[VW2010]

Just wanted to share some more thoughts by comparing the old and new jetta.

Few things that have undergone changes apart from the list i shared in another thread.

1) Boot and bonnet - The hydraullic system has been removed. Clear signs of cost cutting. The bonnet now needs to be opened, held and locked in its place. The trunk which sported an hydraullic system with three point joint now has something that you see in most of the japanese cars. A simple "U" shaped joint with two bolts on the trunk lid. Feels definitely easy to operate but looses the sturdity(atleast by feel) of the old jetta.

2) Inside the bonnet - Battery box gets a special plastic case. The fuse box is now protected from weather or atleast rain and dust with the plastic case. Nice addition to the already sophisticated set up the old jetta had.

3) The centre hand rest loses the height adjustment as well as ability to move forward. Now stays low and very uncomfortable. That too for an AUTO gear box.

4) The space has improved so much that the car is absolutely great to just sit at the rear seat and let the driver do the driving in our horrible city traffic. There is so much space and the rear seats feel fantastic. I would say this is a great improvement over the old Jetta.

5) The rear seat lights, though feel a little cheaper,has became more operational. now you can adjust individual lights. With a four passenger ride, the fourth passenger gets a little more benefit to stay comparatively dark and avoid the glare.

6) Cup holders in the rear seat arm rest is nice while the 12v charger socket in front of the rear seat on the ac vents is a nice touch. I think the old jetta does not have a 12v socket.

7) The Centre(console) display unit is now slightly tilted towards the driver. The dash board retains the same material(Soft) as used in the previous jetta. The heated seats and ACC are missing while the dash takes up vent design from Japanese counterparts according to me atleast.

8) The Driver seat - There is a world of difference using the electronically adjustable seat in this Jetta compared to manual seat in Old jetta. Its definitely a + here. The only sour point is that the driver seat feels a lot smaller and loses the snuggly feel. The old jetta seat hugs the driver while the new jetta seat almost feels like smaller and aimed at easy ingress and outgress rather.

9) The front passenger seat loses automatic lumbar support and has some ridiculously designed lever. Feels very cheap here. They could have completely ignored the lumbar support

10) The CUP holders design again loses the slightly sophisticated looks from the old jetta. They can hold even most of the cups we generally use

11) The AUX in is now placed at a easilly accessible place rather than the centre compartment in the old jetta.

12) The doors are definitely lighter and close with such a warm thud and the noise levels are definitely low if not lower than the old Jetta. I felt the noise levels were lower in the initial stint. The door plastics have lost some soft touch and also the design of the side mirror adjustment looks a little impractical. Moving the adjustment knobs to the side door feels a bit awkward.

13) The ground clearance is 159 as opposed to 139. This is what the sales rep said here. And it definitely feels 159 and not 139.

14) The spare wheel is not full size like the old jetta.

15) The Euro switch feels rich and operates very smooth.


Things lost from old jetta -
- Heated seats, Little richness inside, Sophistication or the perception of sophistacation, functional elements like hydraullic boot opener and bonnet opener, overal feel of a bigger car.

Things that are better from the old jetta-

- Drivers seat. A great plus for guys like me who keep adjusting different set up.
- Space - There is so much space that i feel a little claustrophobic sitting inside my 2010 jetta immediately after sitting inside the 2011 jetta.
- Fantastic looks from the rear. Just appears like the Audi.
- The front looks are not the same as Vento and the more i see the Jetta it more feels like the passat. The looks are being picked upon because of comparison with its sibling and there is not even a single comparison between a Jetta and another manufacturer.
- Rear cup holders and 12v socket is a nice tough
- More adjustment in the rear seat lights is a welcome addition
- Comparable and Exceptional boot space.
- Powerful engine with DSG.
- The engine power delivery is so smooth it doesnt feel like you are travelling at speeds anytime of the drive.

More on the drive in the next couple of days.

Hope this helps someone.

[tejus.s]

My post has nothing to do with the car (it'll take me a decade atleast to afford probably!), but my post is to commend Rudra.

Brilliant pics in the opening post. They can be used my VW for their catalogs I suppose. No, this is not an exaggeration, but an honest opinion. Take a bow Rudra, superb superb superb pics!

