CD Article: 2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

[CD_Editor]

You may discuss our cover story of the day in this thread....
Test Drive:

Over a week of mixed city and highway driving, Peter Bleakney's 2006 VW Jetta TDI averaged just 5.5 L/100 km, he reports. "That's darned impressive for a roomy, well equipped sedan that's actually enjoyable to drive," he says. "It's a bit gravely when accelerating through the lower gears, and the odd whiff of diesel smog will occasionally tickle your nose," he says. "But I must confess I found these quirks kind of charming."     More...

[smainville]

...and they are selling tons of them, good looking car.

[tpl]

I wonder if the tuning shop beside Georgetown VW is a) still there and b) still sells the PowerBox for TDI. I seriously considered a Golf TDi or Jetta wagon TDI with a powerbox for another 25 bhp or so and mega torque.

[John Haveasnack]

I think that the 2006 Honda Civic hybrid makes this car seem overpriced.  It has more room, particularly for rear seat passengers, and is more luxurious inside the cabin.  VW's used to have the best interiors in the car world, but the latest redesigned Audi's and VW's have gone slightly downmarket.  

The Honda Civic hybrid also gets better fuel economy in the city and highway at 4.7 and 4.3 L/100 km respectively.  It also retails for less.  Overall, it is a better value and a better car.

John

[Jim King]

 Nothing wrong with extra help when driving at night - but I wonder why BMW thinks drivers will use night vision mounted on the dash. BMW indicated it was as easy as glancing in the mirror, which is probably true. But wonder if it would be of use as I am of the opinion there are a lot of drivers who don't use they're mirrors & therefore woundn't use this dash mounted night system either.

[userinottawa]

Like so many other people, including the author, the Jetta's design has grown on me - I like it now. I hope they have worked out the unrealiablity issues that have plagued VW's of the past.


It's good to hear that VW has started to take the American / Canadian market more seriously - we got the Mk5 Golf three years late for some unknown reason... but we got the New Passat at the same time, and the new Jetta even before it was available in Europe.

If only VW would start offering the same trim levels on their European cars in Canada. Here we are still subjected to basic trims e.g. no auto climate control on the Jetta. And I hope VW will start offering the Polo too. The market seems to be ripe for small cars in Canada (Yaris, Fit)

[sirAQUAMAN64]

While I agree the Civic Hybrid is a great sedan at a superb price, I still think the technology is a little much, and also think it's much much harder to attain the government rated fuel economy on the vehicle. In the TDI, the driver doesn't have to alter their driving habits one iota to achieve or in some cases surpass the fuel economy rating. I would definitely pick the Civic Hybrid for stop and go city driving, but the TDI for highway cruising.

Here's a recent test of some vehicles for example:
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060424/FREE/60417021/1008
(the ratings on the Vette were most interesting to me)

I do think Jettas should come down in price by a good $1,000 - 1,800 though. They're a bit much. But, people are paying it, and they're selling pretty darned well - much better than I thought they would.

After driving a few other vehicles, nothing touches my car for fuel economy (50 city / 64 highway). The new TDI PD and weight on the redesigned models has dropped that down, but they're still great, and the DSG transmission would be a treat in them (but I think the author is incorrect - DSG models do not get paddle shifters). I would like to borrow/rent a Prius for a trip and see how it stacks up in the everyday.

It's nice to see positive reviews on these cars.

[Howswedeitis]

I think that the 2006 Honda Civic hybrid makes this car seem overpriced.  It has more room, particularly for rear seat passengers, and is more luxurious inside the cabin.  VW's used to have the best interiors in the car world, but the latest redesigned Audi's and VW's have gone slightly downmarket.  

The Honda Civic hybrid also gets better fuel economy in the city and highway at 4.7 and 4.3 L/100 km respectively.  It also retails for less.  Overall, it is a better value and a better car.

John

You gotta be kidding...let's start with the fact that the Honda Hybrid is not a truly proven design...I'd like to see how it holds up over the long haul (whereas the TDI is a known quantity). Let's now look at what the cost would be to the prospective owner say 5 years down the line when the battery packs must be replaced (from what I hear you're looking at over $5000.00) plus who the heck would want to repair a Civic Hybrid in the first place
it's a nightmare I'm sure to diagnose problems and get parts. Whilst you're at it why don't you check out
www.hondasucks.ca and see one man's uphill battle to keep his Honda Hybrid running which is a piece of junk.
As for interior etc that's subjective. Good luck

[Howswedeitis]

I think that the 2006 Honda Civic hybrid makes this car seem overpriced.  It has more room, particularly for rear seat passengers, and is more luxurious inside the cabin.  VW's used to have the best interiors in the car world, but the latest redesigned Audi's and VW's have gone slightly downmarket.  

