Very reliable, quick and sporty good handling and solid feel

Absolutly jack

This is the best car you can possibly buy. My jetta is 14 years old and has 220000 miles on it and will have a lot more before the end of it. It runs great forever. And for anyone who complains about the shifting they are full of it. The tranny is a perfect match for the engine. It is spaced with perfection. There are too many amazing things this car has done to talk about. I once towed a 1/2 ton ford f350 super duty with this car. It is a work of art.

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Subaru, Sataurn wagon

Styling - The girls always say my car is "cute," but I think it looks "handsome." Whichever you prefer, it still gets a lot looks and compliments.

Equipment - This is a very nicely equipped car for the price. Everything, including little knick knacks, have been well thought out. Some of the items that I took notice to were: the rocker-type switch for rear reading lamps, 3 rear headrests, 3-point seatbelt for rear-center passenger, adjustable armrest, 4-way adjustable steering wheel, hydraulic hood prop, electric-blue instrument lighting w/ red needles, and "oh, sh*t!" grab handles that retract nice and slow when you let go.

Solidity - Aside from some workmanship issues that I experienced, this has been a very solid car to drive. It feels very rigid and safe.

Value - The Jetta is a little pricier, compared to comparably equipped Civics and Corollas, but for the money, I can't think of another car that offers better overall value.

Power - For a 115hp motor, it has pretty good pickup from a dead stop, which deceived me when I test drove it. Slow as a slug between 25 mph to 60 mph. Seems to be unusually quick from 80 mph to 110 mph (perhaps it's my speedometer?).

Shift Action - The throw of the 5 speed makes me feel like I'm driving a bus. Plenty of loose play when in gear. Gets caught between 1st and 3rd gates when I try to upshift quickly from 2nd to 3rd.

Fit and Finish - I've had two Hondas and one Acura prior to this, and I can finally appreciate how well they were built. None of the 3 had squeaks and/or rattles until they were well above 50k miles, but my Jetta started before 3k miles. There were several different complaints, all of which occurred before 12K miles, all of which have been resolved, either mysteriously or by the dealer.

Dealer Sales - I know I should've known better than to let the dealer get away with charging me $2000 over sticker, but I wanted to be the first on the block to have one (I bought it the 2nd day it was out on the market). I caught him in a few lies. I still got the car. What gives?

As mentioned earlier, I purchased the car the 2nd day it came out, November '99. The sticker was $18,500, and I paid $2000 over that. I've had friends and co-workers pay the same amount for their's, but they got leather and sunroof. I'm still very happy with my purchase, though. I would've bought the car even if it cost $2000 more than what I paid.

I would recommend it to anyone who gets a new car every 3 years. As far as recommending it to someone who keeps their car for a while, I'd have to wait until I accumulate more mileage (currently 24K mi). Based on my experience so far, I would definitely consider upgrading to a Passat for my next car.

I'm going to take this car on its first road trip this weekend (from Orange County to Phoenix). Will definitely submit a review if feelings change after the trip.

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'99 Civic - Nice and spunky; easy to drive; too much road noise; doesn't feel substantial.

'99 Accord - Smooth; very roomy; was my choice until I saw the new Jetta.

for a 90horse diesel it does fairly well. I was at 35 below zerow last year, and she fired up. I pull a waverunner with it, no problem. I have had not a single problem with the engine and have 35,000 miles on it. I supply my own oil at the oil changes and it costs less for that.

could have a little more power.. if the turbo would not lag at low rpms this would not be an issue.

I paid 18,000 with everything but leather and ABS pretty much. i would reccomend this car anytime especially if you drive alot. the great MPG make it worth it alone! on the hwy I pull 47.6 MPG, city a little less. love the car!

Extreme sweet silver body, interior layout, electric blue instumentation cluster, Saftey features, STEREO SYSTEM!(no upgrade nessesary), huge trunk.

After I had the car for 2 months, the doors would make a creaking sound at starts, stops, and hard lateral manuvers. I took it to the dealer and they had the factory rep check it out and he told me that in manufacturing, the body (including doors)is laser cut out of a single piece of steel and that with its super close tolerances the rubber seals must wear in and soften up before that "creak" disapears. He said that I need to give it another 5,000 miles, that will give me 12,000 total. I will review again at that time. Moderate highway wind noise.

