Road Test: Volkswagen Jetta FSI Turbo

By Feann Torr - 7/July/2006

We're at an intriguing junction in the history of the automobile. In addition to the increasing interest in alternative propulsion systems such as diesel, electric and hydrogen, the shift from larger vehicles to smaller, more efficient cars is also making a big impact on the industry. Large North American car makers like Ford and General Motors are currently picking themselves up off the floor in their domestic markets as the high cost of petrol undermines their traditional pick-up truck cash cows, and they look for new avenues of profit. 

At the same time, automakers with expertise in the small car segment, many of which are clustered in Europe, seem to be one step ahead, with not only improving sales but increasingly improving product.

Volkswagen's new Jetta is one of these products. It's nicely sized - not too large, not too small - comes with a measured amount of German luxury, is safer than staying at home wrapped in your security blanket and offers respectable fuel consumption due its range of 4-cylinder engines and light kerb weight. Indeed, the Germans are doing booming business at the moment, and it's cars like the Jetta (formerly badged as the Bora in Australia) that are underpinning their businesses.

Well priced, the Jetta range starts at under $33k, and the thing looks good as well, sporting a touch of elegance that gives the a car a certain stylishness, allowing it to punch well above its weight, and far beyond the reach of its sibling, the Golf. Australian customers can choose from three different engines in the Jetta range at the moment, including the entry level 2.0-litre petrol model ($32,990) worth 110kW, and there's also a 103kW diesel model ($35,290), expected to do good business here packing an advanced 2.0-litre oil burner.

This road test centres on the range-topping TFSI Jetta ($39,990), which is gifted with an engine that many VW and Audi drivers will be aware of, the 2.0-litre FSI Turbo four banger. It's a real beauty of an engine, first seen in Volkswagen's almost-perfect Golf GTI, and works very well in this instance, giving the small car a very large and powerful pair of lungs.

This is the new Jetta, and on paper it makes a very good case for itself. But it can't be all good - can it?

The new 147kW Jetta FSI Turbo is a very energetic performer, one of the reasons it was launched at the race track (photo above)

Engine: Engine: VW 2.0-litre FSI Turbo The transversely mounted inline 4-cylinder engine has a 2.0-litre (1984cc) capacity, with aluminium alloy cylinder heads and engine block. Dual overhead camshafts (DOHC) actuate a total of 16-valves and variable valve timing is also part of the package. The petrol-powered motor has an 10.5:1 compression ratio (high for a turbo engine) and will accept only 98 RON unleaded petrol when filling the 55 litre fuel tank. Max Power: 147kW @ 5100 - 6000rpm Max Torque: 280Nm @ 1800 - 5000rpm 0-100km/h: 7.2 seconds Max Speed: 233km/h Fuel Consumption: 8.0L/100km (combined) Transmission: DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) DSG is a manual gearbox in which the gearshifts are controlled electronically. What makes the DSG unique is that it has two separate gear sets operated by a pair of electro-hydraulically controlled wet multi-plate clutches (1st, 3rd, 5th on one gear set, plus 2nd, 4th, 6th on the other). The benefit of twin gear sets and a pair of clutches is that one gear set and clutch is engaged driving the vehicle with the second clutch having already pre-selected the next gear awaiting for power to be transferred. As the next gear has already been preselected prior to power being applied, the gear change only takes 3 to 4 hundredths of a second. There is virtually no interruption to power, traction or acceleration (if you like front wheel drive burnouts, get a DSG).

The interior is a well thought out and features good quality materials (manual model shown)

Even without optioning the bejesus out of the Jetta, I must say that it is quite an impressive package as is. Before ticking the boxes that add leather ($2,990), an electric sunroof ($1,890), 18-inch wheels ($1,990), metallic/pearl paint ($690) and xenon headlights ($1,890) the Jetta makes a very good impression. You get items such as dual zone climate control with rear seat vents, parking proximity sensors, rain sensing window wipers, a multi function steering wheel and alloy wheels as standard. There's also a well-sorted 8-speaker CD stereo system, not to mention a raft of safety features, and it's got a surprisingly cavernous boot, sporting 527 litres of boot space, which puts the VZ Holden Commodore's 465 litres and the BF Ford Falcon's 504 litres to shame.