[v.anand]

Originally Posted by mohandasnikhil

Well VW Dealerships are now known for a Terrible Sales Experience. In the latest JD Power Survery for Sales Experience, VW was ranked 2nd last. Surprisingly Skoda was ranked 1st.

I for one completely agree with this rating.

While purchasing the Laura last year, went to the showroom merely to have a look at a car selling in the same segment of interest, ended up buying one mostly due to the good interaction with Vinayak Skoda. Being a Bhpian, knew everything about the Laura TSI, one mistake by the dealer, would have backed out of the deal. They did go out of their way to make the customer happy, kudos to them. In return, I did refer a few of my friends to them and they were happy with the interaction too.

Coming to VW, was not much impressed with their attitude in take it if you want, otherwise there are others lined up to lap it up. Bought the Polo 1.6 merely due to the car and with the risk that things may be fine after sales.

Skoda allowed me to be present while they were unloading the car from the truck, VW were reluctant to even let me anywhere close to their stockyard.

Thus, no surprise about the rating at all.

[Aurum]

Originally Posted by VW2010

Just wanted to share some more thoughts by comparing the old and new jetta.

Really appreciate your objectivity here, focused on exactly the kind of information that would help people understand the car better. Good stuff!

[Aurum]

This might be of use to those who have booked the new Jetta. It's the accessory list.

No. 15 looks suspiciously like the Bluetooth, which I really wanted. However, I'm not being able to confirm that. Even a search on the part number doesn't entirely clear things up. VW has bluetooth and non-bluetooth mobile accessories with the same part number. Any one have any info around this? The dealers don't sound like they do.

The park dist. control does seem to come as an accessory. Not sure I understand what number 14 or 22 are, when thought of as accessories, or even what the difference between them is.

[skyguy]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on Team-BHP and I would like to start by thanking the moderators for letting me on board. I being an automotive engineer myself, am truly impressed by the way this forum works and how all topics constitute constructive discussions with very intelligent inputs from members of the forum.

I have been reading through the new VW Jetta review with a lot of interest since I have booked a Comfortline too. One of the most highlighted point all over the Indian internet space has been the new Jetta's similarity with the Vento. I agree that the front looks quite similar however, I believe that since the new Jetta has just been launched recently and the fact that there are barely any new Jettas on the roads yet, the differences (instead of the similarities with Vento) between the two are not so easily recognizable for most people. Just today I went into the VW showroom (Chandigarh), and they had one Jetta parked outside right next to a Vento and quite honestly, I felt it looked quite different i.e. in my opinion people will be able to differentiate it from the Vento as more and more Jettas hit the roads.

Many people have been suggesting that the new Jetta lacks some features that should have definitely been made available. The most talked about feature or the lack of it, has been the Automatic Climate Control (ACC). I actually completely agree with all the people that have been disappointed by the absence of ACC. I feel the new Jetta could have also been more appealing with some LEDs and projector headlamps with Xenons would have just been the icing on the cake. However, looking at what all the new Jetta provides in lieu of ACC, Xenons etc, I believe it will surely become the best car of the segment. ESP, 6 Airbags (8 for Highline), Hill-hold (a very useful feature if u live in or near the mountains) are among other features which give a great sense of safety in this vehicle which for me personally, are of utmost importance keeping in mind Indian road & traffic conditions.

Aurum, awesome job with putting up the list of accessories. I think you might be right with number 15 being the Bluetooth add-on however, I remember asking one of the Sales executive at the VW showroom and he suggested the Bluetooth add-on is about 25,000 rupees but he did not seem very sure about the price.

[VW2010]

Hill-hold (a very useful feature if u live in or near the mountains)

Mostly people may get a SUV or an off roader living near a mountain

No. 15 looks suspiciously like the Bluetooth, which I really wanted. However, I'm not being able to confirm that. Even a search on the part number doesn't entirely clear things up. VW has bluetooth and non-bluetooth mobile accessories with the same part number. Any one have any info around this? The dealers don't sound like they do.

Bluetooth adaptor may be just a 12V plug in and not the Bluetooth package that the Jetta carries in the US which makes the head unit blue tooth enabled as well as the steering functions blue tooth enabled.

The cost quoted was 35K for Bluetooth kit. Cannot convince myself to get this. Instead i may spend a L on the RNS510 which is a better head set with DVD player and doesnt void warranty.