I paid $17,400 (including destination charge) @ Metro VW of Dallas. Brought it back to the Ozark mountains. The car has the 2.0 liter/Auto with Adaptive transmission(excellent shifting!) With this engine, it is no wild stallion, but it zipps me through the winding fast roads and sharp curves with grace. Standard with 4 wheel disc ABS, it has already pulled me out of some precarious situations. I installed the VW rack and mtb holder, looks great, functions well. All of the interior materials are top notch. I like the three headrests in the rear. Night driving is bliss, great visibility from behind the well positioned halogen beams, equally impressive are the instrumentation lights , electric blue with red back drop and red marker lights throughout the black console(german-learjet?) It came with the 6 disc changer(a must) and unless you put a cd player in the console, you can forget every other bad comment on the misplaced cup holders. Over all, this is great car, I would highly recommend it, only not in silver..

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Tested: 00' Celica, 00'Solaro, 00' Eclipse, 00'Prelude

GLX feature packed, new body&interior design,

VR6 engine doesn't live up to expectations, not powerful enough, poor manufacturing standards(mexico?), handling is average. what ever happened to the dependable German engineering. They now charge way too much for a weaker car.

I spent a lot of time researching this car and my wife drove a 95 jetta...after test driving a good friend's new 99 jetta I decided to get one. The new design was attractive inside and out. On paper the car seems to stack up against a whole new class of car for VW, moving them closer to a luxury class car.
I took home a silver 99 GLS VR6. As I drove off the lot and opened my new sunroof parts of it came showering down on my head! A week later and a quick replacement(service trip and loaner car #1) I was headed home only to have to turn around and get a defective gear selector replaced (trip and loaner#2). I also noticed that the engine idle was rough and when you stepped on the gas it made a sucking sound before revving up. Within the second month of having the car the instrument panel died. I had to wait a month and a half for a replacement(three loaners in this period). While driving around in a dealership loaner(a 97 golf-while paying tons for a 99 jetta) I got a ticket for having no valid insurance. They gave a customer a car to drive that was uninsured.
To make a long story slightly longer I started a long process that finally saw me upgraded 6 months later to a 2000 GLX. I have not had any nightmarish problems since but find the engine to be less than stellar. The rough idle and sucking sound are apparently, as the service manager told me, just part of that engine. I would have to say that this car has the potential to be the best in its class but at this time is way over priced for a car that is unfortuneatly built in mexico. Based on my experience I would give the car a 3.

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this is my third jetta

The car comes with so many options. Moonroof, CD player, and the five speed is great. The car also gets great gas millage. The car gets about 400miles to the tank and 32MPG. For a small car the car is great.

The cup holders suck, and there is no arm rest for when you are driving. Also there is no glove compartment for this year model.

I got a great deal on my car and the car has cost me no money in work on it. I think the car will go for 300,000 miles. The car also comes with dual air bags. The car also has a 140mph speed read out. The car is sporty and great. I wouldn;t trade it for anything.

fit and finish are incredible. just dont start it and drive on any non-perfect roads. crank the stereo to drown out the wind noise.

too many. loud ,noisy motor.wind noise around front doors like they are not closed. black cloth interior attracts everything, very hard to clean: use wide masking tape (get the leather). the rattles and squeaks: dashboard,glovebox,b-pillars. cupholder is a joke. backrest uses rotary hand crank, horrible. rear leg room is non-existent. when coming to a stop or taking off from a stop the body creaks and cracks like it is coming apart. this car has been babied since day one and has never been down a un-paved road, 14,000 miles on the odometer and the noise in the cabin is like a 300,000 mile car that has been driven on the back-roads of morocco. a, b c pillars are wrapped with the same off- white mouse hair headliner material,bad choice, should have been the same high quality coated plastic as the rest of the car is adorned with.

great car but still needs to be further refined. a few changes and this car is one of the best values out there.

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honda civic si 1990

Engine is strong, reliable, looks, feel, interior design, controls are easily available.

Very dissappointed with it, we leased it in 96'and 6 mos into the lease the header cover (plate welded to header) cracked and they fixed it. 6 mos later it happened again and they fixed it, same thing again then the rear muffler went out completely and they would not touch it...wear and tear the dealer says. The side molding has come off on both sides on the doors, paint has chipped off of the rear window panes, struts/shocks wore out at 50k, cup holder sucks, stereo developed a heat issue...when it was hot out and the a/c running the right channel would fade in and out and was popping very loud at times...again they would not touch it. We drove the car to far places and it runs fine, the exterior and other parts on the car are horrible. I have asked several other owners of this same model year and they have all experienced some or all of the same problems. I complainded to VW and the dealer and never received any kind of response.

Do research! I guess the new models are good.

