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Review: 2011 Volkswagen Jetta SEL

Filed under: Sedan, Volkswagen, Reviews

Teasing The Faithful While Pleasing The Masses

2011 Volkswagen Jetta – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Jetta has always disguised its cost controls beneath a veneer of high quality materials and tidy manners. Interiors have been like Audis in training, with suspensions so supple the world’s largest automakers dissect the bushings to learn their secrets. This long view emphasizes the recent disappointment with this new larger, U.S.-centric Jetta.

Early reports sounded the alarm; the new Jetta is shockingly cheap. That’s a positive statement regarding the $15,995 base price, down from $17,735 for the 2010 model, and Volkswagen is touting it prominently with its “Great for the price of Good” advertising tagline. While some cry foul, sales are up. For its first month on the market, the 2011 Jetta posted 12.6 percent better numbers than the old model managed for the same month a year prior.

To achieve that sub-$16,000 number, things had to go, though good stuff remains. We wanted to give der neue Jetta a chance to wow us, so we spent a week with a Jetta 2.5 SEL to find out if it’s been overwhelmed by a too-intense focus on price.

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Gallery: 2011 Volkswagen Jetta: Review

2011 Volkswagen Jetta

Continue reading Review: 2011 Volkswagen Jetta SEL

Review: 2011 Volkswagen Jetta SEL originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition: It’s the little things…

Filed under: Sedan, Volkswagen, Diesel, Long-Term Garage

2010 Volkswagen Jetta Door Pocket

With over three months and 5,342 miles on our Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition long-termer, we’ve moved from the honeymoon phase to the daily grind, and now we’re appreciating the little things.

Aside from averaging 39.2 mpg since our last update – which included a 10- hour trip to LA and back – there are a handful of thoughtful touches that continue to impress us. For instance? Carpeted bin liners. It may sound trite, but not hearing a plastic-on-plastic smack every time we throw our FastTrak into the door pocket is reassuring. Auto-up and down on all four windows is something you don’t find often enough in this segment and it’s a huge plus when clearing out the heat on a summer day. But our Favorite Little Thing? B-pillar mounted coat hooks. Throw your dry cleaning or sportcoat onto one of the hooks normally integrated into the rear grab handles and you’ve doubled your blind-spot. With VW’s solution, visibility out back remains nearly unobstructed, assuming you hang your coat on the passenger side and not behind the driver’s seat. We’ve also managed to cram four R-compound-shod wheels into the back (not for the Jetta, mind) with the rear seats folded down, and still had room for a toolbox, a few backpacks and a small tent. Not bad for a “compact sedan.”

Gallery: Review: 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition

2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition: It’s the little things… originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition: How low is too low?

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Volkswagen, Diesel, Long-Term Garage

2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition – Click above for high-res image gallery

My daily driver is lowered. Really low. Like damn-near-touring car low. Almost every car I’ve owned over the last decade has benefited from some kind of suspension setup that dropped its ride height. Traversing speed-bumps and steep driveways has always been a slow-speed, one-wheel-at-a-time affair for me. But with all these different cars with their low clearances, I’ve never had as many problems with scraping as I have with our long-term Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition.

The first time it reared its ugly head wasn’t in a parking lot or on a curb, but during my initial blast down a favorite backroad. I went into a banked right-hand bend, and as the left suspension loaded up, I heard a faint scraping noise up front. I figured it was a fluke until it happened a second time. Then a third. After the drive, I stopped to scope out the damage and found the paint stripped down to the base coat under the left bumper.

Since then, it’s only gotten worse, but it’s not the lower fascia that’s taking the brunt of the abuse.

There’s a small lip on the plastic underbody tray that gets caught on driveways and a marginally steep curbs, and after a few dozen scrapes, the four plastic clips holding it to the bumper are approaching their breaking point. It’s not a major issue, but hearing plastic meeting asphalt on a regular basis is enough to make anyone cringe.

As such, I make it a point to reverse into driveways steeper than a few degrees and slowly pull out, careful to drop one wheel, and then the next, when leaving. Yes, this is a sporty sedan. And yes, some concessions need to be made. But with a suspension that’s barely lower than a stock TDI, it’s the front fascia – and specifically this underbody tray – that’s to blame. And considering this is the same kit pulled from VW’s TDI racers, a slight modification to the lower valance might have been in order for street duty. While it’s more than just eye candy and has been optimized for increased airflow over the standard Jetta, the Cup Street Edition’s lower valance must live in the real world, and so far, the real world has left its mark on our long-term tester.

