[sunsbhp]

I took almost 5 months to write this down since I wanted to understand things first-hand and make some realistic and sensible opinion and impression. There are very good ownership write-ups out there by fellow Jetta owners, and reading them definitely gave a great deal of insight towards my buying decision. Some of those threads are still very active, so you will get lot more details and impressions from the on-going conversations. So thanks to fellow BHPians for those threads, and here’s my share back to the community 

The Prelude [December 2015] : It was time to change my Honda City V-AT after using it for 42 months, and my obvious choice was just another Honda City – the 2015 model, though New Honda City was priced almost 1.8L more than my 2012 model. I found the Honda City very comfortable for my minimal city drive and powerful enough for my occasional long drives. I didn’t have any second thoughts until I walked into the Whitefield Honda showroom and saw the New Honda City up close. I realized how ironically they branded the “New City” tag. Apart from small changes to interior and exterior (facelift), the technical specs remains almost the same from 2012 model. Somehow, I found the facelift not really appealing for my tastes. I didn’t even test drive New Honda City.

The Pitch [February 2016] : The “What else” question and discussions around that led to many options, but there were hardly any good models in that price range – rather I didn’t like any (if not the Honda City), though I considered Civic and BRV which was scheduled for launch only after August. Then came the long-lost-wish for a pure German car, combined with a craving for a Premium feel. So the lookout started – right from CLA, BMW3, A3, A-Class etc but all were pushed down because I don’t think those models are value for money in my perspective, and my budget would have been a good stretch too. So finally closed in (one notch lower) on Skoda Octavia and VW Jetta as primary options.

The Hitch [March 2016] : Automatic Transmission was the basic requirement for me, and Jetta had the AT option only in the highest variant Highline. I found Octavia 2L DSG quite expensive deal than the Jetta 2L DSG, by almost 2 lacs. Of course with many additional safety (+2 airbags, MKB, ESC, EDL etc) and convenience features (Sunroof, Reverse Camera, Driver Seat memory). So I considered the fire-powered Octavia 1.8L Petrol variant, which was priced tad lower than the Jetta 2L DSG Highline variant, almost decided to go for it. But then came the 2016 Budget with an increased Tax. Skoda dealer was not budging for the old price – they wouldn’t even return my calls. Whereas VW dealer offered a very nice deal/discount on the pre-budget price itself, with a caveat of limited color options (Black, White, Silver) as they were clearing up 2015 production line. I decided to bite that offer considering the sheer exterior beauty of Jetta, strong build, tried and proven 2L Diesel engine, 6-speed-DSG and the German tag.

After a week’s wait - since the Black color that I opted for was apparently the last Black DSG Highline of the 2015 production line (manufactured in December 2015, sold as 2016 model as per the VIN – which was good), finally took the delivery from VW at Hosur Road in last week of March.

Purchase Experience: The experience at the Volkswagen Showroom, Hosur Road, Bangalore was awesome - so far, on sales and delivery. Have to see the service part now. Mr. Raghavan, Sales Head had reached out to me back in January when he came to know of my plans thru a common friend/associate, and had made a good offer. Later when I contacted him in March, he was ready to stick with the same offer (in spite of the Tax hike). With a single visit to his office/showroom, we finalized the price, color and delivery timelines.

First Oil Change trip is due this month, so will update my experience after that.

After all the discounts, the Ex-Showroom price was 19.45 Lacs, and the On-Road price came around 23.35 Lacs. I didn't take any additional Warranty or Service Package.

What I liked (Not in any order of preference)
- Spacious and Silent Cabin.
- Solid build.
- Powerful and refined engine.
- Smooth and slick DSG Transmission.
- Multi-link Suspension.
- High level of monitoring across all key vitals and equipments.
- MIB2 Infotainment; SD card, Hands-free.
- Safety features; 6 air-bags, ABS, ESC, ASR, EDL, Fatigue detection.
- Classic and elegant interior, especially the Dash and Center console.
- Cornering lamps.
- Hill hold.

