At the mercy of our editorial staff's hands (and feet), our Jetta TDI with 66,089 miles on the clock has been holding up fairly well. Underway, nothing (such as the steering or front suspension) feels loose or rattles. The engine pulls smoothly and the TDI will run at 80 mph on the freeway quietly and without straining. The V-dub's doors shut with a solid thunk and none of the switchgear feels worse for wear. Overall, we're pretty happy.
Impressive as that all is, in addition to the previously mentioned exfoliating armrest I noticed some wear on the left side bolster of the driver's seat. This is understandably a common wear spot caused by people constantly sliding across the bolster as they get in and out of the seat. But we'd hope this wouldn't happen until the odo showed six figures and it left us wondering how this wear-prone area would've faired if our car had the optional leather seats...
John DiPietro, Automotive Editor @ 66,089 miles.
jkp1187 says:
05:51 PM, 01/ 5/09
Bet it wouldn't have shown any wear if you had the leatherette (which is now standard on the 2009 TDI).
firstwagon says:
06:07 PM, 01/ 5/09
I'd rather have wear on cloth seats then put up with vinyl seats (A.K.A. "leatherette").
That sucked even on a 1981 base K-car.
mustang5507 says:
06:40 PM, 01/ 5/09
one of my good friends has an 03 1.8T, and it's leather has worn pretty well. The downside with his car is that it has suffered from the typical German electronic failures.
clarkma5 says:
06:42 PM, 01/ 5/09
firstwagon, "leatherette" has improved so much in just the last 5 years that I'd say I'd rather have it over leather in most cars that offer it.
Anyway, I've owned two MkIV VWs...a 2002 with leather that I ditched after just 10,700 miles and my current 2004 with cloth that I still have pushing 45,000 miles...I take way better car of both cars that you guys ever would, giving them a full interior detail everytime I wash it (which averages every 2-3 weeks). After 10,700 miles, even with judicious and consistent use of leather cleaner and conditioner, the leather in my 2002 looked cracked, misshaped, and worn. The cloth in my 2004 looks brand new.
firstwagon says:
08:30 PM, 01/ 5/09
I agree cloth is better then leather. The cloth on my 1991 Legacy (and 95 Grand Cherokee) is in great shape. It doesn't freeze my butt in the winter nor does it make my back sweat in the summer.
Leatherette may be better then old vinyl (and even real leather) but it doesn't beat good cloth.
MS3lvr92 says:
09:41 PM, 01/ 5/09
Good to hear the Jetta is holding up nicely. How long do you guys plan to keep it in the fleet?
dougtheeng says:
06:09 AM, 01/ 6/09
There is similar wear on the seats in my family's 3 x 2004 Golf TDIs. However, we have the black seats so the wear/fade is not as noticeable. Overall, the seats look much better then the light colored option.
dougtheeng says:
06:09 AM, 01/ 6/09
correction: we have 2 x 2004 Golf TDIs, not 3. boo edit function.
milt721 says:
08:26 AM, 01/ 6/09
+1 for firstwagon's comments. I'll take cloth over leather almost every time. Too bad most automakers include leather standard with upper trim levels and offer no cloth "option." I always have to step down to a lower trim level to get cloth (as well as a stick shift in most cases). Oh well, less money for the automaker/dealer more money for me. You'd think they would want to maximize profit, but oh well. However, I do like leather seats with a suede insert like the optional seats on a dodge charger/chrysler 300.
johnnyturbo says:
08:42 AM, 01/ 6/09
I too prefer cloth upholstery to leather as it's warmer in winter and cooler in summer. However, as with milt721, I do like seats with suede or Alcantara inserts too.
That said, I'm guessing the leatherette (that's German for very high quality vinyl) in our '09 Jetta TDI will hold up quite well.
estreka says:
01:04 PM, 01/ 6/09
Remember the blog James did with all the vids of him testing the interior material? LT should do that again with this car. I found that very insightful.
carfreak8394 says:
05:30 PM, 01/ 6/09
I like leather MUCH better than cloth, especially here in Florida. It's a lot more comfortable, and it's easier to clean. That's just my opinion, though.
dougtheeng says:
05:46 AM, 01/ 7/09
I wish my MINI had cloth, not the leatherette. Though, after 25,000kms, the Leatherette looks pretty much like day 1. My Lancer GTS looks worn after 17,000 and it had cloth.