2011 Volkswagen Jetta: First Look

[Altitude]

The Jetta used to have distinctive styling. What happened?

[vwtech]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

VW has made it clear that the intention was to bring the Jetta down in line with the Corolla /Civic class. Until now, it's been a premium compact and for that reason, VW couldn't achieve the sales levels they want. So they had to cheapen the Jetta by giving it rear drums, non- independent rear suspension, cheaper interior, weak base engine, ect. I believe they finally did what they had to do. They've been selling Jetta's for the price of Camry's.

And it kind of seems you're comparing elements of the Jetta with the Yaris. I sure hope the Jetta has a better ride than the Yaris. It costs like $7K more.





Sure, a rare repair might be needed but usually not until well after 100,000 miles.

Mine hasn't needed a single repair as of 93,000 miles and it feels like it just rolled of the assembly line.

A VW with 93K on it is all but worthless.

I know toyota's never break right....I bet the techs are going broke LOL. Last time I went to get my recall done there was a 2 week wait. I understand they are making a car people can afford in this economy but I wish they would have brought over another car to sell instead of making the jetta cheap although still loads nicer than a carolla. we did get a 2 litre 5 speed in and wow was that thing a slug.

[chrisj]

Originally Posted by vwtech

my mother had a highlander with a bad sludge problem and she never missed an oil change but that didnt stop me from buying the yaris. Ever car line has problems they all break weather anyone on this board wants to believe it or not thats why all of them even toyota have service bays even though people on this forum think that their toyota will never break.

Oh, I've had a Toyota that broke...hard. I had...yes...wait for it...a Mark II station wagon that the Devil himself must have designed and built. Up until that time I never had a car with that many problems.

I owned a 1979 Corolla that I drove to work and back for 6 years (50 mile round trip). This was in 1990-1996 and the car just looked olddddd (if you remember that lovely design). I wasn't sold on Toyota's until I had the good luck with that one. I started driving it and within a month the speedo broke at 123,000 miles. I then drove it another 6 years, then sold it to my brother in law who drove it another few years. So, I was sold on Toyota then.

I've had just about every brand of car made in America plus a few foreign models like a few MGB's, and I have had trouble out of all of them for one reason or another. I beat the hell out of that Corolla and it just wouldn't die. I added a quart of oil to it when the oil light came on (yes I did) and that was the extent of its oil changes. I was the roughest of rough on the car and did no regular service or maintenance.

We owned an Avalon that was fortunately a color that always looked clean whether you washed it or not, because we had that car 9 years and I think it may have been washed twice. God washed our vehicles. We did scheduled oil changes on it, but that was about it. I just expect to get into any car I have, start it up, and take off. I'm not a mechanic and I don't like to fiddle with cars at all. I like them for what they do. Get me from Point A to Point B and back to Point A. That's it.

Now we have a black Yaris, that requires washing regularly unless you want it to look like pure shit. I don't mind it so much. At least the f*cker is small enough not to take a whole weekend to clean it up. I have not always had the best of luck with vehicles, but I have better luck with Toyotas at least partially due to my disregard for them. They are kind to me even if I haven't always returned the favor.

My hatred of particular brands comes from personal experiences and driving them for years putting up with their BS. I never put up with crap from my Toyotas starting in 1990. Now, that Mark II was a piece of crap for sure, but I got a new respect for Toyota after driving the hell out of that Corolla for years and years. Matter of fact, the last car I bought brand new was a 1999 Corolla and I have a special place in my heart for that model, obviously.

So, I treat cars like crap and never expect them to break, that's true. I know they will, but at least the Toyotas I have owned have given me lots of time to save up for future repairs. Which is more than I can say for lots of other brands I have owned.

[09box]

The base motor for the base Jetta is going to be the good ole 2.0 iron block. A 115 hp/123 lb ft of tq motor pushing around a 3k pound car is a little much for me. I've driven the 2.5 powered car and that was a little bit of a turd too..

[DevilGirl]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

A VW with 93K on it is all but worthless.