What I wish for:
- Couple of memory options for driver seat.
- Carnet Service.
- A mute button on steering.
- Auto mirror-fold upon locking with remote.
- A small drop-in space on the door panel, for wallet, slips, coins.
- Felt-lining in all interior storage space.

What I just didn't like:
- The hump at the rear row, making it practically a 4 seater.
- Wiper blade rubber.
- The wooden-looking-plastic panel on dash and doors.

PS: Most of the above WISH and HATE list was known to me before deciding, except for the poor quality wiper.

[sunsbhp]

Worth Mentioning: Octavia is also a fantastic car, running with the same Engine and Transmission options like Jetta (plus a mighty 1.8L 180PS Petrol), and on the group’s latest MQB platform (unlike VW who is yet to use MQB in India). As referenced above, Octavia comes with more features, especially safety aspects. Is that worth the additional 1.8L is purely individual perspective. I could live without all those convenience (or premium) features, and I decided to compromise on some of those safety features. One aspect I still miss out is the super-sporty Dash of Octavia (oh yes, and also the driver’s seat with 3 memory presets). It also offered CarNet integration, superior interior - the upholstery, soft-inner-lining inside all storage space, and the soft-touch-plastic of the dash feels tad premium than Jetta.

Octavia feels much lighter on the road because of its MQB platform (which is approximately 100Kgs lighter) plus the steering is Hydro-Electrical which makes driving as light as the Honda City (compared to Jetta which is a lot firmer). For sure the 180PS Petrol variant is one hell of a beast on the road, but again, I didn’t feel comfortable with such a light steering wheel with very less feedback. I read that this gets firmer as the vehicle speeds up, but I couldn’t really notice in a small stretch I had tried. I guess probably the deciding factor against Octavia technically was, the way Paddle-shift logic worked. When you override AT with paddle-shift, it stays in manual mode until you disengage with the Tiptronic. This was very weird, but the Skoda Dealer’s Sales confirmed that is the way it’s expected to work. In my old Honda City (and in Jetta) the AT gets engaged again within few seconds. Means, the paddle-shift is a true override just that one time you tapped.

[sunsbhp]

Back to the Black Beauty: I have always preferred Black colour cars, irrespective of models – well, maybe except for a Ferrari Family preferred the Silky-Blue Jetta, which also looked awesome and unique. Apparently since the cards-played-in-my-favour, Black was definitely the better of other two options I was given by the Dealer. There’re many nice photos of the Jetta in & out in this forum across many threads, so I tried to include few of mine too, just the way I looked at Jetta.



Interior: Jetta has a very premium interior overall for the price tag, with high quality materials used (well, almost all), and is indeed spacious compared to a standard Sedan. Interior colours are very mellow and pleasing, and adding more elegance and classiness to its subdued and understated looks. The cabin has a very effective noise-cancellation sealing, and you barely hear the engine or tire noise (varies depending on the speed and the road). On a pollution free (‘sound’ I meant) traffic, you’ve a peaceful drive inside. But sometimes when you’re on an empty stretch, you really love those tuned music from the engine, which is indeed unique. The floor is completely covered with a very soft fabric, but its beige colour makes it very prone to get dirty easily.



Dash: The Jetta dash is more of classic looking, than modern or sporty, with soft-plastic giving premium feel. Personally, I didn’t like the wooden trim on dash and doors, because it’s made of plastic and it looks plastic. Dash has a reasonably sized storage (glove box) with a horizontal partition inside - the upper one takes the User Manual/Guide leather pouch. Glove box also has the switch to control (enable/disable) front passenger Airbag.

Dash is comparatively high mounted, so if you prefer a low seating position (like me), the visibility is not the best. I could find a sweet position within couple of weeks’ time and I enjoy the low hung drive. The pain is to get it back after a cleaning service, because most of them will adjust the seats to vacuum-clean inside. Wish (again) that Jetta had a driver’s seat with memory options.

