Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  Excellent value - 2017 Volkswagen Jetta
  By GM - October 31 - 6:16 pm

  Bought this Jetta SEL on an end of summer deal. Purchased it through Edmunds pricing request. The dealer honored the price and it was a steal! Care drives very good. The new engine and transmission combination is excellent. Sure, I could find fault with some aspects of this car, but overall I am very pleased with the driving experience. The SEL trim level is worth the extra price. Key-less operation, sunroof, nav. Fuel economy is very good at just over 30 mpg. Driver seat could be more comfortable. Brakes are excellent.

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  Great value, flat out great performance. - 2017 Volkswagen Jetta
  By RM1 - September 23 - 11:00 am

  I bought this to replace an older Volvo sedan. I bought it in Feb 2017, it is now October. My Jetta routinely knocks down 42+ MPG on the highway. The 1.4 TSI engine is what makes this car so good. Fantastic power from the small displacement (85 CID) and excellent low end torque, no need to wind it out to get the power. I have to 6 speed auto transmission, it is geared very well to this engine. Turbo lag is almost invisible and the shift logic works very well. Light years ahead of the older turbo cars. The MIB-II infotainment system is by far the best Ive played with, very ergonomic and straightforward to operate. It works with Android Auto quite well. No need to get sat nav, as Google Maps is better and comes up on the radio screen. I have not had any repair work done as it hasnt needed any. I imagine with proper care, it will last a long time. Service points are clearly marked under the hood and maintenance is easy to do. This engine does have a timing belt, which is good as there are no chains or plastic guides to wear out and replace. The service interval is 120K IIRC. My biggest gripe is the road noise, I think this is a fault of the Bridgestone tires that came on the car. There is a good deal of wind buffeting with the back windows down at 30+ MPH speeds. Overall, its a great value to the money and just a hoot to drive. The electric power steering is calibrated fairly well, although I wish there were an option to adjust the power assist down, it can get a bit twitchy on the highway. The SEL model has a few more features that I would want, but not the 1.4 litre engine and that is the main reason I like this car. It would be nice to have adaptive cruise, auto mirror dimming and fog lamps on the SE model.

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  Surprising - 2017 Volkswagen Jetta
  By John Smith - January 19 - 6:14 am

  Bought this May 20th after looking at several different choices; lowest out the door cost, good dealer experience and great interest rate sealed it. Pros: Great fuel mileage and good performance from the 1.4 (surprising considering the size of the engine). Wanted a TDI but last re-released 2015 was gone before I could get it; with this engine I dont miss it (40+ MPG on 87 octane). Surprisingly comfortable and equipped, even in base trim. Most people pan the interior; I like a more basic car, much like what was the norm 20 years ago. Seats folded, this thing holds a ton of cargo; hauled several fence pickets, a couple of bags of mulch and potting soil plants and a few groceries with room to spare. I even appreciate the exterior styling; not bland, certainly unoffensive. The MK IV Jetta may have had more Audi styling, but they also suffered from a ton of fit an finish, as well as mechanical, issues this car seems to have avoided. Now for the Cons: Car handles like youre driving through a wind storm; constantly have to make steering corrections to keep in my lane. I blame the Ecopias, steering and suspension eco-natured and commuter friendly tuning; a set of springs and 205/50 17" tires would greatly help here. The drivers door rattles when shut, like the panel is loose, and the dealer plainly stated that every new Jetta does it, and there is nothing they could do to fix it. However, its a sub $20k car; I recently drove a couple of BMW F10 cars, and their doors had worse rattling issues than mine, which is unacceptable in anything that costs $51k. The radio is a little too basic. At the price of entry I would expect alloy wheels and a 6 speed manual. As expected, turbo lag and economy gearing do little to get this thing off the line, which can be dangerous if youre local traffic is as bad as mine. The interior light gray seat fabric will get dirty in a very short amount of time; invest in a good set of seat covers. The rear headrests greatly hinder rear visibility; I cant remove them due to my chosen rear seat cover, which utilizes the headrests as a mounting point. Overall, there may be better choices out there, but the dealer experience won the day. And, considering the cost, I believe the S is the best value; moving up in trim only gets more equipment, and not necessarily a better car (the GLI excepted). Higher trims in non-GLI either get the same 1.4 combo (stick or auto) or are saddled with the much thirstier 1.8 and auto combo.

