Smooth Power. Great looks. Slick 5 speed. Beautiful interior. Rides great. Great sound system.

Small back seat.

A lot of car for the money. I got the GLX. Leather, pwr seats locks windows sunroof mirrors, cruise, totally adjustable steering wheel, Monsoon sound, 2.8L VR6, keyless entry, anti-theft alarm, ABS,6 airbags, etc, etc. Has a huge trunk, could have cut 6 inches from it and given it to the back seat. This car has most of its punch it the 4000 to 6000 rpm range, but can still pull well at 2000. Great braking system, handles well on sharp curves. You can throw it into a curve and it just throws back. Rides smooth on hiway and takes backroad bumps well.

Recommend this car to fresh out of college people.

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What can I say?
Simply awesome to drive!

??? Well, if I had to go there...
I have heard rumors that the backseat can be a little cramped.
I am certainly not the one who will sitting back there, and I don't have children....
Hmmmm, doesn't sound like the backseat's an issue for me does it?

This car is sooo much fun to drive. I am very happy with the Monsoon Sound w/ 6 CD changer. Very happy with interior in general. Love the Blue dash lights.
In Tornado Red, it is an eye catcher for sure!!

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Honda Accord.
Originally had my eye on a new Accord... but as soon as I test drove the WB Jetta... there was no competition. Jetta won hands down.

Outrageous power, excellent handling, stiff body structure, clear and unique instrumentation, great sound system, excellent safety features, terrific value.

Very minor so far... the steering wheel partially blocks the speedometer; I agree with other reviewers about everything sticking to the cloth seats.

My wife and I wanted a sporty well-built four-door with manual transmission for around $30K (Canadian) as our next car. The manual requirement shortens the list considerably. The Jetta Wolfsburg, Infiniti G20 and Mazda 626 were the only models I could find that offered allegedly decent performance & a manual gearbox. The 626 nicely equipped came in higher than budget, as did the G20. The G20 offered especially disappointing power for the price, albeit a better warranty. The Wolfsburg offered tremendous performance, build quality & luxury features at exactly our budget.

After driving a Pontiac for the last few years, the VW feels like a Mercedes or BMW (nothing against Pontiac - the car served its purpose well). The doors make an expensive-sounding ka-chunk! when you close them. The engine is almost silent at idle, with no vibration throughout its entire rev range. The car just feels extremely solid.

The turbocharged four with an Audi Perfomance computer chip makes this car a tremendous performer. The chip increases horsepower to 196 from 150 and torque from 155 lb/ft to a whopping 240 lb/ft. The power feels limitless. The Wolfburg's sport-tuned suspension is for real; there is a significant difference with the regular-tuned GLX VR6 I compared it to. The GLX felt soft and floaty around corners. Volkswagen's rigid body construction allows you to go with the stiffer suspension with no real downside in ride comfort. Also the turbo four with the chip offers more power than the noisier, heavier and less-efficient VR6.

Compared to the Jetta GLX, the Wolfsburg also offers tremendous value. We purchased a loaded Wolfsburg including power sunroof, heated seats, Monsoon sound and the aforementioned chip for $30K CAN (including 7% federal tax). For our American friends, that's approximately $19,500 at today's pathetic exchange rate. The GLX was selling for about $38K CAN including tax. So what do you get for the extra $8000? Leather power seats, wood trim, a trip calculator & electronic climate control. Let's see... leather is nice, I can go without wood trim, the trip calculator is nifty but hardly a requirement, I can adjust the Air conditioning with a turn of the knob. Besides, the Wolfsburg offers unique BBS mags and the sport suspension, features not found on the GLX.

For the gentlemen out there, the Wolfsburg represents the perfect marriage between responsibility (what the women like) and fun stuff (what we like). Four doors and suberb safety features are responsible. Hair-raising power and handling, unique mags, and a 200-watt sound system are fun.