Overall the centre console layout is pretty neat, and specifically the black colour tone with chrome trims completes the elegant look. The AC, Fan and rear-window Defrost controls, along with AC Vent controls are neatly arranged at the lower part of console, below the MIB Infotainment unit. The Jetta has a dual-temperature mode for left and right vents, with a Sync option as well. The AC is quite powerful and quick cooling, even with 4 passengers under the blazing Sun thru Tamilnadu highways, with approximately 50% of fan power. The AC vents for rear passengers are too small and less powered. There’re couple of hidden vents below the front seats, facing the rear-passenger’s feet, but I don’t think it’s actually functional.

[sunsbhp]

The Instrument cluster primarily has Speedometer and Tachometer, which also holds all kind of Warning and Critical indicators – a dozen of them on each. The MFD (Multi Function Display) between the dials displays some basic information like Time, KMs and Trip details, BT Device connection, and a multi-level-menu for customising Functional & Convenience features that you can change/enable/disable (which can be used only when car is stationary – for safety reasons). Navigation thru MFD and Selection is done with Steering-mounted buttons.

There’re two Trip Meters (displayed on MFD); one with short life (gets reset after couple of hours of engine stopping), and the second one with long life, which can be used to check fuel efficiency on each trip. Reset buttons are on the cluster rims.



The head-lamp control dial has 5 positions, which also has pull-out steps of 2 positions to control fog-lamp, tail-lamps and parking-lamp. Below the AC controls, there’s small space where you can throw your wallet, keys, cards, iPod or mobile (a small belly under the centre console). A standard 12V DC-port, a USB and Aux-In ports are located at the lower end of centre console.

The two cup holders next to hand-break is very useful, with its push-in-holders to the cups firmly sits there. I usually leave my mobile and coins in one, and an air-freshener-can in the second one.

Hand break is not very light to engage, and you need to pull little harder (than Honda City), but the hand-grip is very soft material and you feel confident once you engage it. The hand-rest between the front seats has a medium sized stowage below, and the hand-rest-lid has multi-stops vertically, and also moves (slips over stowage) forward to a convenient position for your elbow. There’s also a small mobile holder and another 12V DC-charging port behind the hand-rest-stowage unit, for the rear-seat passengers, where a twin AC vent is also located for the rear seat passengers.

[sunsbhp]

The Controls on the driver-side door are simple and basic and in ideally positioned. Auto Mirror Fold upon Remote-Locking is missing. Many BHP members have tried to enable auto-fold with car-lock from remote, but haven’t succeeded even with 3rd party modules (or did any of you?). Mirror Sync feature is nice. Even better is the Kerb-View or Mirror-Down feature, to show kerb-view when you engage Reverse gear (you need to enable the mirror-down function in Settings).



The Driver seat has 6-way positioning buttons, and dual lumber support controls. You could simply choose your most convenient position with this very flexible seat. What is missing is a very useful feature - couple of memory-set options for seat position. Leather upholstery is very nice, though I personally would prefer little more strong shade of the Beige colour. A 6ft person can fully stretch the legs in the front passenger seat, when the seat is fully pushed back.



At the back seat, there’s sufficient space for a six-feet tall person to comfortably sit without touching the knees. The back-seat is also very comfortable, with ideal angle for back rest, sufficient thigh-support and good leg space. The foldable hand-rest in the middle hides the access to the boot when folded up (you could snatch few things from the boot thru this space). I had a ride at the back seat recently for a good distance while my friend was driving, and the comfort is far better than the Honda City – again suspension plays very well over those uneven roads, and over the bumps and speed-breakers, giving a very relaxed drive. The back-seat is completely fold-able/collapsible, at a 2:1 split ratio, using the small lever from the boot. As a safety feature, you could also fold down the left part of the rear-seat from inside, by releasing a small clutch behind the head-rest using the Ignition-Keys.