The Honda Civic hybrid also gets better fuel economy in the city and highway at 4.7 and 4.3 L/100 km respectively.  It also retails for less.  Overall, it is a better value and a better car.

John

You might want to check this site out as well....
Don't believe the hype, show me the money!
http://www.hybridcars.com/discussion/discussthread.php?thread_id=238&replies=5

[Rabbit Girl]

My week with a 2006 Jetta TDI vs my Jetta 1.8T

I had the opportunity to drive a brand new 2006 Jetta TDI. My current car is the previous model Jetta with the 1.8T gas turbo engine and I have to say it was a real pleasure to drive around and only put in $26 worth of gas for the week compared to the $46+++ of premium fuel that I would normally put in for my Jetta.
I absolutely love my 2003 Jetta (well except for the premium gas consumption and a couple of other little things) and when I saw the new design of the Jetta's I really disliked them. VW did such an incredable job designing a classic car for the previous models that I knew it would be a hard one to beat but if anyone could do it VW could.
Well I was wrong! They killed the car. It looks too aggresive in the front end, the side looks like any other standard Japanese vehicle and the backend looks like a Toyota Corolla. I've always disliked the look of a generic looking car like the Corolla so this new design was horrifc, especially when my lease with VW is coming up soon. My first thought was "what am I going to choose next, now that I won't be buying another Jetta"
Now that the design has worn on me and I have driven it I still dislike the car. I have listed a few likes and dislikes that may help some people with their decision.

Likes:
-The Trunk space
-The automatic pop-up trunk lid
-The adjustable and wider armrest
-The gear shift knob
-The pass thru, thru the rear seat. Great for the lumber I need to unexpectedly haul back home for an emergency fix.

Dislikes:
-The rear view window visability. In a parking lot this car be hazardous!! Plus the wide head rests impede the view as well. When I back up I always turn my head and put my arm around the seat and when I did this, I had to lift my butt off of the seat to see around the driver's side head rest to get a good look of where I was backing up.
-The interior finishes - Looks like the interior of an old Honda Civic or somthing. Looks like the Interior Car Designer had a fight with the Exterior Car designer cause the dash at the front windsheild is half finished. Maybe it is a safety thing but it looks ridiculous. The dash slops toward the front windshield but because of the downward slop, they put another separate strip of dashboard along the bottom of the front windsheild to finish it off. Looks strange and unfinished. Again there might be a safty funtion to it but it looks like the Interior Car Designer had to make his design work with the Exterior Car Design. Weird.
-The speedometer numbers are too close together. When I'm doing 60 it is very easy to all of a sudden being doing 80 cause I'm used to the speedometer being in 10km/hr increments, not 20's.
- The tint of the glass is too blue.  It makes the outside look kind of drery even when it is a nice sunny day like we had last week.
-The excelerator pedal is very "clicky" when I move my foot from gas to break, gas to break, the pedal feels whimpy "plasticky" and you can hear it to when you move your foot from gas to break. Sounds and feels cheap.
- The gas flap cover wouldn't close after I filled it up. Both my friend (who works for a high-end german car manufacture in the quality dept.) & I looked at it and tried to see what the problem was and it looks like the metal piece inside the body of the car that hangs onto the flap when closed, was not in postion to catch the flap and click it closed. We tried to modify it but to know avail. Very cheap design. Even the hidges on the gas flap were not very sturdy.

I love VW but I'm just disappointed that they feel through on this one.

P.S. I would love it if they brought back the VW Bus in the same reto style as the 60's version. In an optional 4x4 and ethenol fuel version. Full doors that open on the side and tones of space in the back to easily through in a couple of bikes, camping gear and luggage without much fuss.

Cheers!

[84im]

A good first post....welcome.

