You are here : Volkswagen Jetta First Drive - Jetta Stream
Jet streams are high-altitude winds that can blow in excess of 160kph. On the Beaufort scale, winds that blow at those speeds are classified as Whole Gales, one step short of Storms. The Jetta is named after the Jet Stream, and if you look at the way its sales have taken off, it seems that Volkswagen got the name spot-on. It is the single highest-selling European car in the US, the world's largest car market. It is also the Golf's booted brother, which means it has large shoes to fill. VW India has just launched the fifth-generation Jetta in India, and we had the opportunity to sample it.
Head-on, the Jetta is a dead ringer for the Golf, and it's only when one can see the rear that it can be distinguished from its hatch sibling. The proportions are ever so slightly odd, but we're used to Tata Indigos and Honda Citys, so we won't find them strange. The Comfortline looks a wee bit better than the Trendline owing to small touches like the chrome strip around the windows. If you ignore the slightly frumpy styling, you'll see that there's impeccable quality here. Shutlines have the consistency that our cricketing heroes can only dream of, the doors close with a lovely chunky noise shutting the world out once they are pulled in.
The interiors of the Trendline can be a drab place to be, what with grey fabric everywhere. The Comfortline's interior, on the other hand, is a place you'll happily live in; the cheerful beige leather and details like the steering-mounted audio and phone controls make it so much easier for the driver. Boot space is more than you'll ever need, and the rear seats split and fold as well, should you be running away from home and want to take everything along.
Our short drive with both the petrol and diesel Jettas gave us an instant liking for the diesel DSG automatic. That may sound like blasphemy coming from those who pride themselves for their car control and love driving, but the DSG really is intuitive and the motor's poke always outshone the petrol, with the only fly in the ointment being the noise, characteristic of unit-injector diesels. The petrol went about its business in a quiet, dignified manner and failed to excite, but it'll suit the backseat babu with the short commute to a T.
India loves diesel cars for their economy and lower running costs, and VW India has made a wise choice by making a diesel the top variant. We loved small touches like the 'VW' inscribed headlamp bulbs and Passat-inspired rear. However, as always, we'd like more - how about offering either the 140bhp diesel or 170bhp petrol? Now that would make for a real strahlstrommung.
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