As in most European cars, the middle seat is not really usable for an adult due to the big hump on the floor. A small kid below 10 years could use the middle seat with foot on the hump (or folded up on the seat). Its too inconvenient to spread the legs around the hump for long duration, which will also be inconvenient for left and right passengers. An adult also could ‘manage’ for a short drive. This hump (as per VW guys) is a safety feature in two folds; first the transmission-axle is protected inside this bend on its belly, and two, such a bend on the chassis strengthens the overall body in a head-on collision.

[sunsbhp]

All the four doors have a dual-colour finish, with mat-finish Black (mostly) and a little of Beige colour, and then there’s the wooden-looking-plastic panel above the hand-rest. The doors also holds the 4 woofers inside the door panel. The rear door also has the Tweeter above the hand-rest, neatly protected with a metal net carved into the wooden-looking-plastic panel.



Jetta Steering wheel, the new sporty F1 style three spoke, holds many controls on both left and right spokes which are easily accessible with thumbs. The MFD menu could be accessed from here. Plus you have buttons to Call Pick/End, Volume controls, Channel/Track skip, Cruise controls etc. What I liked most is, when your mobile is connected thru BT, the call history is accessible in MFD easily with your thumb (don’t have to select from MIB unit’s Phone screen). You also need not switch “on” the MIB2 for BT connection since the BT device is paired within 5 seconds of inserting the ignition-key, and the device details are visible in MFD. What I miss though, is a Mute button on steering, since I take many business calls from car (and could avoid background noise). There’s a Voice command button on right-spoke but it’s disabled (probably just in India version).



The paddle-shifts on both sides, hidden from direct visibility behind the steering spokes, but easily accessible with fingers. It feels top class while using – a slick click. The leather trim on the steering-wheel is super soft but with sufficient grip, and your hold is very very comfortable. The control-stalks on both sides looks tad cheap plastic-made (would expect to see a better quality and finish, like in Skoda Octavia) and holds controls for high-beam, wiser, indicator etc.

The Steering is height adjustable and also telescopically to suit your seating position, and with proper seat-adjustments you could stay put there for hours in the most convenient position. And manoeuvring is pleasure with the heavy but smooth steering and very precise feedback on the highways.



On the roof, right above the Rear-view mirror is the twin-lamps which has a manual override to use as reading-lamps, which are are good enough for reading at night. This area also has the microphones for the BT hands-free usage. There’s also a small covered storage space for your sun-glasses – the only storage space with a soft lining inside. The mirror is automatic-glare-adjusted one, with a small sensor. While sensitivity of the Rain-sensor could be adjusted from right-control-stalk, the light sensor for the head-lamp has ideal sensitivity to cover dawn and dusk. Both the retractable sun-visors comes with a slide-open vanity mirror and a small lamp for night usage. Rear glass has defrost elements, but I never had to use it so far – waiting for monsoon.

[sunsbhp]

MIB2: VW Next generation Infotainment system MIB2 is praised as one of the best out there in similar class, and VW started fitting these from Jetta 2016 models. VW was one of the few early adopters of Car-net services, which supports Apple Carplay, Android Auto and MirrorLink. This is a good step forward - today’s automobile industry adopting digital technology, and basically enabling Mobile connectivity to next level, since product life cycle is much shorter and innovation much faster in Mobile industry than in Automobile industry. But the thud in India version is, unfortunately VW have not enabled Car-net in India. I was quite keen on this service, primarily for Google Map app to be replicated on the MIB screen - but after bit of reading I realised that Apple have not enabled Google Maps App for CarPlay protocols (Apple have opened very few Apps for CarPlay due to security reasons).