Really? We have 2 VW's:

2002 Golf TDI: 198,000 miles (approximate, but definitely over 197k last I checked). Still runs great. Bought at 175k in 2007. No pussy-foot driving of this car. Only repairs since ownership: replacement of turbo.

2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI: just turned over 16,000 the other day. Do we expect that it will continue the same as the Golf? Umm, hell yea!!!

[why?]

Originally Posted by 09box

The base motor for the base Jetta is going to be the good ole 2.0 iron block. A 115 hp/123 lb ft of tq motor pushing around a 3k pound car is a little much for me. I've driven the 2.5 powered car and that was a little bit of a turd too..

That was the base engine for VW for many, many years. And they still were ridiculously overpriced. And had major electrical issues.

Originally Posted by DevilGirl

Really? We have 2 VW's:

2002 Golf TDI: 198,000 miles (approximate, but definitely over 197k last I checked). Still runs great. Bought at 175k in 2007. No pussy-foot driving of this car. Only repairs since ownership: replacement of turbo.

2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI: just turned over 16,000 the other day. Do we expect that it will continue the same as the Golf? Umm, hell yea!!!

You have two TDI's. I am pretty sure they are from a different company, or something, because they never have any of the usual vw issues from what I've seen.

[Darb]

Originally Posted by Altitude

The Jetta used to have distinctive styling. What happened?

+1

Mk. IV ftw.

[DevilGirl]

Originally Posted by why?

You have two TDI's. I am pretty sure they are from a different company, or something, because they never have any of the usual vw issues from what I've seen.

To my knowledge (which I could be wrong, and I admit that possibility), they are made by VW. But they are designed differently due to the use of diesel as opposed to gas. I wouldn't even consider a VW if it weren't a TDI. While the diesel engine adds to a higher costing car, the MPG and reliabilty are better than the gassers, thereby making it worth the extra upfront cost. At least in my opinion anyway.

[vwtech]

Originally Posted by DevilGirl

Really? We have 2 VW's:

2002 Golf TDI: 198,000 miles (approximate, but definitely over 197k last I checked). Still runs great. Bought at 175k in 2007. No pussy-foot driving of this car. Only repairs since ownership: replacement of turbo.

2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI: just turned over 16,000 the other day. Do we expect that it will continue the same as the Golf? Umm, hell yea!!!

thankyou for chiming in there I have regular customers (oil changes and timing belts) who own tdi's who have over 300k trouble free miles. I also have 25k trouble free HARD miles on my 09 tdi I beat the tar out of that car and nothing has gone wrong with it the low end torque is adicting. vw has gotten a bad rep because of the passat 1.8 and jetta 1.8 those cars are money pits and I'm sure toyota has their money pit cars as well.

[why?]

Originally Posted by vwtech

thankyou for chiming in there I have regular customers (oil changes and timing belts) who own tdi's who have over 300k trouble free miles. I also have 25k trouble free HARD miles on my 09 tdi I beat the tar out of that car and nothing has gone wrong with it the low end torque is adicting. vw has gotten a bad rep because of the passat 1.8 and jetta 1.8 those cars are money pits and I'm sure toyota has their money pit cars as well.

actually, that is the point, toyota does not. VW has some cars that can last forever, and a bunch of cars that have serious problems. Toyota, and to be honest most Japanese cars, have vehicles that are almost trouble free, with a few exceptions.

Now of course, German cars, including VW/Audi, are rather fun to drive, while most Toyota's are rather boring. It is a case of where the manufacturer chose to spend the money.

[vwtech]

Originally Posted by why?

actually, that is the point, toyota does not. VW has some cars that can last forever, and a bunch of cars that have serious problems. Toyota, and to be honest most Japanese cars, have vehicles that are almost trouble free, with a few exceptions.

Now of course, German cars, including VW/Audi, are rather fun to drive, while most Toyota's are rather boring. It is a case of where the manufacturer chose to spend the money.

