Loving my Jetta

[Creampuff]

Just a quickie,
Had the Jetta for 4 months, absolutely brilliant. It is a 2008 TSi 2.0T.
Comfort, handling, plenty of speed, (which the wife hasn't seen yet), DSG which is great. Great stereo, plenty of space, huge boot, etc, etc.
I was curious why the TSi Jetta doesn't sell as well over here? any suggestions or facts?
I would like to hear from other people with the same cars and their opinion on these vehicle.
I was always a Ford man, then got an Audi A4 B6 model.....the Jetta is superior in every way!

[getjet]

I've wondered this myself... Its not known as a sporty car i guess but its basically the same car with a boot and cheaper...

When/if you get it flashed (retuned) you will love it even more. More power and better fuel economy usually (assuming you don't plant the foot all the time!)

[anthony]

The MK5 Jetta was a very good seller for VW locally,with over 15 000 units sold,but I think the MK6 Jetta is struggling a bit,its been on sale for over a year,and you hardly see any on the roads.

[Creampuff]

Not being biased but I prefer the front of the MKv's, although I think the back looks better on the new ones.
After reading the specs, the new ones are slower also.

[popeclement]

I think the Bora's suffered the same lack fof recognition - drove a standard 2l Bora the other day and these cars still impress with their driveability and build quality. You do notice the difference stepping say from a Jetta to a Korean car of similar spec and hence will continue to offer excellent second hand buying to those who can appreciate these differences. I agree that the MkVs seem to have more front and rear 'character' than the Mk6s, which are somewhat bland.

[getjet]

I agree. The interiors after the MK6 are terrible in my opinion. I was toying the idea of trading my car in for a new polo gti but it just felt like a cheaper car on the inside.

They have dropped the arse out of the prices for the new models too. If the new models are cheap, the sale price of the old model is also significantly reduced. Shame really as once you drop prices, its hard to go back up.

[anthony]

The Jetta story is interesting,as its the 3rd most popular car for the VW group worldwide,with over 700 000 units sold per year,almosr as much as Golf and Passat.Its VWs most important model for China,its biggest single market in the world.
The MK5 was not as popular as the MK4 in America,so it was deceided to decontent the MK6,lower the prices,and they are selling like hot cakes all over the globe.
However,they are now direct competitors of cars like the Corolla,Civic,Lancer,Focus,Cruze,Mazda 3 sedans overseas,while locally they are still competing with cars like the Mazda 6,Accord Euro,Camry,Hyundai i45,Kia Optima,Suzuki Kizashi,and that is why it os struggling here.

The Jetta 5 was better finished,and had that goregius all chrome front end,which made it look like a million dollars.
The new front end looks bland,and body has no chrome touches ,even the standard alloys are plainer than before.

But the back end is way better,looking like an Audi A4.

[jessv3]

I believe that the biggest problem with the MKV Jetta was that it was seen by many people as simply a golf with a boot, these days where families are shrinking and hatches such as the golf are roomier then ever it begged the question what is the point? Its obvious VAG have made an effort with the current Jetta to differentiate it from the Golf, which I think was a smart move, but lets hope it doesn't cut into the Passat market now.

The flip side to that is the Mkv Jetta on the second hand market is exceptionally good value, and makes a much better bargain then a Golf, for example I have seen the Mkv Jetta 2.0t move for as low as 12k, where as a comparable GTI is around 5k more expensive.

[maca]

It is a shame to see that the Jetta didn't do so well in Australia as what it's doing in North America. I guess it all comes down to pricing and their target market.

The Jetta and Golf (in Canada particularly) is marketed towards the late teens/early to mid twenties and have price tags to match. Sure, some quality components are sacrificed but VW Australia won't win any hearts when charging almost $40k for a mid range car smaller than a Mazda6 or Toyota Camry, and even the new Holden Malibu once it's released. A Volkswagen GLI is under $30k here and that's what you'd expect to pay for something of that size when you can get an Aurion for the same price as a Jetta 2.0TSI.

VW Australia needs to pull their head out and realise how much money they could be making if they adjusted their pricing/marketing strategy to match that of North America. No on wants a base 1.6TDI with 100hp for $30k when they can go get a stronger Toyota for not too much more.

Sorry for the rant, how much we pay for cars in Australia really ****s me after living in Canada for six months.