But still, MIB2 is a great Infotainment system with a very sharp 6.5” touch screen display, a clean layout for various functions (RADIO, MEDIA, PHONE, VOICE), a proximity-sensor to recognise your hand reaching for it (and shows up few intuitive menu options). The Radio module has FM and AM, and for sure FM receiver module is better than what I had earlier. You could setup 10 of your favourite stations in the home screen. Bluetooth connection is easy and seamless with 3 devices supported in parallel. Audio (music or something else) over BT is very crisp and clear (remember to change BT Audio quality from ‘Quite’ to ‘Loud’ on MIB2 Settings while a device is connected via BT). You could connect your USB-drive or an iPod to the on-board USB port (not on MIB2 unit) below the centre console. Old iPods with 28-pin port is not supported, but only the new Lightning port models. In the Phone mode, you can access your phone’s Contacts (with Search option), Call-list, and create 4 Favourites on MIB2 screen.

Another important feature is the Park-Assist, integrated with MIB2 head unit, with three levels of warning with white, yellow and red alerts, each shown as two-line-marking. I felt the ParkAssist is a better option than rear-camera. The sensors at front (bumper) is a huge help while taking tight turns, or while parking towards a wall, or even while reversing at a curve. Front and rear bumpers are completely protected by this – if you’re little careful. Though, sometimes ParkAssist beeps are annoying in bumper-to-bumper traffic because it keeps beeping continuously, so I turned this off from MDF setting, and I engage them manually using the buttons near the gear-shaft.



The Aux-In can take analogue 3.5mm pin if you want to connect any media player’s headphone output. The 8 speaker setup is decent (I’m not an enthusiast of in-car speakers except for making high levels of noise), and the sound is reasonably clear and enjoyable at medium volume levels. There’re 4 woofers on the doors, and 2 tweeters on the A-pillars closer to the Dash, and another pair of Tweeters on the passenger door. You could control the speaker pair (front v/s rear) to fade out the volume between the pair if you prefer a little less disturbance either at the back or front.

The Juke Box: I love music (ah, who doesn’t), and I can’t stand the FM stations – utterly bored of repetition day after day. I was en-route to move all my CD collection to a Network Music Streamer, so yet another CD player on the MIB2 didn’t thrill me. But the SD Card slot which could take up to 256GB SDXC was more than I could wish for. Quickly bought a Lexar Professional 256GB SDXC card (priciest accessory in my Jetta so far), and loaded all of them FLACs to fill 180GB in one go. Then there were downloaded MP3s and Audiobooks, plus couple of more GBs of my daughter’s collection.



MIB2 Media module does a nice job, sorting and showing the folder list, album-art (drop the jpeg in the folder), and even recognise a playlist (create m3u file and drop) – without any lag when you power on. When you stop playback, it always remember the last place you stopped and picks up precisely from where you left. If you pop-out the SD card, it loses this memory. I tried USB port as well with a Pen-drive and its seamless as SD card, but couldn’t try the Aux-In with my iPod yet. In both SD and USB modes, you can skip only tracks from steering-mounted controls, and not folders – obviously since it supports a tree-structure-folder list. If you want to move to another folder or album, you have to reach out to MIB2 and navigate. You could either swipe and select the folders and files from touch-screen, or use the right-dial. MIB2 media do not support gap-less playback.

Well at the end, MIB2 renders the FLACs very well (and MP3s decent) and quite good sonically with more than expected quality – and I’m a happy man!

[sunsbhp]

Exterior: Jetta has Very masculine appearance with bold lines on sides across the length, and large curves around the wheels. Door handles are body-coloured with no manual-locking key-hole. The boot lid also has very impressive shape, with tail-lamp cluster only adding to the elegance. Boot lid could be opened using the remote, and has a very gentle and light hinges. Boot space is some 480 litres, which is large enough for all your boxes for a week's trip, and it doubles when the rear seats are folded. The boot floor is covered with a good quality soft-mat, entirely concealing the spare tire.



The bold lines/curves on the hood also adds to the masculine appearance from the front, with the long chrome grills clearly showing off Jetta’s extra width over a Vento. Many people mentioned the front view of Jetta is very similar to Vento, but I hate to agree. With the new grill, its width and those Bi-Xenon headlamps and DRLs, you can never miss the Jetta. The DRLs are crystal-style and have a unique shape around the Bi-Xenon lamp, and looks very adorable. The cornering lamps are also a boon in dark alleys. The front bumper has headlamp wash-spray, a pair of semi-rectangle fog-lamps, and 4 sensors for the Park-assist.