Quite simply, if you are looking for a high-performance 4-door with a manual transmission, no other car even comes close to the Wolfsburg in this price bracket. If you can still find a one, that is.

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Infiniti G20 - More money gets you avery average looks, much much less power and a vibrating, rubbery shifter.

This car does have some strengths, I suppose. The pick-up was pretty good when I first got it. The ride is comfortable and the car is roomy. It also has some neat little things, like adjustable seat belts and setable intermittant wipers.

Well, where to begin... When I got the car, the sunroof didn't work. About a year down the road, the built-in alarm system started going off randomly whenever the car was locked. If you leave the car unlocked, the alarm will sometimes go off when you start the engine. The dash lights went out. The light behind the AC goes in and out intermittantly. The fan doesn't work on anything but the highest setting. The front driver's window stalls when you roll it up and down. The back driver's window doesn't roll up or down at all (power windows). The back driver's door doesn't lock and the automatic locking system won't work all the time. The engine stutters whenever it's rainy or even damp outside. And the parts are really expensive. Spark plug wires are $75 at Advance Auto, the dealer wants $125.

This car would be really nice if it wasn't for all the stupid things that go wrong. Expensive things. I wouldn't recommend the Jetta to anyone. In fact, I'll never own a VW again. All these problems are just ridiculous. And I'm having to pay crazy prices to get them fixed because I bought the car used and it barely had a warranty. STAY AWAY FROM VOLKSWAGONS!!!

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I have never owned another car in the same class as the Jetta, but I would think that just about anything would be better than this.

The box type body, very European. The interior is very sporty, including the vents on the moonroof. The alloy wheels really looks good if it is dropped 1.75". The manual transmission is very fun to drive, you can really feel it accelerating. Very different from other cars out there made.

So far nothing. Maybe the cupholders.

The Jetta gives more options than any other cars out there in the market,
including the bose sound system, which sound really nice for stock.

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Handling, acceleration, brakes, interior room (for how big the exterior is), huge trunk

Shifter, rear seat room. no dome light in rear

Bought one of the first 1500-made in Germany, not Mexico. Best car we've ever owned. Third gear acceleration makes passing on rural 2-lanes a breeze. Had a few electrical problems the first year (trip computer, door light switch, power locks), but no probs since. Pushing 140,000 mi and still runs like new. Just put Bilsteins, H&R springs, front strut brace & Bridgestone RE730s on last fall and it handles better than new. We'll probably drive it another 10 years. The VR6 is the best engine I've ever had in a car!!

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Integra GSR-too soft; Infinity G20-too small/slow; Volvo 850-too "tinny"

Where do I start? It is really all the little things that add up to a phenomenal car: The vent button in the fuel filler neck to allow an extra gallon or so, one-touch up AND down on BOTH front windows, the separate shelf in the glovebox for the owners manual, no need for a prop-rod under the hood, the radio semi-mutes when changing stations, tilting and telescoping steering wheel, the warning chime if you try to drive away with the parking brake on, the DRLs go off if you apply parking brake, the door open chime quits after a minute or so, light in trunk shuts off after a while, disconnecting the battery doesn't erase radio presets or time, silicone-dampened oh sh&@ handles, the lit headlight switch so you can find it in the dark, the trunk doesn't have old school struts that fold into trunk space and crush your stuff, the adjustable height center armrest, the T-handle that pops out from under the hood when you pop it, the little clips that hold the floormats in place, one-touch sunroof controls. Or the big things: 50 mpg, Chicago to D.C. on one tank of Diesel, more safety features than ANY car in it's class, by far the most user-friendly Diesel ever made, free oil changes at the dealer for 2 years, AND a design that is inside and out the coolest for the money, right down to the blue backlit dash lights that everyone gushes over.

Velour seats attract way too much lint. TDI hard to find new, and impossible to find used. Powerband different than gas models, "shift soon and shift often." Funny looks from truckers at the pumps.

The best car ever made. Bold statement?
When the price of fuel goes over $3/gallon, remember "I told you so."