• 

  Surprising - 2017 Volkswagen Jetta
  By John Smith - January 19 - 6:14 am

  Bought this May 20th after looking at several different choices; lowest out the door cost, good dealer experience and great interest rate sealed it. Pros: Great fuel mileage and good performance from the 1.4 (surprising considering the size of the engine). Wanted a TDI but last re-released 2015 was gone before I could get it; with this engine I dont miss it (40+ MPG on 87 octane). Surprisingly comfortable and equipped, even in base trim. Most people pan the interior; I like a more basic car, much like what was the norm 20 years ago. Seats folded, this thing holds a ton of cargo; hauled several fence pickets, a couple of bags of mulch and potting soil plants and a few groceries with room to spare. I even appreciate the exterior styling; not bland, certainly unoffensive. The MK IV Jetta may have had more Audi styling, but they also suffered from a ton of fit an finish, as well as mechanical, issues this car seems to have avoided. Now for the Cons: Car handles like youre driving through a wind storm; constantly have to make steering corrections to keep in my lane. I blame the Ecopias, steering and suspension eco-natured and commuter friendly tuning; a set of springs and 205/50 17" tires would greatly help here. The drivers door rattles when shut, like the panel is loose, and the dealer plainly stated that every new Jetta does it, and there is nothing they could do to fix it. However, its a sub $20k car; I recently drove a couple of BMW F10 cars, and their doors had worse rattling issues than mine, which is unacceptable in anything that costs $51k. The radio is a little too basic. At the price of entry I would expect alloy wheels and a 6 speed manual. As expected, turbo lag and economy gearing do little to get this thing off the line, which can be dangerous if youre local traffic is as bad as mine. The interior light gray seat fabric will get dirty in a very short amount of time; invest in a good set of seat covers. The rear headrests greatly hinder rear visibility; I cant remove them due to my chosen rear seat cover, which utilizes the headrests as a mounting point. Overall, there may be better choices out there, but the dealer experience won the day. And, considering the cost, I believe the S is the best value; moving up in trim only gets more equipment, and not necessarily a better car (the GLI excepted). Higher trims in non-GLI either get the same 1.4 combo (stick or auto) or are saddled with the much thirstier 1.8 and auto combo.

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  Small (1.4) turbocharged VW sedan with a 5M - 2017 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Buck - March 18 - 7:16 am

  This is the bottom of the VW line......but the top of the line for MPG. VW purchased (buyback program) my immensely competent (but EPA says incompetent) TDI. The Jetta S 5M seems a very good value - noting the end of the model year discounting. Test drive was positive. Purchased late August 2017 for less than my 1988 cost for an Acura Integra 4- cyl hatch. First refueling calcs 477.5 mostly city miles on about 12 gallons of RON 87.

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  With Huge 2017 Discount- Great Deal - 2017 Volkswagen Jetta
  By John S - January 15 - 8:05 pm

  Just drive 1000+ miles on road triip. Got 41+ mpg. Awesome! Also took advantage of VW clearance sale for end of August. Over $4,000 discount under MSRP of $20,800. Solid tight car. Quiet interior. Cant beat this car as a commuter.

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  Happy So Far - 2017 Volkswagen Jetta
  By David - January 1 - 4:28 am

  Ive had now for about 3K miles. I came out of 15 Jetta TDI 6 speed manual. My 17 is not as peppy, but no surprise. Still adequate pep. I like the fuel economy. Great comfortable ride on the Interstate. Quite a bit of noise with sunroof open. So, will have to get a deflector. I love having satellite radio. I very much like the SE upgrades from the S. This vehicle is a great overall value, in my opinion.

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  Traded my nightmare Audi A4 Avant for a Jetta SE. - 2017 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Christopher David S. - April 10 - 6:11 am

  I recently traded my A4 Avant for a brand new 2017 Jetta SE. I bought my Jetta during a great promotion that my dealer was having, ansd I really feel that it was a great value. I bought it with 8 miles on the odometers and have put 17,000 on it in 10 months. ZERO problems, so far. The gas mileage is a big plus for me. With all of my highway driving, I see high 30s, every day. One day, I was on a long road trip and was using hyper-mileing techniques, and got over 40MPG. I love this car so much that I do not know where to start. Lets start with the engine. I was a bit worried that the tiny 1.4 Turbo would be too small and pathetic for being a daily highway driver. Boy, did the test drive prove me wrong. The 1.4 is a very snappy little motor with great acceleration. It is insanely torquey for such a small displacement engine. This car has neglibile, if any at all, Turbo lag. Compared to my old A4, this car has a very responsive Turbo. The transmission is very smooth, but on occassion decides to shift hard. Maybe once or twice a month, it will act like it cant figure out where it wants to shift. Resulting in a bit of a jerk when it shifts. The tires on this car are noisy. I cannot wait to wear them out, and put some new tires on it. VW needs to drop Bridgestone. Utter garbage tires, in my opinion. As for cabin and interior, this car is VERY spacious. I am 60", and weigh 280 pounds. I do not ever regret buying this car. It is comfortable, and has a great amount of leg room. I like the height adjustable seats with a handle to pump them up and down. The trunk is incredibly large. I am not sure how VW engineered the car to have such a large trunk, while maintaining enough leg room that my 67" friend can ride in the back seat without cramping up. I live on the ocean and am constantly at a beach with this car. That means lots of sand and salt water on my clothes. The vinyl seats and the nice rubber floor mats are great for this enviroment. Very durable interior, and easy to lift out the deep tray floor mat and just dump the sand out. The seats wipe right off, and clean up easily. For an economy based car, the electronic amenties make it a great commuter. I use the Blutooth every day. Google Maps are used for my GPS. The backup camera is a great feature that I love. USB ports are handy, as well. For the money, you get a lot of features. And, did I mention that it is a great looking car, as well. I wish the warranty were a bit longer, and the oil changes were still free, but so far the maintenance visits have been painless and the service has been great.