Wiper rubber seem to be of not a good quality, and by now I see them making noise and not doing a best job - one piece I noticed (and read many times) on Jetta of inferior quality. Have to get a replacement done soon.

Side view mirrors complements the overall body nicely, with its chunky size and curvy shape. Very precise mirror-adjustments using the rotary-knob on the driver’s door. Mirrors also holds a lamp underneath the case which gets lit-up when you open the door – very useful to see below before you set out your foot.



Alloys on HL variant are the most beautiful - Those six-twin-spokes in titanium finish are super sexy, especially complements a Black colour body. Jetta do not have Tire Pressure Monitor (like in Octavia), but I think you could install. Stock tires are Goodyear 215/65 and I suggest not to change the specifications, to void the warranty (VW confirmed). Many threads/owners suggests to upgrade to a better tire, but I decided to stick to the rugged Goodyear for our roads. Tire pressure itself is another topic which had different opinions in this forum, but I decided to stick with what is there on the fuel-tank-lid (36 PSI on all, instead of the common 32 PSI), and don’t have any complaints so far – and I mostly drive (city and long) alone but never felt bumpy or hard.

The twin-exhaust-pipe tip could have been chrome finish for this price. The rear-bumper is quite chunky and slightly lifted upwards from the rear-fender towards the rear-end, which gives a nice look. Underneath the rear-end of bumper is covered with a more rugged plastic, to protect from the rub-ins, but visible only if you kneel down.

The one piece that looks tad ugly on the Jetta is the Antenna. Its neither Shark-Fin nor the old-stick, giving an odd shape. I think you get shark-fin covers that could be glued over, without affecting performance.

[sunsbhp]

Drive: Now the most important aspect, drive and performance. I’m not a motor-head, not even a good enthusiast until recently, let alone qualified for statements (except that I have enjoyed driving a Mustang-GT few times back in 2002, and more recently various other cars while on business trips, and a Palio Sports and Honda City back home). So I could only share what I feel now, more so in comparison to my earlier cars.

I haven’t explored much inside the hood, but am sure all the parts required to run a car is in there, and very neatly arranged. You will not miss to notice the enormous 2 litre Engine. I’m not very automobile-technical guy, so I just decided to enjoy the drive and the power that’s churned out within the hood (more below on ‘Drive’).



The 2 Liter 140PS turbo charged engine with 320nm torque is a beast in its league. It pumps in sufficient power, and really fun to cruise. The Traction Control System limits your tendency to jet off from stand still, but I read Tanveer installed a custom solution to toggle Traction Control system. The moment DSG switches to second gear, you get plenty of power from the turbo when you pedal it gently. Third and fourth gears are fun to drive, with ample power to reach the speed you need and settle to cruise. Overtaking in city traffic or on highways is a wizz with abundant power delivered. Felt quite a lot of lugging power in 5th and 6th gear, and barely tends to shift down when you are cruising, and even when slows down to 50Km/Hr. That's really good in city with relatively thin traffic.

With a heavy steering and with lots of feedback, you feel completely in control while cruising. But it’s little tougher to maneuver in small or city roads, unlike my Honda City. At higher speeds you feel very confident and in control.

Paddle-shifts allows you to take over the automatic DSG transmission anytime, like when you need to shift down quickly and push off. And within few seconds the DSG takes over. If you prefer, you could use the Tiptronic as well using the gear-lever, but I never did so far – for that I hardly used paddle-shift itself. The DSG is very slick, and unlike single-clutch ATs, gear shifting is lot smoother, and you don’t just realise physically unless you really look for it. Jetta DSG also offers a Sports mode (apart from standard Drive mode) where gear-ratios are different, and gives you that extra power in each gear when you want to be little aggressive. But trust me, you can’t drive Jetta like a sports car or a hatchback, because its big and hefty, and there’s only 150PS available.

