2019 Volkswagen Jetta: New Almost Everything
While the U.S.-spec Golf has been built on Volkswagen’s MQB architecture since the 2015 model year, the brand’s best-selling vehicle in the States, the Jetta sedan, has been carrying bits and pieces of the old PQ35 architecture under its sedan body. That platform, which still underpins the Beetle, dates back to the fifth-generation Golf of the mid-aughts. Now, however, an all-new MQB-based Jetta is here to reclaim its throne among betrunked compacts.
Jetta Boy, Jetta Girl
The 2019 Jetta features a decidedly more butch nose, with hood strakes seemingly cribbed from corporate cousin Audi’s A5. The grille has been pulled taffy taut to meet the headlights, giving sort of a bull-nose mien that we’ve not previously seen in a Jetta. It’s not quite a mini Passat, but neither is it simply a Golf with a trunk. We can’t yet discern whether we find the new nose attractive, but it’s most definitely distinctive, sharing more with the latest Tiguan than anything else in VW’s current portfolio. The wheelbase has been extended by 1.3 inches over the outgoing car, and while the tail is recognizably Jetta, VW went for a faster rear roofline that evokes the brand’s CC replacement, the Arteon.
Under that furrowed hood, Jetta buyers will find only Volkswagen’s turbocharged 147-hp, 184-lb-ft 1.4-liter inline-four. Thankfully, transmission options aren’t quite so limited. A six-speed manual transmission is standard but only on the base car; an eight-speed automatic is optional on that model and standard on higher-trim versions. Auto models are fitted with a stop/start system, but manual ones aren’t, which is strange, since VW has done so internationally on other stick-shift models.
Inside the Driver’s Studio
Inside, the interior features a number of new fabric colors for the seats and door panels as well as a more aggressive stitch pattern and optional 10-color, customizable wraparound ambient lighting. Said freshly reupholstered seats feature optional heating and ventilation. The center-console bin is large enough to keep a standard iPad out of sight. VW’s Driver Personalization function means that up to four drivers can store their seat memory and driver-assistance preferences, desired temperature, favorite ambient lighting color, radio presets, and Volkswagen Digital Cockpit settings. Standard on SEL and SEL Premium Jettas, Volkswagen Digital Cockpit is a reconfigurable display that allows drivers to consume key data in a manner they find most useful, including the ability to position navigation information front and center. The Jetta also features Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and MirrorLink integration and offers the ability to bounce out those smartphone-sourced sounds through a 400-watt BeatsAudio system.
Available safety systems include forward-collision warning and automated emergency braking, a blind-spot monitor with rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality, automatic high-beams, and lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist.
Cheaper! Longer! More Digital!
Covering a pricing spread that will start at $19,395 (a slight reduction of $100 from last year) and, we presume, crest just south of $30K when fully kitted, the 2019 Jetta will be available in S, SE, SEL, SEL Premium, and R-Line trims. The sporty GLI will arrive a bit later, leaving, initially at least, an R-Line as your sportiest Jetta option. While the previous model improved significantly over its life cycle, it never quite transcended the impression that VW had cost-cut the personality out of the car. Given that full LED lighting is standard equipment this time around and the array of options is impressive, this latest Jetta looks to regain its position as the aesthete’s choice in the compact-sedan segment, even if we’re not quite sure what the car’s aesthetics are saying to us.