This came to me as quite a shock, particularly when one considers that the Jetta is very similar to a Golf in its dimension. "A Golf with a boot," is one way to describe the Jetta, but in my opinion that's almost a little unfair as this thing has an altogether classier feel to it. That said, the Jetta does share a number measurements with the clever Golf, including its 2578mm wheelbase. The only major difference in dimensions between the cars is length - the Jetta is 338mm longer than the Golf, and therein lies the boot's Tardis-like storage space.

The cabin's not as big as the abovementioned Australian large cars, and I did struggle for leg room in the rear seats, but if you're buying one of these well built Veedubs, you probably won't have to sit in the rear, and the front seats supply drivers with ample leg, shoulder and head room.

Ergonomics in the cabin are quite good too. All the switchgear is sensibly laid out, and many functions are automated, such as the heating/cooling and window wipers, allowing you to concentrate on the task at hand - that of driving - rather than frantically trying to find the windscreen wiper stalk (one of the bugbears of European imports is that the indicator and wiper stalks are often reversed).

There's a sense of quality to driving the Jetta that permeates almost all facets of the car. Even the switchgear and centre console with blue back lights look fantastic, and vents for the rear seat passengers is a nice touch too. The small leather wrapped steering wheel adds a bit of sportiness to proceedings, and it must be said that the TFSI model is tuned more towards cornering than cosseting.

In and around town the Jetta is a very easy vehicle to pilot, with its electro-mechanical steering working wonders in tight situations, and the engine also has a very large spread of torque, and this makes punting the car through town an absolute doddle. 

However, the high performance equipment that comes as standard in this 147kW model means that ride quality suffers at times. The suspension has a sporty setup, with fairly rigid springing and tight damping, and while this will suit the driver who is looking for the perfect corner, those who spend more time commuting may be advised to check out the other Jetta models, such as the non-turbo 2.0-litre petrol version, or the diesel model. 

The ride is far from unbearable, and quite tolerable for the most part - don't get me wrong - but the car's spirit is at odds with its onroad manner. Visually and tactilely the interior and exterior communicate subtlety, comfort and even a touch of prestige, yet on the road the car displays a highly excitable character. For someone who likes tearing about at high speeds such a combination is perfect, but I would hazard a guess that the car isn't aimed at drivers like myself who would happily forgo ride quality (and the rear seats, A/C, the stereo and maybe even functioning doors) at the expense of performance.

The DSG gearbox, while great in sprinting situations, can flummox the driver at slower speeds and when it's changing down through gears. Often when you come to a standstill too, the gearbox tends to sit in a strange limbo between engaging one its dual clutches, and trying to find neutral. It can be a bit off putting at first, and I wondered whether or not I had shagged the gearbox as you can feel it buzzing in confusion at times, and so took to slotting the gear selector into neutral whenever I pulled up at a red light or stop sign.

Methinks it's time for v2.0 of the DSG to be released, in order to iron out a few of the minor quibbles that are starting to appear during operation. But that's everyday driving for you. If heading to the hills on an early Sunday morning to lay some fresh tracks (to quote the snow bunnies out there) is more your thing, the $39,990 TFSI Jetta will be a much more alluring proposition.

Being more of an enthusiast than a 'cruiser' I must confess that I was particularly stoked to be back driving a vehicle with the heart and lungs of the Golf GTI: a powerful 2.0-litre petrol turbo engine and the dual clutch DSG transmission. Sure, the DSG has a few issues at slower speeds as mentioned above, but when you've got the pedal to the metal there are few transmissions that are as lightning quick to change gears. When describing the gearbox, one word comes to mind - efficiency.

Even though it's carrying more weight than the Golf GTI, the Jetta is a rapid vehicle, able to chew through it's six forward gears like they're soft jubes, giving the car an uncanny turn of speed that'll spin the front wheels through first gear if you're using high octane fuel (98 RON is required). The turbo engine is a very strong performer too, and your can really feel the torque building, giving you a gentle squeeze in your seat, as the revs rise and turbocharger starts to forcibly ram more air into the car's four 500cc cylinders. 

Though the suspension may be a little unforgiving, and the gearbox not quite as clever as we once thought (now we've spent more time with it), the 2.0-litre engine is hard to fault. In fact, it's easy to praise: I reckon it's a winner.

