The new MK7 Jetta has already been on sale for a few months now, but many people are complaining that the connectedness and the playfulness from the preceding MK6 Jetta didn’t carry over into the new one. This review is on that favorable last generation Jetta, and being a 2017, it is one of the last examples of this successful yet controversial generation. “Controversial” because Volkswagen wanted to reduce production costs with this model, which lead them to sort of “cheap out” on the interior and neglect features that were starting to become common in the compact class. Despite that, this Jetta sold pretty well throughout its life cycle. You still see a fair amount of them on the road, and people who own these cars seem to thoroughly enjoy them. What made the Jetta stay so competitive in the market for nearly 8 entire years? Below are some of my driving impressions.
When you step into the Jetta, you notice that the interior definitely looks basic. I was first drawn to the seats, and while they are decently comfortable to sit in, the cloth used appears to be really plain and somewhat cheap in quality, and there isn’t much in terms of bolstering. The infotainment screen graphics aren’t anything to write home about either, but thankfully there is a larger head unit in the upper trims. No temperature gauge in the instrument cluster in this S model, either. There is some silver trim here and there, but not really enough to break up the dashboard or make the interior look more premium. The Jetta’s interior didn’t really strike me as “cheap”, because everything still seems to be put together pretty well, and there isn’t much in terms of obvious panel gaps or ergonomic issues. Everything is very functional and easy to use, but the Mazda 3, Honda Civic, and Subaru Impreza have better interiors. Interior design woes aside, I don’t think the Jetta’s interior will really pose much of a problem for most driving enthusiasts. When you get this car on a backroad, you just don’t really care all that much about what the interior looks like. The Jetta strikes me as a more “driver focused” kind of car, and if you’re someone who just likes to drive the car and have some raw fun without fooling around with Apple Car Play or changing the color of your speedometer from blue to red, you’ll probably care less about the interior quality.
Another thing that you initially notice about the Jetta is just how good the visibility is. The dashboard is very tiny in person, one of the smallest and most compact dashboard designs I’ve seen in a modern car, and you feel really up front and close to the windshield. You don’t see the front hood at all, and you get this crystal clear image of the road directly in front of you. The pillars are thin, the back window is large, and the side mirrors don’t have any fancy styling cues that limit your view out of them. The Jetta also feels way smaller from behind the wheel compared to how it looks from the outside as well. This car doesn’t feel nearly as wide as the Mazda 3 or the Civic that I drove, and you get a good sense of the Jetta’s overall dimensions. It’s like driving a go-kart with windows. The Jetta feels like a true compact car, and overall, it makes a good first impression. Right away you feel like this car is going to be pleasant to drive. Despite the complaints about the interior quality, I’d also like to note that the doors feel solid and put together when they shut, and I like the “thunk” of the door locks in VW products.
As soon as you start driving, you notice that the Jetta feels super light. This car moves on its feet quickly, and it feels airy and confidence inspiring. The ride feels composed, and this car just effortlessly breezes over the pavement without any drama. The Jetta is one of those cars where you could steer it with your pinky and feel confident in where the car is going to end up. There’s very little rolling resistance, and you kind of just glide along with practically no pressure on the accelerator and watch the road in front of you get eaten up. The Jetta feels very flickable and shockingly easy to drive. If you’re looking for a modern car that has that super light and airy type of feel, I can’t think of any 4-door sedan that really does it quite like the Jetta.
Typical of most Volkswagens, the accelerator pedal is pretty stiff and has somewhat of a dead-zone at the beginning. The response feels a little awkward at first, as if there is a slight delay when you first begin to accelerate. That said, I began to appreciate the accelerator response after driving the Jetta for a while and getting more familiar with it. It’s not the most responsive, but it doesn’t need to be. The Jetta’s accelerator feels very linear and predictable once you get used to it, it gives you a good sense of where the tachometer needle is going. The response builds up nicely, and it’s very easy to maintain a constant speed in this car. If you’re going up a hill and need a little more speed, just put a very slight amount of pressure on the gas and the Jetta whips right up that hill without any hesitation. Even when the transmission is in its top gear, you don’t need to wait for the transmission to downshift to get a satisfying wave of passing or climbing power. It’s really easy to adjust your speed and momentum in this car, and the torque from the 1.4 turbo feels satisfying even when you’re hardly pushing the engine.