The brake pedal was very tight first few weeks, until it really run-in over 1K Kms. I never had to do a panic break, so can’t comment about ABS, but normal breaking/stopping is very much in your control. Jetta also has the Stability Control and other Safety features which makes it, added with 6 airbags, a very safe drive. But let these safety features not give you a Jason Statham or Vin Diesel feeling to over speed or drive rashly – always drive sensibly and responsibly, not just for your safety, but for others’ on the road as well.

Accelerator (Gas) pedal was kind of new for me, since it was floor-mounted, instead of the common hanging type. Difference for you is, if you’re used to pedal with your toes, or tip of your shoes, you have to change your style. You should rather use your entire upper-feet. But it’s just a matter of getting used to for few hours and you’ll not realise the difference. I’m quite comfortable with the left foot-rest (dead-pedal) as well, with sufficient width to hold a size-9 boot comfortably. There’s also a small foot-rest for you right leg, so while idling you could rest comfortably.

Suspension is perfect for our roads, especially over those mile-apart humps, and this is a huge improvement over a normal sedan like Honda City. With the weight of the car, and a good multi-link suspension, a comfortable drive is guaranteed. Again, I never had to drive on any really bad roads yet, but the uneven and bumpy roads so far I drove was simply a no-fuss deal. The multi-link suspension gives you a very comfortable drive, and body-roll is well controlled; not too lean, and not hard either, which gives you feeling of being in control – neither completely sporty, nor so tight and rigid.

NVH levels are very good/low in both city and highway, slow or steady cruise.

I didn't have much expectations on Fuel Efficiency, rather this was not an item in my checklist, since my driving is very minimal in general, especially in city. On an average I have seen Trip Meter logging aprox 12 Km/L in city, which I guess is not at all bad for (approximately 7 Kms daily and another 30 odd Kms on week-ends) in and around Whitefield/ITPL/EPIP area. My quarterly trips to parents, around 900Kms on highways across TN and Kerala have logged an average of 18Km/L which was quite OK for my driving style.

A list of Safety and Convenience features are listed in the VV India web-site.

Conclusion: No doubt the Jetta is a very good premium sedan, with many safety and convenience features. Few such features seem to be disabled in factory-setting, so if you’re an enthusiast, you could get a VCDS cable and play around (quite a lot of experience in this forum). You feel very premium, very comfortable and very safe. There isn’t much to complain about other than a small nice-to-have list. Contrary, you don’t get much options in this price range, and you might wonder if the whole deal is worth the money. This depends on how you look at things. I would have loved a BMW 3 series, or a Merc CLA (maybe not, its tad smaller), but am not there yet. So, the next best/wiser thing for me was Jetta, than the so-called compact SUV band. You don’t see many Jetta’s on the road, so friends & family had a question mark on their face. But that’s precisely I wanted – own a unique and special car, than driving just another car.

Overall, after 5 months and more than 5K kilometres (aprox 2700Kms on highways) and probably around 100 hours inside, it’s been great feeling of ownership so far, with a smooth and powerful drive experience, the heavy road-hugging drive, its steadiness and secure feel, and then there're those occasional glances at the black beauty that I enjoy.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[RajaTaurus]

Bhipians have an eye for details and your review once again roves it. Great review and best wishes for thousands of Happy (s)miles.
I think Skoda must be hating us, as there have been many Bhpians who went for Jetta after praising Octavia.
The accelerator pedal is still not connecting with me fully and I am always feeling some slackness between the pedal and my toe.