It revs quickly, it makes a decent sound for a 4-banger, builds torque quickly and decisively and best of all it can return very good fuel consumption figures, down to around 8L/100km on the combined cycle. Of course if you find your 'happy place' that may involve lots of fast corners and switchbacks, fuel consumption will suffer, but that's a given no matter what kind of car you drive. Tax the engine and you tax your wallet. 

With 147kW hitting the front hoops @ 5100rpm, the car builds speed remarkably quickly and the engine will rev to about 6500rpm if you don't mind late gear changes (the gearbox certainly doesn't). Peak torque of 280Nm is more than enough to spin the front wheels, and because the high level of turbo-induced torque is spread across a very wide rev range (1800 - 5000rpm) the car possesses a strong mid-range, perfect for overtaking and mid gear acceleration. Driving on the highway, the range-topping Jetta will pull away rapidly from the rest of the traffic if asked and the engine never feels out of breath, always keen to please and ready to haul arse thanks to its decent sized air-to-air intercooler and turbocharger.

The suspension, too, is well sorted for high speed cornering, while the 17-inch alloy wheels shod with 225/45 R17 rubber give it plenty of grip. The tyres can generate a bit of road noise, but what's road noise when you've got the impressive 8-speaker stereo blasting out Beethoven when cruising at Mach 2? Not much, I can tell you. The speed-sensitive electro hydraulic steering works well enough when cornering on the open road, and the relatively light 1430kg car is very responsive to steering input, though it doesn't quite provide the levels of feedback than a more traditional rack and pinion set up. The chassis is well suited to fast driving, allowing the car to change direction quickly without dragging its feet, and suspending the body of the car on the fairly rigid springs and shock absorbers body roll doesn't really become an issue. I even felt a bit cheeky driving the wheels off this thing when it looks for all the world like an innocuous German small sedan that shouldn't be hacking round corners at such speeds. 

Indeed, it has a remarkably high performance boundary, but it just doesn't look as though it should be allowed to achieve such heights. That said, I do like the look of the car, which is an intriguing evolution of the Golf shape that adds a dash of elegance and a sprinkling of luxury. The front end is far more conservative than what's seen on the Golf, featuring lashings of chrome, though the headlight clusters look remarkably similar. The overall shape is, as a colleague mentioned, "inoffensive" and round at the rear the TFSI model's twin exhaust pipes are a tell tale sign of its performance potential and, though the brake lights came across as a bit overdone at first, by the end of the week long test I had actually warmed to their bold styling.

With six airbags as standard, covering front and rear passengers, driving aids like anti-slip regulation (ASR), ABS, and the all-important Electronic Stabilisation Program (ESP), the Jetta safely cocoons passengers in its metal bodyshell like few others in the class, and this will be a very reassuring factor for those drivers downsizing from much larger cars, who sometimes experience a feeling of vulnerability, or perilous exposure as I like to call it, when driving small cars. The anchors are up to the task of slowing the car's 1430kg bulk and electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) is a very nice feature to have when you need to mash the brake pedal in traffic (when the driver in front decides to drop his souvlaki and swerve erratically all over the road), apportioning braking forces to the wheels that can best improve deceleration. 

Overall: 4/5

As small cars continue to eat away at the larger end of the vehicle spectrum, companies like Toyota and Volkswagen are in very useful positions to take advantage of this shift in consumer buying trends, as they continue to refine and hone their smaller cars. The Jetta is shining example of this.

Consummate in many respects, the Jetta leaves very little room for complaints. Sure, I could point to the average rear seat room, or the somewhat stiff suspension tune, but these are things that can be overcome by either choosing the non-turbo or the diesel model, and moving the front seats forward a little bit. It's a good daily commuter, is easy to drive, looks quite snappy and has a massive amount of boot space for the weekends. But it's ability to perform almost as well as the Golf GTI would be reason enough for me to take a closer look. To that end, I get the feeling that the car would provide an alternative for the potential Golf GTI buyer who won't put up with waiting lists or who desires enough boot space for the golf clubs. And if you need another excuse, the FSI Turbo Jetta is more than $2,000 cheaper than the DSG-equipped Golf GTI. Food for thought.

I like the Jetta - it made a very positive first impression. It's got the heart of the Golf GTI, the soul of a small luxury sedan and the safety levels of an armoured limousine. Well, that last one may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I think you get my drift.