Topic: Test Drive: 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TSI

[rrocket]

Well I dunno about the Camry but the Corolla isn't at all engaging. It drives better than the Elantra (which is horrible IMO) but the steering feel in the Golf is definitely superior and the interior is much nicer. IMO, of course.

Well I think most every econo car (Corolla, Jetta, etc) are boring to drive and are devoid of the word "engaging".

[OliverD]

Well I dunno about the Camry but the Corolla isn't at all engaging. It drives better than the Elantra (which is horrible IMO) but the steering feel in the Golf is definitely superior and the interior is much nicer. IMO, of course.

Well I think most every econo car (Corolla, Jetta, etc) are boring to drive and are devoid of the word "engaging".

Everything's relative.

[rrocket]

Well I dunno about the Camry but the Corolla isn't at all engaging. It drives better than the Elantra (which is horrible IMO) but the steering feel in the Golf is definitely superior and the interior is much nicer. IMO, of course.

Well I think most every econo car (Corolla, Jetta, etc) are boring to drive and are devoid of the word "engaging".

Everything's relative.

I suppose.  If a Corolla handling is akin to a limp banana peel, the Jetta feels like only half a limp banana peel.  But guess what?  It's still a limp banana peel.

[OliverD]

On a per capita basis, the Jetta is nearly twice as popular in Canada as it is in the U.S.

But that's not because the Jetta is a great car over here and a crap car in the USA.  That has more to do with Canadians preferring smaller cars in general.

That's a factor but the Sentra and Focus both outsell the Jetta in the U.S. My point is more that the pricing isn't holding the Jetta back in the Canadian market.

[rrocket]

On a per capita basis, the Jetta is nearly twice as popular in Canada as it is in the U.S.

But that's not because the Jetta is a great car over here and a crap car in the USA.  That has more to do with Canadians preferring smaller cars in general.

That's a factor but the Sentra and Focus both outsell the Jetta in the U.S. My point is more that the pricing isn't holding the Jetta back in the Canadian market.

No, not entirely.  But I do think price does figure in.  Especially when you include the general lack of quality/reliability from VW.  And possibly CDNs liking the fact the Corolla and Civic are made here.

[jamescottam]

Wow guys, buy the one you want. As for me, yeah, I'd take the Jetta over the Corolla for that 1.8T gem. I drove one - what a nice powertrain with a manual transmission.

[mixmanmash]

  Personally I like the fact that VW offers many engine options...you should see how many in the UK! That is still a solid chunk of cash when taxes and other items are added in, kind of puts the car against some more upscale offerings. As for the built in Mexico factor, I had a 03 Sentra SE-R built in Mexico that never once had a single noise peep out. It was built very well which couldn't be said for the engines made in Japan...#1 engine lasted 66K and #2 lasted 100K.

The early QR25DE engines had issues that led to catastrophic failures.  Later ones were fine.  Primarily the issue was screws on the butterfly valves inside of the intake manifold backing out and entering the combustion chamber.  Definitely not good for the engine internals.

[bombastic]

can you truly say it's "equivalent" when corolla feels like a tin can and jetta feels like a german sedan?

The latest Corolla didn't feel that way to me.

Perhaps not a tin can but a Jetta or Golf is a nicer place to spend time than a new Corolla IMO. They also drive better.

Can't drive that much better.  One of the writers from TTAC had a Camry around a race track on 2 separate occasions and said the Camry was the more engaging, funner car than a Jetta or Passat.

Honestly...how great of a driver can it be if a Camry is more fun?

"one of the writers","race track"? None of the these cars is a race car. So the race track is the wrong place to compare them.

[Kris78]

Well I dunno about the Camry but the Corolla isn't at all engaging. It drives better than the Elantra (which is horrible IMO) but the steering feel in the Golf is definitely superior and the interior is much nicer. IMO, of course.

Well I think most every econo car (Corolla, Jetta, etc) are boring to drive and are devoid of the word "engaging".