That brings me to my next point: the engine. This 1.4 turbo makes 150 horsepower and 184 lb. ft. of torque. As I mentioned, there is a slight delay when you begin to accelerate. However, the torque builds up smoothly once you cross over around 1,500 RPM, and the Jetta feels brisk and zippy in its power delivery. This engine has really good low end power, and the power band remains consistent all the way into the higher revs. There’s really not much use in putting this engine through the wringer though, because this engine still gets you moving quickly even at low RPM. You do have to finesse the accelerator a little to really feel that torque, but one you get used to the car, the acceleration feels surprisingly quick and sprightly. The engine is playful, charismatic, and it’s quick to rev. I really can’t think of any other cars in this class that will give you this same level of refinement combined with such a sprightly torque band. There are 2.0T engines on the market that don’t feel as powerful as the Jetta’s 1.4 liter. The Cruze’s base 1.4 turbo is an absolute dog compared to the Jetta’s 1.4, and although I’ve heard good things about Honda’s 1.5 turbo engine, I’m not sure how well it pairs up with a CVT.
Granted, the Jetta’s engine isn’t nominally fast or exciting, but it feels more connected to the driver compared to most modern cars out there. The overall “feel” makes it seem quicker than the numbers suggest. Passing on the highway is effortless, as you just dip into the throttle a tiny bit and the engine whirs you right up to speed. You can leave other cars in the dust by just how well the transmission and the engine torque work together to put the power down. There are times when you have to rev the engine out a little, but overall, the Jetta won’t give you any problems with merging or pulling out into busy traffic. It should be noted that there is a ton of wheel spin when you try to accelerate hard in the Jetta, so if you’re trying to beat the cars stopped next to you, you’ll have to finesse it a bit.
The 6-speed automatic in the Jetta is great as well. The shifts are crisp and really well matched with your throttle inputs. It has that “read your mind” feel that you come to expect from a European car. The transmission feels perfectly matched with the engine power, and each gear is spaced out evenly. The Jetta takes off from a green light in a streamlined and predictable sense, thanks to the transmission programming. The shift quality is very smooth as well, and you just feel more connected and tuned in with this transmission compared to other compact cars. There’s no aggressive jerkiness, confusion, or slamming into gear in this transmission. I also really like how the instrument cluster tells you what gear you’re in, because as a car enthusiast, I really like to know what the car is doing and how it’s performing. I do think the shifts could feel just a little bit faster, but this automatic outperforms just about every other compact car in this segment with its refinement and intuition. When it comes to requesting a lower gear, this transmission feels quite snappy and responsive. I suppose downshifting could feel just slightly quicker, because you kind of have to bury your foot into it a little, but this transmission really does snap into action when you ask it to, and it bangs out all the right gears.
When you’re traveling downhill, the transmission will usually downshift to assist in engine braking, and I actually really enjoyed the feel of it. Some cars engine brake on their own, but it gives you too low of a gear or the downshift will feel clunky, leaving you wishing that you could just use your regular brakes. However, that is not the case in the Jetta. The transmission downshifts into the perfect gear depending on the grade of the hill, and the engine braking feels synchronized with the traditional brakes, giving you that additional level of confidence when trying to slow down on a downward slope. You don’t feel the downshifts at all in these situations either.
Steering feel in the Jetta is very light, probably lighter than most compact offerings out there. However, the Jetta is all about honesty and character. They didn’t need to make the steering artificially weighted, because the Jetta performs just fine without it. The Jetta’s steering gives you a very precise and accurate image of what the front tires are doing, and the steering responds quickly off center. It feels like it’s on rails. You get a good sense of connectedness, and it’s incredibly easy to steer and maneuver this car exactly where you want it to go. It’s probably one of the easiest and most predictable cars I’ve driven in terms of steering response, and it’s that sense of accuracy that makes the Jetta feel so refreshing to drive. The steering seems to be really planted and grounded when going around turns, and it feels just a little more raw and connected than you would expect from an electric power steering system, despite the fact that the Jetta’s steering is on the lighter side. Overall, it’s got a nice flickable and playful character about it. The steering encourages you to toss the Jetta around, and I appreciate that. It holds the vehicle on a perfectly steady course when going through turns, and it has a refined and predictable return to center upon exiting a corner.
The Jetta really impressed me with it’s handling capabilities as well. I never imagined that I could have quite this much fun in a Jetta. It’s easy to see why so many people like these cars, even though the interior isn’t the flashiest and the exterior styling is a bit bland. I always thought of the Jetta as a “moderately fun” compact car, but not on the same level as a Mazda 3. However, that opinion quickly changed when I got the Jetta onto a backroad. Compared to the Civic, Impreza, and the Cruze, the Jetta feels light as a feather when rounding corners. Even the Mazda 3 feels heavier and not quite as grounded in my opinion. You can just whip the Jetta around a tight turn, and it feels like the chassis is saying “is that all you got?”. This car just has a certain limitless feel in the handling that took me by surprise. I wasn’t even really looking forward to driving the Jetta because I thought it would feel kind of deadpan, but I was wrong. The chassis remains shockingly flat and structured, and the car always feels like it’s telling you to go faster. Very light chassis, yet very planted and athletic as well. You don’t feel any weight shift or wheel hop at all, and because the Jetta feels really tiny in its width and overall dimensions, it partners up nicely with a narrow winding backroad. All in all, the Jetta is a seriously underrated car in terms of handling and driving feel.
