2005 Volkswagen Jetta TDI: Much Fun in the City

best looking Jetta is that '05 vintage. They went beyond backwards with the new, 200% uglified design. The 05 actually looks more modern than the bloated, Corolla-like 08

VWs from that gen are either unreliable, or properly made. I'm glad you guys have a good one.

Those cars, even though not sporty as say a mazda 3, are rewarding to drive. And there's always that satisfaction of taking a car by the scruff of it's neck and shaking it about. It's more fun than driving a very powerful car 2/10ths most of the time.

I will never buy another VW, unless it's a TDI. VW's reliability leaves a lot to be desired. But the TDI engines, despite theiroutdated design, has proven to be a unbreakable. Too bad the rest of the car will fall to pieces, before the engine starts to give. Despite all that, I still really loved my old TDI New Beetle, but since TDI was no longer in production, I went with a Toyota product to replace it.

firstwagon,

Diesel passenger cars in America are just rare. Somehow, Americans won't buy it and car makers won't sell it. It's a combination of ignorance and politics. hybrids are whats selling in the US, while in Europe, hybrids don't sell, and 50% of the cars are diesel.

jahfakin is right. Diesels are very rare indeed.

If the dealers don't have them in stock it impossible to get one unless you wait more than six months. And the dealer will have the upper hand in setting the price in situations like that.

I have an '04 5 speed gas Jetta and I love it. It must be one of the properly made ones because I've had no issues with it thus far. The suspension is very comfortable yet it doesn't float on the highway and the steering action is also likeable. I've known a few people with the same vintage of diesel Jetta and they made me want one but I couldn't pass this one up. I never thought I'd want a practical car like this, coming from a highly modded '93 Z28, and although this can't replace that car in any way, it is a very nice car and a pleasure to drive.

TDI engines are outdated?! Why? I think that pump-injector design is pure genius. Much more clever than common rail.

Golf is the most common family car in Europe. I don't know why Erin thinks the back seat is "squinchy". I have a friend who is over 6 ft tall and has a tall wife and a baby and he often drives with his wife, his baby AND his parents in the car. Their only car is a 2005 Golf TDI.

vvk,
Americans drive good "big" cars like the US version Honda Accord. Welcome to America.
In America we call Golf TDI tiny car for poor people. But then it's overpriced.

"Welcome to America".....Where the cars are supersized just like the people.

Ohh man, I've had to ride in the back seat of my friend's Jetta, and it was simply too damn small for anyone approaching a full-size adult.

Here's the rub: The Jetta (gasoline) weighs as much if not more than most mid-size sedans and tends to get *worse fuel economy.* I think the new Accord is too big, but at least it's still useful behind the "B" pillar.

If you really want to add icing on the cake, let's talk about that awesome German engineering...

I'e rode in my friends MK4 Jetta's front seat. It was comfortable if no one was behind me. With someone short behind me, my knees rested either on the glovebox and center console or on the Glovebox and airbag. She had no space behind me either...

I was no way comfortable with a rear passenger! I have to have the seat all the way down and all the way back to get comfortable int eh MK4!

I'm not that tall at 6'1" but my I feel bad for tall people like THEGRADUATE or anyone taller than me! Carshopping must be hard!

If it'll be just me 80% of the time, I wouldn't have a problem with the car. Since it is just me 80% of the time, maybe I should go back into looking at 2/3 door cars!

tC/cooper/GTI here I come!!
-Cj

This Jetta showcases the reason why the Jetta in general is the best selling German car in the States for decades now. Great cars, excellent values.

Its amazing that on a long term test on an old Jetta people still use blanket statements like "VW's are unreliable." Compared to what, a Hyundai Excel from 1986? There is a reason that the Golf (Jetta) is the second best selling car on the planet. If they were so bad...they wouldn't sell. People would buy something else instead.

Glad to see the auto publishers are finally getting it.

Compared to what? How about compared to a 91 Legacy. I have a friend with a 3 year old Jetta wagon TDI. I really like it and it cost half as much in fuel to run as my Legacy but it's not reliable.

We both bought our wagons at the same time, my was 15 years old and his was brand new. In the past 3 years he has had far more problems then I have (and I've done more miles).

None of the problems have been major but they are still annoying and not a good sign for the future.

I like VW's, I just don't trust VW's.

VW's are unreliable - Justin, look on Carsurvey- the 1999-2004 Jettas are nothing but frowny-faces. I've heard the same "that's because they don't take care of them" from VW apologists, but that doesn't explain things like a failing glove box door, stuck tail lights (seen on A4's too.) , radios crapping out, window regulators failing (because VW cheaped out and used plastic) , interior trim 'peeling' , or larger things like, you know, the transmission crapping out after 80k. Or the fact that repairing any such thing is a needlessly complex job. These aren't isolated- VW only sells them because initial quality impressions are excellent, their advertising is slick, and they're de-facto college girl cars.

The truth of the matter is that they're just hecho en Mexico overweight compacts with worse fuel efficiency than larger cars. (Go check the EPA ratings vs. the Altima and Accord... then the Civic!) The only products I know of as unreliable as VW's are the GM products I've personally owned. They were horrible, too.

