The turbo engine is great. The leather heated seats are a nice feature. The monsoon sound system sounds really good. It's a quiet ride. Lots of standard features.

The side mirror defroster will not turn off. The black interior gets really scratched up and dirty very easily. Have to pull twice on the door latch to open driver's side door. Air conditioner vibrates. Poor gas mileage (even compared to recently owned Mustang). If able, definitely go for the VR6 (MUCH more power)! No room in backseat. Placement of radio, CD player, and cup holders all wrong.

This is a great car, but there are several little things that need attention given to. I would suggest not getting a white or black exterior, too hard to keep clean. Fun car to drive. Sunroof is wonderful! Turbo is fast but not nearly as great as VR6! Not enough VW dealers in area for servicing.

It's 8 valve 4 cylinder has given me no troubles at all 165,423 miles on it so far does not use a bit of oil. It's 5 speed manual it well geared with the engine to provide good performance and can cruise at 80 mph no problem I just recently had it up to 105 mph and it was rock solid. Can smoke mt friends 1995 Ford Probe SE with a 5 speed. Its alternator puts out very good amps to power the aftermarket stero and 2 mtx thunder 8000 12 inch subs. I do all the work myself to it and besides the usual oil filter change have done nothing major to the car. Just got done painting the car its original color poly diamand silver looks nice.

could ues a little more power

It is a very dependable car handles very well in the snow and can corner I am a volkswagon man for life.

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first car

Smooth power throughout the band, never jerky. Glued to the road. Surprises a lot of rice cookers at stoplights.

Does not come with a built in camera to capture the drooling faces of Honda owners.

If you want style, performance and a genuine driving experience without BMW money you can't beat the Jetta GLX. Step into a Honda for a bit less and say goodbye to your money, the resale value sucks.

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Integra GSR-->YUCK!

ROOMY, COMFORTABLE RECRO SEATS, RARE COLOR

PRETTY MUCH HAD TO REPLACE EVERY SMALL THING IN THE ENGINE.(TRANNY BLEW, CLUTCH, CB JOINT FELL APART)

THE OLDER JETTAS I THINK ARE MORE RELIABLE, DESPITE THE ONES THAT WERE NOT TAKEN CARE OF, THE CAR HAS 127,000 MILES ON IT, ONCE COMPLETELY FIXED IT WILL BE A GOOD CAR. OLDER JETTAS ARE GOOD CARS FOR FIRST TIME BUYERS BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE NOT NEW, THEY LAST A LONG TIME IF TAKEN CAR OF.

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FIRST CAR

Love to power and silky acceleration. No turbo lag...but then again, this is my 1st experience with a turbo. Quiet and comfortable ride. The dealer (Southern States Imports, Raleigh, NC) was easy to work with. The Baltic Green (new for '01) is a stunning color and I haven't seen another Jetta on the road of this color.

What happened to the rear seat room? Well at least there is room for my 2 dachshunds!

I whole-heartedly recommend this car. It stickered $22K (s'roof, alloys, leather, and 5spd). Don't get the factory CD changer. An 8 changer (Panasonic) is available from Crutchfield for 210. and is simple to install. I wish I had gotten the Monsoon system, but that is OK....The 17" alloys package eliminates a smooth ride and those tires are EXPENSIVE...stick with the 15" and save some bux!

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Traded in my '92 Toyota Camry....after 167K, it was time...I had always owned Toyotas and to go to VW was a big change for me. So far I am glad I did.

fun to drive
lots of room for tall people (in the front anyway)
nice fit and finish
good looks
huge trunk
VR6 hauls (and to think that they're going to add like 30HP and 30Ft/lbs in 2002)
Ergonomics are mostly pretty darn good
Seats are comfy
lots of standard features
good safety features
sunroof control is simple and efficient
traction control
ABS
Heated seats ROCK!

brake dust on wheels (especially front)
cruise control is kinda awkward (but rock solid speed control wise)
limited leg room in back seat if front people are tall
a couple of rattles (one in driver's door, and one in dash)
front bumper is low and hits parking lot curbs
suspension is a little softer than older jettas
VR6 gobbles gas in city driving - much better on highway.
stick shift is a "notchy" until it warms up (2 to 4th gear shifts are tricky)
91 octane gas recomended.
cupholders suck (if you use these).
Center dash could be slightly redesigned (like Stereo and climate controls at top, cupholders below, and little cubby bin at the bottom). I think that the consol's close proximity to the shifter is the reason for the stupid order of features in the consol
main warranty is short.

