During this week's road trip to Vegas, I was very content in our 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI's driver seat. The driving position in this car is more ergonomically right than in any car I've driven in the last year or two. There's nothing I don't like about it, and I didn't use the cruise control at all during the trip -- a rarity for me -- because my right foot and leg didn't need a break.
The seat itself is on the firm side and that suits me just fine. It's a pretty flat seat, but there's some shaping to it, and for interstate cruising, you don't need much lateral bolstering anyway.
The only thing I find (slightly) problematic about the front seats is the strange mix of manual and power adjustments.
In domestic brand cars, you'll often see power fore/aft and seat-height adjustment coupled with manual recline. In our 2009 VW Jetta, it's the opposite. I think I prefer VW's setup, actually, but it required some mental recalibration.
On the passenger side, it's a little weirder. You have a manual lever for seat-back recline and it's oddly located. Correction after the fact: You have a strange combination of a lever for seat-back folding (circled) with a rotary knob for seat-back recline stuffed behind it. On the plus side, there's height adjustment -- something the passenger usually must do without in this price range.
Given the choice, I'd much rather have one of VW's old rotary knobs for this adjustment.
So how did I do on fuel economy on the trip? About as well as you'd expect a reckless Smart driver to do. The Jetta TDI has incredible range of course. I started the trip with half a tank, refueled on the way up in Barstow, CA, and didn't go near a gas station until this morning, at which point the DTE meter was showing 65 miles remaining.
On this 455-mile tank, I averaged 34.9 mpg against a 29 city/40 highway EPA rating. Keep in mind this included a 45-minute delay due to construction on I-15 at the California stateline, and a two-hour slog from San Bernardino to Santa Monica. The rest of the time I drove as quickly as conditions and conscience allowed.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 4,142 miles
pezzy669 says:
11:18 AM, 11/ 7/08
Don't know if they deconteded the '09+ but the lever you are referencing is to fold the seatback forward to a flat position. There should be the typical VW rotary knob right behind that lever to adjust the seat back.
eriches says:
12:19 PM, 11/ 7/08
Ah, you're right, pezzy. I was hasty to arrive at judgment and stand corrected. (I will make a note in the main text.) I didn't actually sit in that seat but was present as someone else struggled a bit with the recline adjustment.
starbird says:
12:49 PM, 11/ 7/08
you should try a Saab 9-3. Most comfortable seats I've had in any car.
mopar424 says:
01:15 PM, 11/ 7/08
The rotary knob for seat recline is a horrible design. Way to cumbersome and awkward to adjust when you are sitting. A regular lever, like every other car will work just fine.
vvk says:
01:29 PM, 11/ 7/08
starbird, except SAAB 9-5 seats, of course :)
pezzy669 says:
01:39 PM, 11/ 7/08
mopar424
It took me a good couple months to get used to the rotary knob. IMO its better than the handle that will throw you back in no time flat......not to mention its infinitely adjustable.
7driver says:
02:12 PM, 11/ 7/08
Power fore-aft often has the advantage of controls reachable from outside the car, which is useful for when you share driving duties with someone a lot shorter than you and the seat is jammed to the wheel. With most manual fore-aft seats in that situation, you have to origami yourself into the car before you can reach the adjuster under the thigh bolster.
mercedesfan says:
02:41 PM, 11/ 7/08
A good friend of mine has one of the current generation Jettas and I think its a really nice car, but who in the heck decided that it would be a good idea to design door handles that have to be pulled twice to open the door (once to unlock and once to actually open). That is the single dumbest design I have ever seen. Strangely enough a Tiguan I rode in just last month did not have this feature, my friend's Jetta is a 2007 have they changed this for 2009?
pezzy669 says:
03:00 PM, 11/ 7/08
mercedesfan:
The back doors are the only ones that require 2 pulls to open.
hondacura4 says:
03:16 PM, 11/ 7/08
You just have to love the way VW executes an interior.
pezzy669 says:
04:00 PM, 11/ 7/08
hondacura4:
They do it quite well don't they?
autoboy16 says:
04:16 PM, 11/ 7/08
I miss the Dual Zone Automatic AC VW Discontinued between 08-09... Not only was it more comfortable to use, but it had a much classier/upscale look to it.
The only other thing I dislike/like on this jetta is the rising at the end of the cowl. Its bad because it makes it harder to see ahead of you and almost ackward (IMO). Good because it makes it look more upscale because you cannot see the front wipers.
Finally, Is there any test drive videos coming up on this car? What about performance testing that seemed to have ceased on the more recent long term cars... And those videos don't quite work anymore on the older cars anyways...
-Cj
empowah says:
08:53 PM, 11/ 7/08
Agreed on the driving position. When you sell 26 million of something, you have to make sure to get these things right.
huyracing says:
10:51 PM, 11/ 7/08
weird adjustment indeed, but its far safer of a design. vw is all about safety. i've only seen the rotary knob adjustment on racing seats prior... and like these i hate it. good thing i only have to adjust it once.
hondacura4 says:
12:21 AM, 11/ 8/08
"They do it quite well don't they?"
Very well!
blueguydotcom says:
01:26 AM, 11/ 8/08
Very comfy car. I was impressed by the improvements VW has made to the Jetta from the last generation I owned.
seppoboy says:
05:03 AM, 11/10/08
I drive a 2006 Jetta TDI Pkg 1, and while I can agree with the driving position being excellent, the seat shape is actually one of my very few quibbles with the car.
The seat back is shaped in a way that does not suit my back, it makes contact at the shoulder blades with no lumbar support. The seat is still reasonably comfortable, but not quite ideal. My 1985 GTI, and 1997 Audi and BMW seats were all pretty much ideal.
The worst feature of the car has to be the HVAC, the least satisfactory airflow control in any car I've owned since 1970's era models. Air conditioning is fine, but with the compressor off the airflow is weak and can only be directed in two directions.
Even my 1985 GTI could put out great volumes of air in the footwell, face level, and to the windshield simultaneously. The Audi and BMW of course had automated systems, not comparable to a simple manual system.
Also, in colder weather the temperature of heated air seems to vary in ways not related to engine load or any other factor I can notice, so it's hard to keep the cabin consistently comfortable, especially given the weak airflow.
In every other respect, it's a really well-designed and usefully-configured car that is quite satisfying to drive and both trouble-free and economical. I suspect you will discover the same with your test car using the newer TDI engine.
dougtheeng says:
06:12 AM, 11/10/08
Great car and gorgeous interior, though I prefer the interior of the previous generation. I like the blue/red lighting, very cool.
genius163 says:
04:08 PM, 11/11/08
Erin, when I read the title, I knew you were the author.
-Michelle
ucla95 says:
06:59 AM, 11/23/08
Just test drove a Jetta TDI and I thought the seats were the MOST UNCOMFORTABLE I'd ever been in a long long time.