[sunsbhp]

Accessories : Thought I will include the small list of accessories that I added so far;

1. Kagu 3D Mat, from nearby retailer, very snugly fits into Jetta, though the piece was marked as 2011 model.
2. 3M cleaning solutions for;
- Glass, very effective if you use it daily/often after a good dusting.
- Leather, have not used yet, but may be after few more months.
- Dash, quite good, just be sure not to overdo.
- Tire, didn't try yet (feeling lazy to sit and do this).
3. Capdase USB charger, with twin USB ports.
4. Long-bristle brush, not very useful if you have a vaccum cleaner, so being used at home now.
5. Jopasu duster, an awesome utility for daily rub. But it was never the same after the first wash, so planning to get a new piece.
6. Hand-held Decker Vacuum Cleaner, the most useful accessory for a clean interior. Unfortunately, can't use at home because I couldn't find a good 12V adaptor for it's car-charger-type pin.
7. Crab Body sponge, another very useful accessory if you fancy cleaning yourself with shampoo.
8. Lexar SDXC Card, for all my music.

Ordered and waiting:
9. Sporty Metal Pedal, from AliExpress.
10. Michelin Digital Tire Gauge, which has very good reviews and rating in Amazon US and IN.

Not that I was very keen, but somehow this nearby Sparkle guy sold me a Paint Protection Treatment Package, with 3-times-wash-and-wax-polish-in-one-year deal. Not sure if I will go back to him again, since his setup is next to the drive-ramp into neighbourhood mall. So, by the time he finishes his drying on one side, the other side is fully dusty in few minutes. He almost dried the bonnet a second time (with his worn out cloth) when I noticed the thin layer of dust, and I jumped in screaming. Since then, I have been washing myself once in a week (or sometimes in two weeks), and trust me, I could do a far better job than the Sparkle guy (with a 3M shampoo, Body sponge and couple of microfiber cloths - and could sweat out as well. So have to look out for another Sparkle guy who's tad less exposed to the Bangalore pollution for my next wax/polish work.

I don't have anything else planned in near future, but suggestions are most welcome

Has any of you upgraded your speakers, and noticed considerable improvement ? What speakers would you suggest for a basic upgrade ? I don't prefer to add new Amp, Crossover, Sub etc, but just a neat pair of better sounding speakers.

[sunsbhp]

Originally Posted by RajaTaurus

Bhipians have an eye for details and your review once again roves it. Great review and best wishes for thousands of Happy (s)miles.
I think Skoda must be hating us, as there have been many Bhpians who went for Jetta after praising Octavia.
The accelerator pedal is still not connecting with me fully and I am always feeling some slackness between the pedal and my toe.

Thanks Raja.

Wish they did their job well. I was this close to buy Octavia 1.8, and I feel they could have easily convinced me to bite the new tax/price - but I got pissed off when they didn't return calls, and that's one primary reason for me to swing this way. But Octavia seems till commanding a 40% sales over Jetta in last 12 months (as per some numbers I saw on net).

[anandpkumar]

Congratulations Sunsbhp on the Jetta. It's one hell of a car, and is 90% of a BMW 3 series/Audi A4 at a little more than 50% of the price.

I have a late 2014 model which just completed 2 years with 16K km on the odo. Absolutely no complaints so far (touchwood), and an absolute joy to drive, especially on the highways. City driving can sometimes be tiring because of the slightly heavy clutch (I have the manual model) - though for you, it should not be a problem since you have the DSG.

Now that my 2 year warranty is up, I am thinking of remapping the engine to get the full potential of the 2L engine.

Keep us posted about your vehicle....

Best,
anandpkumar

P.S - in case you are curious about maintenance charges, I spent around 10K for the 1st year service and around 13K for the second year service.

[RajaTaurus]

Originally Posted by sunsbhp

Thanks Raja.

Wish they did their job well. I was this close to buy Octavia 1.8, and I feel they could have easily convinced me to bite the new tax/price - but I got pissed off when they didn't return calls, and that's one primary reason for me to swing this way. But Octavia seems till commanding a 40% sales over Jetta in last 12 months (as per some numbers I saw on net).

Octavia and Corolla Altis have their own markets, mostly Schauffer driven category. You will be glad you bought Jetta when you see the response on road from others. Mostly Jetta is self driven and by car enthusiasts, you and me being among those.
Enjoy your ride. Safe Driving.