[Bullet Blue]

My week with a 2006 Jetta TDI vs my Jetta 1.8T

I had the opportunity to drive a brand new 2006 Jetta TDI. My current car is the previous model Jetta with the 1.8T gas turbo engine and I have to say it was a real pleasure to drive around and only put in $26 worth of gas for the week compared to the $46+++ of premium fuel that I would normally put in for my Jetta.
I absolutely love my 2003 Jetta (well except for the premium gas consumption and a couple of other little things) and when I saw the new design of the Jetta's I really disliked them. VW did such an incredable job designing a classic car for the previous models that I knew it would be a hard one to beat but if anyone could do it VW could.
Well I was wrong! They killed the car. It looks too aggresive in the front end, the side looks like any other standard Japanese vehicle and the backend looks like a Toyota Corolla. I've always disliked the look of a generic looking car like the Corolla so this new design was horrifc, especially when my lease with VW is coming up soon. My first thought was "what am I going to choose next, now that I won't be buying another Jetta"
Now that the design has worn on me and I have driven it I still dislike the car. I have listed a few likes and dislikes that may help some people with their decision.

Likes:
-The Trunk space
-The automatic pop-up trunk lid
-The adjustable and wider armrest
-The gear shift knob
-The pass thru, thru the rear seat. Great for the lumber I need to unexpectedly haul back home for an emergency fix.

Dislikes:
-The rear view window visability. In a parking lot this car be hazardous!! Plus the wide head rests impede the view as well. When I back up I always turn my head and put my arm around the seat and when I did this, I had to lift my butt off of the seat to see around the driver's side head rest to get a good look of where I was backing up.
-The interior finishes - Looks like the interior of an old Honda Civic or somthing. Looks like the Interior Car Designer had a fight with the Exterior Car designer cause the dash at the front windsheild is half finished. Maybe it is a safety thing but it looks ridiculous. The dash slops toward the front windshield but because of the downward slop, they put another separate strip of dashboard along the bottom of the front windsheild to finish it off. Looks strange and unfinished. Again there might be a safty funtion to it but it looks like the Interior Car Designer had to make his design work with the Exterior Car Design. Weird.
-The speedometer numbers are too close together. When I'm doing 60 it is very easy to all of a sudden being doing 80 cause I'm used to the speedometer being in 10km/hr increments, not 20's.
- The tint of the glass is too blue.  It makes the outside look kind of drery even when it is a nice sunny day like we had last week.
-The excelerator pedal is very "clicky" when I move my foot from gas to break, gas to break, the pedal feels whimpy "plasticky" and you can hear it to when you move your foot from gas to break. Sounds and feels cheap.
- The gas flap cover wouldn't close after I filled it up. Both my friend (who works for a high-end german car manufacture in the quality dept.) & I looked at it and tried to see what the problem was and it looks like the metal piece inside the body of the car that hangs onto the flap when closed, was not in postion to catch the flap and click it closed. We tried to modify it but to know avail. Very cheap design. Even the hidges on the gas flap were not very sturdy.

I love VW but I'm just disappointed that they feel through on this one.

P.S. I would love it if they brought back the VW Bus in the same reto style as the 60's version. In an optional 4x4 and ethenol fuel version. Full doors that open on the side and tones of space in the back to easily through in a couple of bikes, camping gear and luggage without much fuss.

Cheers!

THanks for sharing your impressions and welcome

[ovr50]

Welcome to the Forum, The Beach, and great first post. 

As to the topic, I'm just not ready for a diesel, of any make.

[a4_tom]

The Beach, thanks for the impressive 1st post.

[Demosthenes X]

Sounds like it would make a great family car...  but I'll still be needing something a bit more fun, if you please.

[SiRCivic]

Sounds like it would make a great family car...  but I'll still be needing something a bit more fun, if you please.

With some suspension work and a chip, that thing could be made plenty fun. 

[a4_tom]

How about Jetta TDI Sport Edition, sorta like GLI suspension and seats with TDI powerplant? VWoA should bring this model for Mk5 as with Mk4's final year.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Would love to see another TDI Sport Edition, but since they're only producing TDI's thru December can't see this happening. One can hope.

[tpl]

With the same DNA but no trunk... how about a euro Golf GTD with the 130 bhp tdi....

[sirAQUAMAN64]

With the same DNA but no trunk... how about a euro Golf GTD with the 130 bhp tdi....

That I'd go ga-ga over