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'00 Toyota Camry - good car/design/value, with comparatively ZERO style
'98 Ford F-150 - like comparing an apple to a big gas-guzzling orange
'81 VW Rabbit Diesel - like comparing an apple to a slow loud black smoke cloud belching orange.

Great Bose sound. Fun to drive. Fun to ride in. Cave of a trunk. Great range of options, for the most part. Good, quality cars for reasonable prices. German.

We own two. Both '97 GLS models with a 2.0L I4 coupled to the five-speed manual. (Go for the 1.8 Turbo or VR6!) One has had quite a few mechanical problems with things such as the power windows and locks, the other has had a few engine problems. The engine problems have been promptly taken care of by the dealer, however. Still a little on the boxy side for me (the redesign is awesome, I'm considering a 2001 to add to the collection). NO FRONT LOADING CD PLAYER! Only trunk changers!

Both of our Jettas have been great. Both are driven back and forth, from Michigan to Ohio, and handle the trip nicely. One of them has more options than the other, e.g., a trunk 10 disc CD changer, a center arm rest, keyless entry, alloy rims, etc. There is a noticable difference in driving on those alloys, by the way. But tacking on those options didn't drive the price through the roof. Both have been great cars for the past few years outside of some minor inconviences. If you're looking for a fun car to drive and don't have millions to blow, a used '97 GLS is something to look for around town.

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1998 Honda Civic. The Civic is way under powered. 1998 Toyota Corrola. If it wasn't a Japanese car, I might have good reason to like it. Pretty reliable all around, just like the Jetta. But, not a lot of options under the hood or in model trim. The Jetta simply out classes both.

The appearance, I like the interior lights.

Too many problems with the car.

I pretty much live in the service department. I have taken it in at least 6 times in less than 2 years. Some, silly things like the light behind the dash going out, the light behind the A/C etc. going out, the sunroof not working, etc. Now, my engine light has been on for a week and they can't get me in till next week! I am already looking to trade it in, it's not worth the headache. I heard from someone else who had one, they had a lot of problems as well. I was talking to a man who used to work for VW, he said it's all service there because once they sell a car, it keeps coming back and back again. It was not worth the money, I could have spent less on a more dependable vehicle.

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I had fewer problems with my 7 yr old Cavalier.

Pletty of power
Solid feel to internal instruments and switches
Fun to drive, resposive.

Factory stereo was cassette, with changer in trunk. Pain to change to a CD that isn't in the changer already. (Not much of a complaint really.)

I don't think I'll ever buy a vehicle again that isn't VW, or at least German in origin.

I have wanted to drive a Jetta for a few years and when I got the funds to get into one I drove the lesser GL and GLS models. The standard 2.0L 115hp engine in those Jetta is really not for me (felt very slow). I was crushed and disappointed with what my dream of owning a Jetta would be. The a friend told me I should look at a slightly used GLX VR6 model.

Wow is all I can say.

It looks cool, has lots of power, feels great inside (hmmm...leather), and is fun to drive.

I find myself taking the long way to places just so I can drive a bit more...

The fuel ecomony is ok (around 10.5L/100km in the city), but my old car was getting 15L/100km. But that was a gutless Tercel, so I can deal with the higher gas consumption.

This car also has a built in alarm, CD changer, 8 speakers and built in amp (all from Bose), power everything, power moonroof, heated seats (very nice with the leather), mileage computer, white faced gauges, cruise, AC, very effective heater, 15" alloy rims.

Tint the back windows, add a subwoofer to the stereo if you like music and have a ball cruising around the world in high quality style.

Highly recommended to anyone who wants to have fun driving a quality, fast, smallish sized car.

The only problem is you might have a problem finding one a few years old at a good price. VWs don't lose their value very much, so they do come at quite a premium sometimes. Find one you love and enjoy.

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Owned a '92 Tercel before, this Jetta is better in every respect except fuel economy.