Gallery: Review: 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition

2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition: How low is too low? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Recycling Gone Wild: Turn your VW Jetta TDI into a Smyth Performance G3F [w/video]

Smyth Performance G3F concept – Click above to watch the video after the jump

Reduce-Reuse-Recycle is the tri-directive that could help us become more sustainable as a society. Soon, a kit for the G3F from Smyth Performance – a new venture by Factory Five Racing co-founder Mark Smith – will follow those guidelines, enabling you to convert a previously-enjoyed Volkswagen Jetta into something you can really look forward to driving. The finished product will be lighter, faster and burn less biodiesel than the original vehicle, offering up to 60 miles per gallon and boasting a very naughty top speed of 140 miles per hour. All for about $10,000 and less than 100 hours of labor.

It’s a simple recipe. You start by procuring a TDI diesel Jetta four door sedan. Cut away about 800 lbs of metal, reusing a large chunk of the chassis, including the entire safety structure. The engine gets chipped, modded and moved from in front of the driver to behind. Add the body, seats, wheels and all the other included bits from the kit and voila! You now own a recycled VW that increases your joy of driving while reducing the amount of petroleum product you’ll need to pump.

Okay, maybe we’re making it sound a little easier than it actually is, but Smith is confident there is enough interest to make a go of it with a line of depositors already being formed. Despite deliveries (optimistically) planned for September, the original prototype is still under construction. The operation doesn’t have an official website either – that’s coming this fall – but you can follow the progress of both car and company on both Facebook and the unofficial Factory Five forum. Hit the jump for video of Mr. Smith explaining his concept and tell us what you think.

[Source: Boston.com]

Continue reading Recycling Gone Wild: Turn your VW Jetta TDI into a Smyth Performance G3F [w/video]

Recycling Gone Wild: Turn your VW Jetta TDI into a Smyth Performance G3F [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: 2011 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen won’t be based on new Jetta

Filed under: Wagon, Volkswagen

2010 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen – Click above for high-res image gallery

Those of you unenamoured of the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta have an alternative if you’re still interested in procuring one of V-Dub’s entry-level runabouts.

The current SportWagen variant of the Jetta will carry on unchanged for the 2011 model year, complete with better materials, a more sophisticated rear suspension and that useful hatch.

According to TheCarConnection, the decision not to migrate the wagon over to the all-new platform of the 2011 Jetta sedan was a cost-saving measure, so it will continue to be built in Germany using the Mark V’s underpinnings.

But it’s not all wine and roses. While the gas-fed 170-hp five-cylinder and 140-hp TDI diesel four will carry over (the Reagan-era Two-Point-Slow won’t be an option), you’ll still have to deal with the somewhat cramped rear legroom of the current model, as VW has no immediate plans to utilize the new Jetta’s architecture anytime soon. However, expect a few cosmetic upgrades to happen at some point next year to bring the styling more in line with the rest of the VW lineup.

Gallery: 2010 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagon

[Source: The Car Connection]

Report: 2011 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen won’t be based on new Jetta originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VW shows off hotted-up 2011 Jetta at Waterfest

Filed under: Aftermarket, Sedan, Volkswagen, Design/Style

2011 Volkswagen Jetta wearing factory accessories

Oh so tasty. Few things on this planet push our buttons like a cleanly modified car, which is exactly why we’re still drooling over the shots of the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta that VW Vortex spotted at this year’s Waterfest. Ze People’s automaker graced the crowd with one squeaky example of its new four-door, complete with a host of new look-faster parts, presumably pulled straight from the Volkswagen Accessories Catalog. Look closely and you’ll spot a smattering of aero additions, including a reworked front bumper, sculpted side skirts and similarly sexy rear fascia. The company also threw a lip spoiler on the rear deck and bolted up a set of blacked-out wheels.

As far as we know, VW didn’t lay a finger on the car’s engine bay, which means that even if the Jetta is packed with the company’s most potent turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, we’re still looking at around 200 horsepower. If it were us, we’d be hunting up an ECU reflash to eek out a few extra ponies to match the menacing looks. If you want to put your eyes on a few extra shots of the car, head on over to VW Vortex for the full monty.

[Source: VW Vortex]

VW shows off hotted-up 2011 Jetta at Waterfest originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition: Getting intimate and egged

Filed under: Sedan, Volkswagen, Diesel, Long-Term Garage

There’s no better way to get to know a vehicle than washing it yourself. So rather than sending it through the local hand-wash last weekend, I pulled out a bucket and got sudsy for the first time… in a while.

After a run through the Altamont Hills the previous day, our long-term Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition was coated from windshield to air dam with crickets – something that happens in the hills the same time each year. While I expected the massive grille to be covered in the little bastards, what I didn’t expect to find (after I toweled everything down, natch) was hundreds of the buggers wedged in between the lower bumper and the underbody tray. A small gap in between the two panels allowed the loud-legged Gryllidaes to go antenna-first into the slot, requiring a strong hose and a flathead screwdriver to get them out. Messy – but the again, genocide normally is.

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Gallery: Review: 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition

Continue reading 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition: Getting intimate and egged

2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition: Getting intimate and egged originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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