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Reader Comments for
Subscribe to this threadFirst Drive: 2009 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen
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Dick Noble @ May 7th 2008 7:57PM
5/7/08 Re your concern for Jetta's quality or lack thereof. We have owned a '97 Jetta GLS TDI sedan 5-speed stix, then an '03 Jetta GLS TDI sedan Auto, then an '04 Jetta GLS TDI SW Tiptronic and then an '06 Jetta GLS TDI sedan 6-speed auto. We still have the '04 and the '06. The quality of fit and finish ... and all else ... has been tops. We feel that we are owning and driving luxury cars that are a sensible size. All VW owners know that their vehicles are more expensive than average in cost to maintain but, I blame that on VW Germany's training of all their service people around the world. Everyone of them presses too hard on the pencil. I understand that VW of America has just decided to change the frequency of regular oil changes to every 10,000 miles. This is a small improvement. Obviously, enough owners have complained bitterly over the last 55 years. Of all of the 4 cars mentioned above, we still fight to see who gets to drive the '04 SW. The steering and handling in the '04 is far superior to that in the '06. VW ... like Honda ... has gone to electrically assisted steering ... apparnetly to reduce weight. Bad decision. We have an '05 Honda Accord Hybrid too. The steering is terrible ... one cannot relax for a minute. My wife and I fight over who ends up having to drive the Accord. I usually lose this argument. The Accord has gone 14,000 miles. The Jetta SW has gone 49,000 miles. We sat in a new VW Tiguan in New Zealand in February. Great size and quality. I think we will go for one of those when we get ride of the Accord. But, we will definitely wait for the TDI. We put on about 15,000 miles a year on each of our two main vehicle. We love the miserly fuel ecomomy and stellar performance that we get from the TDIs. On the highway, we easily get 50 miles per Imperial gallon. And around town, the economy is great too. I owned my first new VW Beetle in March 1953. I still think they are AMAZING.
Dausman @ May 8th 2008 10:47AM
I have learned from all of the replies but I want to especially thank you for your very informative reply.....I haven't looked at VW in a very long time but did own a 1957 and 1965 VW...they were both fun cars to drive, esp the 57...I just posted a brief blog in response to the story about how far can you drive past the Empty slash of your gas gauge.(posted this A.M.)
I have neighbors who own a 2006 Jetta sedan Diesel power and I do see them driving it more than their pickup...they say they love the Jetta and have had no problems....I have read Consumer Reports and know they are right on target for most all products tested, especially automobiles. I checked owner reviews on several sites and many of those reviews took me aback at some of the horror stories I took to be true...I know they could be complete fabrications. So it was a pleasant surprise to hear from an owner who does speak highly of the VW diesel.
I do think diesel power will be the best"stop gap" fuel/power source until the alternative sources currently being tested/developed can be brought to market to the world masses at reasonable prices. 45mpg city/60mpg hwy(U.S.Gal) should be more than adequate for quite a few years...your 50 mpg Imp gal is outstanding ; just hope we can approach that figure with new Jettas.
To me, 10,000 mile oil change intervals speaks volumes of the manufacturers confidence in their engine, thx for that info.
My wife loves our van so pehaps we won't have diagreements about who drives which vehicle...most our driving, as of April 1, has been city...if the Jetta is as comfortable as you and CR have indicated, we will probably use it for long trips also. I did speak with our local VW dealer who told me we will be able to see one in June and perhaps be able to buy in July or a little later..depending on U.S. emmission testing results...SW will be offered in the fall..Sept/Oct ...
Our current regular gasoline prices in the Columbia ,South Carolina area are approx $3.45/gal , diesel $4.05/gal but I believe $5 or more/ gal is on the horizon.
I know other manufactuers(Honda ,Subaru and others )
have diesels in the works but VW is the only dealer with mechanics familiar with automobile diesel engines at this time...I don't want to wait too long.
The electrically assisted steering...could have possibly driven a rental car with taht feature...the steering felt dead and the most minute movement of the steering wheel caused a direction change...did not like that at all.
You mentioned sitting in a Tiguan in New Zealand... have read that it will be a TDI also...probably not in the U.S. but would like to take alook at it also..if TDI is an option.....
Is New Zeland your home?...
would love to visit that beautiful country..it is on our "bucket list"
Thank you again for all your information,
Daucie
Dick Noble @ May 10th 2008 7:52PM
Hi Daucie:
Glad to hear from you. No, we just holiday in New Zealand each winter. Our home is on Vancouver Island in British Columbia ... about a 25 minute flight from Seattle's airport.
I have been told that the VW Tiquan SUV will prtobably be sold in the U.S. within a few months and that the TDi should arrive within a year of that arrival.
I find it strange that the price of diesel fuel is priced so diferently around the world. I am not sure how much a litre of diesel costs in Europe vs a litre of Regular gas. Here in Canada diesel fuel has been as much as 10 cents per litre less than regular. presently, it is selling for abour 2 cents per litre more than regular. In New Zealand we are thrilled to see a litre of diesel selling for about 40 cents less than regular. We always rent a used Japanese SW diesel in Auckland when we are in New Zealand.
I think you will like the new VW Jetta sedan with TDI. I prefer the SW model but there is no doubt that the 2 Jetta TDI sedans that we owned had much less road noise than our '04 SW. That is normal for any wagon to have more road noise than any sedan. After one drives just 15 yds in a TDI diesel Jetta, nobody notices any excessive noise from the engine.
Happy motoring.
Sincerely,
Dick