last weekend. The looks took my breath away. It has a piano black kinda effect ini sun.

Definitely agree, we need to wait for 1-2 years to get complete picture, but service cost calculator is given in Skoda website and for TDI it is 16k for 2nd service (First is free). If we can go by this 16k and if my memory is correct it is less than Jetta service cost.

Are you sure the Jetta does not have AFS? As far as I know even the Jetta should have auto levelling and cornering lights along with bi-xenon which is AFS.