Want to know why VW's don't sell well in the U.S. ? Because for the same money you can buy a Honda or Nissan- the former offering superior reliability, the latter offering superior driving dynamics. Both will outperform and outlast a VW.

Look at any... any... automotive survey and VW's bring up the rear. But, I'm very glad that Edmunds got what seems to be a reliable car because I'm so interested in how it does. So... sure it's [on average] less reliable than a Civic/Corolla and much heavier, but I think the nicer interior and excellent powertrain make up some of the difference there.

And was there someone here saying the back seat was big enough for 6' adults. I'm 6'0" and no. No. No way would I get in the back of that for anything longer than 10 minutes. I've been in one for a trip to lunch and that was too much.

"Golf is the most common family car in Europe. I don't know why Erin thinks the back seat is "squinchy". I have a friend who is over 6 ft tall and has a tall wife and a baby and he often drives with his wife, his baby AND his parents in the car. Their only car is a 2005 Golf TDI."

I'm 6'2" and I can assure you that 3 people can not fit comfortably in the back seat of my 2004 Golf TDI while I'm driving. Maybe, MAYBE, for a run to the corner store - thats it.

As for the reliability, My family has 2 x 2004 VW Golf TDIs bought within 5 months of each other. They have been problem free, touch wood, for their entire life. One was with me at university and was beat around for 3 years in cold Kingston, Ontario weather. So, I don't think its fair to say that they all have reliability issues -that or I got lucky, or I treated them well.

I think that 'problem' is maybe a little blown out of proportion.

dougtheeng, don't forget the baby seat. Large baby seat + two tall people in the back, two tall people in the front. No problem. An intimate setting for sure but so what?

I have done numerous long trips in compact cars loaded with people and luggage. I drove 10 hours to Canada with four adults and a baby in a baby seat in a BMW 325i. It was great. I drove 12000 miles to Alaska and back with four people, camping gear and a month worth of supplies in a Volvo 240 station wagon. I just don't see why people insist on using huge vans or SUVs. I have ridden in several SUVs and other than being extremely wide they offered very little usable space and extremely poor back seat comfort. I just don't get it.

Is that a Grand Cherokee parked in the 'compact' space next to the Jetta?

@VVK: the Volvo 240 is larger than most SUV's. Ironically, we owned one, and traded ours for a Ford Explorer. Best decision we ever made- the Volvo was unreliable (yes, we had a bad one, and boy was it ever bad) , and as a kid I always got carsick due to the poor ventilation in the back seat. Oh, and in the winter time, the Explorer could make it home, where the Volvo usually wound up in a ditch after failing to surmount even modest inclines.

If you think four adults and a baby seat were comfortable in a BMW325i I think they were either of Verne Troyer stature or just too polite. Not to mention you're driving a 'compact' that outweighs most mid-size sedans... I think the term is more 'space inefficient.' But nobody buys a BMW for space...

As usual, very pointed opinions about the reliability of the Mk4 Golf/Jetta. I had an 01 GTI turbo, and the only issue I had with it for the 63K miles I had it were the window regulators. VW covered it under warranty and I was quickly on my way, beating that little black beauty up and down the road.
As far as driving dynamics, mikeolan, the Altima has nothing on this VW chassis. I don't want to get into bench racing, but I've driven both the Altima and Jetta (and owned the GTI) of that generation, and the Altima, while okay, was not the equal of the VWs.

@Sgude: I'm not sure what year you're referring to, but if you're comparing 08's, I don't think there's a soul in the world that would call the bloated MKV's chassis anything close to superior - let alone equal - to the D platform Altima. Driving the Altima SE back to back with the Jetta was a world of difference- the later handling like a pig on skates... which is pretty much what it is.

I for one have never considered VWs really "fun to drive" but they are pretty composed. I do however like the materials quality and overall substantial feel of VW's. I would probably choose a Passat over the Accord.....probably.....

Going back to the fun to drive theme I think Hondas overall are more eager or willing to play than VW's but I do like that Germanic substance that VW's offer. Someone needs to combine those characteristics.....oh wait, BMW already has.

I've had my Golf TDI for 7 years and 172K miles. Problems have included the window regulators and the mass airflow sensor. Other than that, it's been an excellent car. As for rear seat room, I regularly drive the guys around here to lunch. As long as people in the front are considerate of the people in the back, no one is scrunched in. Granted, I wouldn't want to go on a long trip in it, but driving around town isn't too big a deal.

Would I buy another VW? Absolutely. As soon as there's a Rabbit TDI in showrooms, my Golf will be on the chopping block, and I'll have a new horse in the stable.

@Mikeolan: An 08 Jetta versus an 08 Altima? I'll take the Jetta. It isn't as sharp as an 08 GTI, but it is better for me than the Altima. And yes, I've driven the Altima -- it's a bit more floaty than what I thought it would be, and its suspension did not feel quite right. And full disclosure: at the time I had my 01 GTI, my wife had a 99 Maxima SE, which I loved as well. No bias here.