[Aurum]

Originally Posted by VW2010

Bluetooth adaptor may be just a 12V plug in and not the Bluetooth package that the Jetta carries in the US which makes the head unit blue tooth enabled as well as the steering functions blue tooth enabled.

The cost quoted was 35K for Bluetooth kit. Cannot convince myself to get this. Instead i may spend a L on the RNS510 which is a better head set with DVD player and doesnt void warranty.

Got me thinking. The Highline already comes with the RCD 510. I guess the features missing with respect to the RNS 510 are the navigation (if VW does offer that in India), DVD player, and the 30GB hard disk. I don't think any of them really excite me enough to pay a lakh more. My understanding was that even the RNS 510 has bluetooth as an option, and not as standard. More importantly, is it even available in India as an option?

On your first point, if its a 12V adaptor, and the steering wheel button still does not work, I'm definitely not buying from VW. Since there are no integration benefits from the VW kit, I would rather put up a Jabra or some other bluetooth. If its using the Aux of the music system, I'm sure it wont void warranty. My problem is that no-one knows what exactly this VW device is.

A third option is a dealer installed Caska device for 55k, which will also not "void warranty", as per my understanding from the dealer. Somehow I am not inclined to do that.

[Aurum]

Originally Posted by skyguy

Aurum, awesome job with putting up the list of accessories. I think you might be right with number 15 being the Bluetooth add-on however, I remember asking one of the Sales executive at the VW showroom and he suggested the Bluetooth add-on is about 25,000 rupees but he did not seem very sure about the price.

Welcome, skyguy, and thanks! Am a newbie on the forum myself. What you have mentioned above is the issue. No-one knows what the device or the price is. The list says 14k + labour though. My concern was also that unless the car comes from the factory with a mobile phone preparation, fitting in a bluetooth accessory later, which also allows integration with the steering wheel, may just not be possible. Again, the dealers have absolutely no clue about this is the case or not.

[lamboguy]

Hill-hold (a very useful feature if u live in or near the mountains).

Is hill-hold useful only on 'Hills'? It can be used on Flyovers in traffic too, right? If so, this is a blessing in disguise. Mumbai dewllers will understand this if they travel through the Eastern Express Highway at peak hours. The whole highway is a series of bridges clogged with cars.

[skyguy]

VW2010, you are right in saying that people may prefer buying a SUV in mountainous regions. But there are many areas, even bigger cities in the vicinity of hilly/mountainous areas where people may still travel often into these areas. A very good example is Chandigarh & a wide region of Haryana & Punjab, where people often drive up into Himachal Pradesh.

Lamboguy, you are absolutely right. Hill-hold can be used on fly-overs too or anywhere with significant incline on the road surface. This will definitely come in very handy in most metros.

[lamboguy]

A question for all those who have booked/ enquired about the Jetta.

Is there an option for extended warranty yet?
When I asked VW Downtown Mumbai, I was told that there is no provision for extended warranty as of now and whenever VW offers it, I will be intimated by mail.

[nishantmohan]

Originally Posted by VW2010

The cost quoted was 35K for Bluetooth kit. Cannot convince myself to get this. Instead i may spend a L on the RNS510 which is a better head set with DVD player and doesnt void warranty.

Also, maybe you can retrofit a reverse camera in the future?

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

From what I know, ARAI figures are usually on a higher side. If that is true, what is the FE that i would be looking at in real-life city driving conditions for the manual one?

Take around 20-25% off those numbers and you know roughly what you ll get.

[Aurum]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Wind noise is fabulously controlled. Even at expressway speeds, there is nearly zero wind noise on the inside. Engine noise is audible (especially over 3,000 rpms), yet lesser than the outgoing Jetta. The only fly in the ointment is the tyre noise from the lousy Good Year NCT5s. For car lovers like us, a tyre change is a must.

Hi Rudra,

You mention in the review that a tyre change is a must. Could you elaborate a bit?

What tyres would you recommend?

What are the expected benefits? Obviously, lower road noise, since you mentioned that. Anything else?

Any downsides? Anything I should be careful of?

How much would they cost?

Sorry if I am asking questions already answered in some other Laura/ Jetta thread, which I haven't seen. Please feel free to redirect me there if you feel appropriate.