Every japanese car line has their money pit cars, I know this because I have worked at two japanese car dealers one had mitsubishi nissan the other was a toyota mazda dealer. back in the early 2000's toyota had their fair share of sludge and prius battery problems they also had a TON of v6 head gasket problems. I bet you can look under the hood of any older v6 camry to find it pouring oil out of the v/c gaskets. Nissan's had alot of problems as well I dont even remember how many 20k altima 2.5's I replaced because they were burning a quart of oil every 200 miles or sometimes they would just blow up for no reason. pretty much any nissan you own past 60k you'll be thowing cats in them like they are going out of style or cvt's. I dont see why people think that japanese cars never break its so untrue and I cant stand it when they bash domestics for no reason and they have never owned one. some domestics are more reliable than any japanese car and way cheaper to fix. I think toyota is the most boring car line they dont make a single car anymore that is fun or looks good well I take that back the fj cruiser is pretty sweet but way too pricey.

[why?]

Originally Posted by vwtech

Every japanese car line has their money pit cars, I know this because I have worked at two japanese car dealers one had mitsubishi nissan the other was a toyota mazda dealer. back in the early 2000's toyota had their fair share of sludge and prius battery problems they also had a TON of v6 head gasket problems. I bet you can look under the hood of any older v6 camry to find it pouring oil out of the v/c gaskets. Nissan's had alot of problems as well I dont even remember how many 20k altima 2.5's I replaced because they were burning a quart of oil every 200 miles or sometimes they would just blow up for no reason. pretty much any nissan you own past 60k you'll be thowing cats in them like they are going out of style or cvt's. I dont see why people think that japanese cars never break its so untrue and I cant stand it when they bash domestics for no reason and they have never owned one. some domestics are more reliable than any japanese car and way cheaper to fix. I think toyota is the most boring car line they dont make a single car anymore that is fun or looks good well I take that back the fj cruiser is pretty sweet but way too pricey.

now it sounds like you are mad and willing to say anything to try and make toyota sound bad.

Good way to make a point...

[TickleTimeTim]

looks good. i like the jetta, always have. but maybe that's because i've never owned one.

[vwtech]

Originally Posted by why?

now it sounds like you are mad and willing to say anything to try and make toyota sound bad.

Good way to make a point...

just speaking from experience all i'm saying is that ever car will break and alot of people think that toyotas never break and that everything else is junk.

[chrisj]

I have owned about 35 cars or trucks in my life, and although the Toyotas have had issues here and there, the rest were junk by a mile. I speak from experience, not opinion.

[kimona]

Originally Posted by vwtech

Every japanese car line has their money pit cars, I know this because I have worked at two japanese car dealers one had mitsubishi nissan the other was a toyota mazda dealer. back in the early 2000's toyota had their fair share of sludge and prius battery problems they also had a TON of v6 head gasket problems. I bet you can look under the hood of any older v6 camry to find it pouring oil out of the v/c gaskets. Nissan's had alot of problems as well I dont even remember how many 20k altima 2.5's I replaced because they were burning a quart of oil every 200 miles or sometimes they would just blow up for no reason. pretty much any nissan you own past 60k you'll be thowing cats in them like they are going out of style or cvt's. I dont see why people think that japanese cars never break its so untrue and I cant stand it when they bash domestics for no reason and they have never owned one. some domestics are more reliable than any japanese car and way cheaper to fix. I think toyota is the most boring car line they dont make a single car anymore that is fun or looks good well I take that back the fj cruiser is pretty sweet but way too pricey.

I must have missed something here. You drive a Volks and obviously love it. That's great! Apparently you don't like Japanese cars and you enjoy bashing them on a Toyota forum. So, I'm really wondering what you're doing here on yarisworld (?).

[chrisj]

Originally Posted by kimona

I must have missed something here. You drive a Volks and obviously love it. That's great! Apparently you don't like Japanese cars and you enjoy bashing them on a Toyota forum. So, I'm really wondering what you're doing here on yarisworld (?).

There must be no VW forum in anything but German.

[Darb]

Originally Posted by chrisj

There must be no VW forum in anything but German.

VWvortex ist auf Englisch.