This car is a hoot to drive. The VR6 is smooth and in the first 3 gears, it really moves. 174 HP and 181 ft/lbs torque is decent, but this isn't a muscle car. Still, for booting around town there is plenty of power, and passing on the highway is fine if you drop it down to fourth.
The driver's "compartment" is excellent. At 6'2", this was the only car that I would want to drive that I could fit in (and afford). It's like a poor mans A4 or BMW 3 series, but it is NOT quite that upscale (there's a reason that these cars cost like 10 to 20 grand more).
Stock Michellin tires are not bad, though I've heard that the Goodyears are crap. Definitely get the Michellins.
Doors are very well sealed if you want to put your own speakers in. If you get an aftermarket CD Deck, you HAVE TO MAKE SURE that the stereo installer cuts the radio harnesses K-wire. VW will probably insist that they remove the dash to examine this and they'll charge you for their time (and now my dash rattles too - hum, gonna go b!tch about that soon).

I really like this car. As long as it is fairly reliable, I will be very happy with it (until I can afford the Audi s4 :)
There are some minor flaws, but when compared to the competion, nothing can touch it (apart from awesome Japanese reliabilty, but then, go buy a Corolla).

I give a value rating of 4 because it is really hard to bargain on these cars (especially is you like silver, or want a standard VR6). I give the overall rating of 5 because I really like the car. As long as it stays fairly reliable, I will be happy.

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non - first new car

VR6 is fast and smooth. Interior is very luxurious with the luxury package. Looks of car is very nice and even better with my oettinger body kit. Huge trunk. I like the twist control sunroof and one touch up/down front driver/passenger windows.

The transmission lurches sometimes. A whole lot of interior things have broken on my car. Back seat is really small.

I would recommend it. Its worth taking a chance. Some people have no problems, but I have quite alot. The first day I bought the car, it came with a broken cup holder and a broken seat belt. A couple of months later, the trunk light breaks(could be because of my sub-woofer, but I dont think so, and the service guys never said anything about it). A widow regulator(power window) breaks at 1250 miles. A seat frame broke. While they were fixing this, they told me that the other seat frame broke too, that I didnt know about. The alarm was not working for about a week, then all of a sudden corrected itself, but I have not had any problems with it for a year now. One of the vanity mirros is possessed. It comes and goes at times. The worst part is waiting for parts, because they are never in stock. The dealer is extremely helpful and nice. I just hope that I can fix all these little problems before the warranty expires...and hopefully nothing else breaks. If i didnt have this warranty...all this would probably have cost me a small fortune. I still love this car, its so fun to drive. Sometimes I wonder if I should have gotten an Accord V6 or Maxima, but they are alot more expensive. I test drove the Accord V6, and let me tell you that it is slow as a pregnant cow. Its also loud when you step on it hard. The Maxima was much faster, but is alot more expensive. I think Jetta looks better though. It can be made to look sporty as I have done. The good outweighs the bad. VR6 engine is great. Blue backlit instrument panel is beautiful. Interior is very nice(other than cupholders). If you want great reliability, good looks, with no speed, go Accord. Want great speed with no looks, go Maxima. Want good looks, good speed, affordability, and average reliability(on little stuff, I have had no problems with the powertrain), Jetta is the way.

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Accord, Grand Am.....both were not nearly as fun to drive as my jetta

-Lots of power
-Smooth ride
-Sleek look

-Passanger power window went out, expensive to replace
-Had some trouble with the brake system

This car is awesome. Sporty, powerful, and nice ride. I would recommend the Jetta to anyone that enjoys a nice ride for a reasonable price. The VR6 model has some balls!

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None

Great punch with the V6; stereo is pretty good for a factory model; the blue dash lights - everyone comments on those! Plus, it's a very good looking car.

Where do I start? The whole transmission dropped out at 500 miles. We had it replaced and ever since then have had strange revs for no reason, the car randomly lurches while I am coasting (or even braking!), switching from reverse to drive brings on strange results (will it go, will it lurch, will it rev? we never know...) I love this car but it is becoming more trouble than it is worth. Am bringing it to a new dealer tomorrow before the car kills me. We've renamed it from "Gunther" to "Christine."

I really really wish I could recommend it, because I really want to like it, but we have had so many problems with it. Maybe we just got a lemon, who knows. I am definitely out of the carpool, everyone is afraid of our possessed automobile.

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Had a 1991 Honda Accord - the Jetta is WAY better looking and better performing (save for the above-mentioned transmission from hell).

Looks, handling

Where do i start? The warranty is abslotlutely the worst 2yaers/24k miles isnt enough to0 cover the problems I have encountered.
Both window relays have failed and had to be replaced. Not under warranty.
the battery went dead after 20k miles
AC system is failing , also not under warranty

I would stick with the Japanese if you want reliability

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