Why my 2014 VW Jetta TDI DSG feels better than my 2019 Octavia TDI DSG

The Octavia might be feel sprightlier (being 66 kgs lighter), but the difference becomes negligible when speeds pick up, and the Jetta is definitely a great highway cruiser.

BHPian dieselhead01 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I own a 2014 Jetta TDI DSG (Highline) and it has done 80,000 KM on the odo. In short, it’s one of the best D-Segment Sedans ever to exist in the Indian market. Despite owning the newer 2019 Octavia TDI DSG too, I’d say the Jetta feels much more solidly built. In simpler words the car is ‘built like a tank’. The ‘thud’ every time while closing those doors remind me about the car’s amazing build quality. The quality of materials used is of high degree, despite falling a little short while in comparison to the previous gen Jetta, but still unmatched in the segment.

The other main attractions of this car would be:

• Simply the 2.0 TDI engine in one word is a gem. I love the engine so much that we purchased two cars having the same engine and gearbox combo, producing almost identical power figures (Jetta and Octavia). The 2.0 TDI engine is the best in the segment, beating the likes of the competitors by a large margin, in terms of outright acceleration, in gear acceleration, and top end performance too. There’s always power on tap and a lot of torque on offer that you never get bored, instead would get addicted to the throttle response of the car. The turbo lag is masked off completely with the the help of that beautiful 6 speed DSG gearbox, the DQ250, and on the highways the car is at a league of it’s own, never disappoints. When you needs a quick burst of power, the Jetta never hesitates, and pushes you back in the seat. I managed to achieve 0-100 kmph mark in 8.6 seconds, which impressed me thoroughly. The Octavia might be feel sprightlier (being 66 kgs lighter) but the difference becomes negligible when speeds pick up, and the Jetta is definitely a great highway cruiser. In addition to the 2.0 TDI being a great performer, it returns great FE, in the city around 12-14 kmpl, and in the highways 19-21+ kmpl with ease.
• The Independent Multi Link suspension, is the best in class, as it takes care of undulations like there wasn’t any, may it be potholes, bad roads or bumps, or even speed breakers, the car deals with all of them very smoothly without any trouble, the ride quality hence is, phenomenal. High speed stability is of top tier, as stable as a rock in speeds above 160 kmph too and the body roll is well maintained and sticks to the ground during corners. Would give Jetta a big thumbs up in the ride and handling department.
• The understated and elegant look of the car still keeps growing on me, and even now by far it’s one of the handsomest sedans in the price bracket of below 30 lakhs. The sharp cuts and lines, and those LED headlamps with those sharp DRLs (only in the Highline variant) still makes me stare for a while after I park it in the parking lot. ‘German’ is written all over the car’s design, and one would never find this understated and elegant look of this car ‘boring’.

Here’s a picture of my precious:

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