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Golf GT 87 - Great car

This car was the special edition for 1998. It came loaded with all the power options and a cd changer. The handling on the car is great. The one thing I love is the one touch up and down touch for the power windows. This car is essentialy the GLX with out the VR6

The acceleration of the car is just mediocre as well as the fuel economy. I have only had a couple of minor problems that have been covered under waranty. My drivers seat had a tear in it due to a piece of metal that was broken. I also am having a problem with the volume control with the stereo. The fuel economy is not the best but i think this could be due to the fact that I have a roof rack onthe car. I can usually go about 300 to 325 per tank

Overall I have been very happy with my Jetta. I had serious doubts about getting this car. I had a 1991 jetta and had nothing but problems. It was so un reliable. I found out shortly after i bought it that consumer reports said that all 1988-1992 jetta's were on their list of cars to avoid. After i got over the initial hang ups for my old jetta, i realized that this car was a competly different car. I love this one. The wolfsburg model is by far the best value for the money. You get everything in this car including a lower price than the gls model wich is similarly equiped but not nearly as sporty. I am leasing this car and am looking forward to checking out the new ones. I payed 16.5 for the car. It listed at 17.75. I would definitly buy another jetta. The problem I see is if i want to get a comparable new model it is going to be over 20,000

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1995 Honda Civic Ex coupe- a very fun sporty little car
1991 VW Jetta GL - the biggest piece of junk

-A 5-speed transmission is available with the V6 engine. Other than the Nissan Maxima (which is more expensive than the Jetta) and the BMW 3-series (which is *much* more expensive than the Jetta), if you want a powerful V6 engine and a quick-shifting 5-speed in a fun-to-drive sedan, there's no other choice but the Jetta.

-The Jetta has an extensive list of standard features. The standard power windows has a convenient one-touch up/down in the front on both the driver's and passenger side. There's A/C, an 8-speaker cassette stereo, cruise control, tilt/telescoping steering wheel, nice floor mats, power steering, 15-inch tires, and a split folding rear seat, all standard. The standard keyless entry/security system is activated through a remote that hides the flip-out key. You have to see one to understand, but it's really cool. Speaking of cool, everybody knows about the sweet interior lights of the Volkswagens-- when you own one you always want to take your friends out at night.

--There are tons of safety features standard, too. The Jetta has driver's and passenger side front airbags, side impact airbags, traction control, anti-lock disc brakes, and a head restraint at every seating position. Not even the Volvo S40 has as many standard safety features.

--Build quality is wonderful, as is the service plan. Everything on a Jetta is put together perfectly, like you'd expect from the car that's sold in Europe as the Audi A3. The doors close solidly with the CHUNK that you hear on a Mercedes. Even when you're driving at freeway speeds, there's hardly any wind or road noise. To protect your investment, VW gives you free maintenance for 24,000 miles, free 24-hr roadside assistance for the first 2 years of ownership, and a twelve (yes, 12) year warranty on the powertrain.

--Finally, as with all the Volkswagens that are out right now, the Jetta is one of the prettiest cars on the road. You don't get second looks with an Accord or a Maxima, but the Jetta turns heads.

--The back seat is pretty small. When you're comparing the Jetta to a Civic or Altima, the Jetta's back seat space is about the same. But if you are looking at the Jetta against a Camry or Maxima, the tight rear quarters might be a turnoff. (As an aside, though, the Jetta's trunk is just as big as those on the bigger cars.)

--Gas mileage is only decent, and you need to buy premium. Gas is rather cheap nowadays, so this is a small compaint. The Jetta gets 18 mpg in the city, 30 on the highway with the VR6. I suppose if I cared about gas mileage, I would have bought the Jetta TDI (turbodiesel) which gets 50mpg on the highway.

--For a compact, the Jetta is pricey. Again, it depends in which segment you're shopping. If you compare the Jetta to a Civic, Altima, Neon, or Focus, the Jetta is more expensive than any (though you can't get a V6 or so many standard features on those cars). But if you compare it to a V6 Accord, Camry, Maxima, or Intrigue, the Jetta is at the same level.

I love my 2000 VW Jetta GLS VR6. I bought the car with no optional equipment (I told you the standard features rule!), and then added a bunch of VW aftermarket parts:

--15-inch 5-spoke alloy wheels
--6-disc CD-changer
--Heavy-duty rubber floor mats
--Aluminum shift knob
--Rear spoiler

All told, I paid about 21,000 for the Jetta, and I couldn't be happier. It's the poor man's BMW 328i.