The Jetta is a great highway car as well. You can tell that Volkswagen really did their homework in focusing on highway performance when they designed this car. The steering wheel did vibrate a little at higher speeds, but I think that was just a minor wheel balance issue with the car that I drove, and it didn’t really disrupt the highway experience at all. You’ll be going 80 and the Jetta feels like it’s doing 45. The steering plants the vehicle dead-on straight with minimal correction, lane changes feel slick and accurate, and the ride is smooth and balanced. The Jetta maintains a constant speed really well, which makes it feel more relaxing and easier to drive at higher speeds compared to cars from the Japanese and American competitors. You can easily zip around slower moving traffic, too. The Jetta kind of allows you to do whatever you want, and it doesn’t break a sweat when its doing it. Downshifts are snappy, steering feels just as planted on the highway as it does in a 25 mph neighborhood, and everything responds how you expect it to. You really do kind of get some Audi-like characteristics in the Jetta for a fraction of the price, which surprised me. I believe the new Jetta has definitely been more “Americanized” in its performance and driving dynamics, but if you want a cheap compact car with an undoubtably German handling characteristic, the MK6 Jetta is your best bet.
Ride quality in the Jetta is surprisingly smooth. I really wasn’t expecting the suspension to feel nearly as composed as it turned out to be. It doesn’t totally isolate you when you’re driving over lousy roads full of potholes, but on most pavement surfaces the ride actually feels quite comfortable. The body doesn’t jitter or shake over bumps, everything remains very flat and grounded. It’s stiff enough to feel connected but soft enough to eat up miles on the highway without causing any disturbance between you or your passengers. The Civic that I drove felt a little jittery over bumps, and I think the Jetta just feels more premium and planted in the suspension tuning compared to most other compact offerings.
Road noise is not necessarily a strong suit of the Jetta, though. It is decently quiet, but you do hear some wind noise at higher speeds. You also occasionally hear some tire noise and sometimes the engine sounds a little funky right off idle, but it’s nothing that made me say “wow, what a lousy car”. Overall, the road noise is subdued enough to remain competitive in the segment, but I think there are some other cars in this class that isolate you from the tire, wind, and engine noise a little better.
I already talked about accelerator response, but the braking response is something I want to touch on real quick. The brakes feel somewhat hollow and a bit non-linear. You get used to it quickly, but if you aren’t really used to driving VWs, the braking response might feel strange. There is a bit of dead travel, the pedal is somewhat light and spongy, and the brakes can kick in a bit sharply at times when nearing a complete stop. It also seems to take a split second for the brakes to fully disengage upon lifting your foot off the pedal. Stopping power feels smooth and fairly easy to modulate, and you get used to the braking response fairly quickly, but it might feel unusual at first.
While I really liked this car, it is also important to note that the Jetta is somewhat “love it or hate it” in its design and performance. The interior is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. Some people might also think that the lighter chassis doesn’t contain much substance out on the road, which is something that I actually thought for the first few minutes that I was driving the Jetta. It wasn’t until I started taking some turns where I realized how good this car is. The turbocharged engine might also feel a little unusual if you’re used to driving naturally aspirated engines, because there is a bit of a delay when you hit the gas, and the engine just puts the power down a little differently compared to more conventional cars. Once you get used to it though, this turbo engine is an absolute blast. You have to give the Jetta a chance before you can really appreciate all that this car has to offer. It’s not a very expensive or premium feeling car, but I still think that it’s an excellent daily driver that will satisfy most people looking into this class of vehicle.
And that’s the Volkswagen Jetta. Compared to the new Jetta, I would take this one any day. They made the new Jetta really bloated and abandoned the formula that made the MK6 feel so great to drive. I would probably get the GLI version myself, with the DSG and 2.0 turbo from the GTI, but even the base 1.4 engine has strong European sensation of low end torque and effortless zippy performance. You won’t be left feeling dissatisfied that you got the “base” engine with the 1.4 turbo. The regular 6-speed automatic feels similar to the DSG in its shift logic and programming as well, with the exception of those quicker shifts from the DSG. The steering is light, but the Jetta definitely among the best in terms of steering response and dynamics. It’s all a very light, nimble, and precise experience. Handling is super impressive, as the Jetta loves to be tossed around, and the ride feels solid and composed. Despite what people say about Volkswagen reliability, I feel that compact car shoppers would be doing themselves a disservice in not at least checking this car out.