Everything's relative.

I suppose.  If a Corolla handling is akin to a limp banana peel, the Jetta feels like only half a limp banana peel.  But guess what?  It's still a limp banana peel.

While I'm not sure where on the "limp banana skin" scale my car falls, I can tell you this, my 2013 Civic LX (tiny wheels and all) feels like a freakin' race car compared to the 2013 Corolla rental I have right now. Wow. The comparison is a little unfair, as the rental has the 4-speed auto, and my car is a 5-speed manual. Instant increased driving satisfaction.

Yes, I'm still bitter that I don't have my car. Thanks, deer.

[toolatecrew]

Unless one has a true need/obsession with a trunk I just can't see a good reason to get one of these over a Golf.

Unless you want that crap 2 point slow in the Jetta the prices between Golf and Jetta are comparable. Yet the Goldf is so much better in so many ways. The interior alone would make up my mind for me.

[OliverD]

Unless one has a true need/obsession with a trunk I just can't see a good reason to get one of these over a Golf.

Unless you want that crap 2 point slow in the Jetta the prices between Golf and Jetta are comparable. Yet the Goldf is so much better in so many ways. The interior alone would make up my mind for me.

The Golf is more expensive when similarly equipped though. The Jetta Trendline+ and Golf Trendline are close but the delta increases for the higher trims.

[mlin32]

It is commonplace in North America for hatchbacks to be more expensive than their sedan counterparts- I can think of many examples.

If you consider that sedans are projected to sell in greater volumes, from a math/product costing perspective it is easier to spread fixed costs over more units for sedans than it is for hatchbacks.

[OliverD]

It is commonplace in North America for hatchbacks to be more expensive than their sedan counterparts- I can think of many examples.

If you consider that sedans are projected to sell in greater volumes, from a math/product costing perspective it is easier to spread fixed costs over more units for sedans than it is for hatchbacks.

Right but it's typically a fixed premium between trim levels. For example the Canadian 3 is $1000 more if you want the hatch regardless of trim level.

[mlin32]

It is commonplace in North America for hatchbacks to be more expensive than their sedan counterparts- I can think of many examples.

If you consider that sedans are projected to sell in greater volumes, from a math/product costing perspective it is easier to spread fixed costs over more units for sedans than it is for hatchbacks.

Right but it's typically a fixed premium between trim levels. For example the Canadian 3 is $1000 more if you want the hatch regardless of trim level.

Each automaker probably has their own method for precisely determining the price differential; the variable costs of production and supply may vary as well even if the vehicles are produced in the same plant. The Jetta is still on the old platform where as the Golf is on a new platform which cost quite a pretty penny to develop. Then there's the new tooling they needed for the Golf assembly line.

[Blueprint]

It is commonplace in North America for hatchbacks to be more expensive than their sedan counterparts- I can think of many examples.

If you consider that sedans are projected to sell in greater volumes, from a math/product costing perspective it is easier to spread fixed costs over more units for sedans than it is for hatchbacks.

Right but it's typically a fixed premium between trim levels. For example the Canadian 3 is $1000 more if you want the hatch regardless of trim level.

...and the stick in the GT-equivalent US Mazda3 is 1000$ less than the "std" automatic 

[rrocket]

can you truly say it's "equivalent" when corolla feels like a tin can and jetta feels like a german sedan?

The latest Corolla didn't feel that way to me.

Perhaps not a tin can but a Jetta or Golf is a nicer place to spend time than a new Corolla IMO. They also drive better.

Can't drive that much better.  One of the writers from TTAC had a Camry around a race track on 2 separate occasions and said the Camry was the more engaging, funner car than a Jetta or Passat.

Honestly...how great of a driver can it be if a Camry is more fun?

"one of the writers","race track"? None of the these cars is a race car. So the race track is the wrong place to compare them.

A race track is a safe place to test car's handling characteristics at their useable limits. Don't confuse "racing" with "on a race track".