Value, safety and standard spec level
Boring styling, ugly standard steel wheels
Bigger than a Golf, smaller than a Passat, the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta sedan is VW’s challenger in the crowded mid-sized sedan market. The 118TSI manual is the cheapest and most basic model of the five spec/transmission choices – but in fact, it is neither cheap, nor basic.
2012 Volkswagen Jetta Engine
The 1.4-litre TSI engine is a stunner - it has won the small capacity Engine Of The Year award for three years running, and for good reason. Developing 118kW at 5800rpm and 240Nm between 1500rpm and 4000rpm, it has tractable torque and easily enough power once the first of its six gears is done away with. While the Jetta is not much heavier than a Golf, you do feel the car’s weight when moving off from a standstill, and the engine requires premium fuel to make both its power and its 6.5L/100km fuel sip.
2012 Volkswagen Jetta Interior
The cabin has a quality feel that belies its base car status. Standard equipment includes a multifunction steering wheel that accesses the trip computer and stereo. The latter is hooked up with MP3, auxiliary inputs and USB, and is Bluetooth capable.
There are lovely touches to the cabin such as a glove box which is cooled via the air-con, and the dials and handles are damped and soft to the touch.
Metal finishes on the doors and dash lift the dark cabin, which is very Germanic and rigid in its styling, but by the same token the design lines are clean and vision is excellent.
The cloth seats are hardy without being scratchy or cheap, and the bolstering and adjustment is excellent. The driver’s seat has a manual lumbar adjustment, and the steering has both rake and reach. Shoulder room is a little tight for three adults in the second row, but fairly typical of the mid-sized sedan market.
The boot misses out on the higher specced cars’ cargo nets and hooks, but still split-fold access to the rear seats, and the boot itself is absolutely huge – wide, long and high, with little to obstruct the cargo, and hides a full-sized steel spare under the floor.
2012 Volkswagen Jetta Exterior & Styling
For all of its brilliance and spec inside, the Jetta’s exterior is a little bland and basic. It wears the same face as the Golf (and the rest of the VW range), and its rear looks like a shrunken Passat. While it gets body-coloured bumpers and mirrors, the steel wheels are easily spotted under plastic covers and screams base spec.
The only option is metallic paint at a bargain $500, and you must step up in spec to garner other goodies.
2012 Volkswagen Jetta On The Road
The Jetta is so typically Volkswagen on the road – it just does everything well. While the engine may be small, its turbo and supercharged engine doles out the torque across the rev range with metered generosity. The six-speed manual is precise and ergonomic; the gearing a little tall in second and third but still hard to fault.
Those base-spec 16-inch steel wheels and fat 205/55 rubber, while unattractive to the eye, are a blessing to the backside, offering a lovely, supple ride. It’s a far cry from the 17-inch alloys and ‘sports pack’ rubber on the higher specced Jetta cars, removing the loud bangs and crunches over bumps and potholes, while still offering good feel through the wheel and turn-in on the corners.
Safety is brilliant, with five stars, a lovely traction/stability control calibration, and standard three-second hill holder to make those incline starts a no-brainer.
An easy, ergonomic and practical steer, which is also smile-inducing once the revs and kph rise.
2012 Volkswagen Jetta Challenges
The Jetta’s androgynous looks may lose out to the less generic sedans in this segment, such as the best-selling Mazda3, and while the engine is a stunner, its need for 95-RON minimum and a fuel sip similar to other four-cylinder combatants may lose it some sales.
2012 Volkswagen Jetta Verdict
A polished and accomplished car with supreme safety, easy to drive, and excellent value for money. Shame it’s a bit boring on the styling front.
2012 Volkswagen Jetta Competition
There are so many cars in this bulging mid-sized sedan market, from the Toyota Corolla and close second, the Mazda3, as well as the Honda Civic, Mitsubishi Lancer, Subaru Impreza, Holden Cruze, and Korean offerings from Kia and Hyundai. But arguably the Jetta’s biggest competition comes from within – you can buy a pretty good Golf for base Jetta money.
