My week with a 2006 Jetta TDI vs my Jetta 1.8T
I had the opportunity to drive a brand new 2006 Jetta TDI. My current car is the previous model Jetta with the 1.8T gas turbo engine and I have to say it was a real pleasure to drive around and only put in $26 worth of gas for the week compared to the $46+++ of premium fuel that I would normally put in for my Jetta.
I absolutely love my 2003 Jetta (well except for the premium gas consumption and a couple of other little things) and when I saw the new design of the Jetta's I really disliked them. VW did such an incredable job designing a classic car for the previous models that I knew it would be a hard one to beat but if anyone could do it VW could.
Well I was wrong! They killed the car. It looks too aggresive in the front end, the side looks like any other standard Japanese vehicle and the backend looks like a Toyota Corolla. I've always disliked the look of a generic looking car like the Corolla so this new design was horrifc, especially when my lease with VW is coming up soon. My first thought was "what am I going to choose next, now that I won't be buying another Jetta"
Now that the design has worn on me and I have driven it I still dislike the car. I have listed a few likes and dislikes that may help some people with their decision.
Likes:
-The Trunk space
-The automatic pop-up trunk lid
-The adjustable and wider armrest
-The gear shift knob
-The pass thru, thru the rear seat. Great for the lumber I need to unexpectedly haul back home for an emergency fix.
Dislikes:
-The rear view window visability. In a parking lot this car be hazardous!! Plus the wide head rests impede the view as well. When I back up I always turn my head and put my arm around the seat and when I did this, I had to lift my butt off of the seat to see around the driver's side head rest to get a good look of where I was backing up.
-The interior finishes - Looks like the interior of an old Honda Civic or somthing. Looks like the Interior Car Designer had a fight with the Exterior Car designer cause the dash at the front windsheild is half finished. Maybe it is a safety thing but it looks ridiculous. The dash slops toward the front windshield but because of the downward slop, they put another separate strip of dashboard along the bottom of the front windsheild to finish it off. Looks strange and unfinished. Again there might be a safty funtion to it but it looks like the Interior Car Designer had to make his design work with the Exterior Car Design. Weird.
-The speedometer numbers are too close together. When I'm doing 60 it is very easy to all of a sudden being doing 80 cause I'm used to the speedometer being in 10km/hr increments, not 20's.
- The tint of the glass is too blue. It makes the outside look kind of drery even when it is a nice sunny day like we had last week.
-The excelerator pedal is very "clicky" when I move my foot from gas to break, gas to break, the pedal feels whimpy "plasticky" and you can hear it to when you move your foot from gas to break. Sounds and feels cheap.
- The gas flap cover wouldn't close after I filled it up. Both my friend (who works for a high-end german car manufacture in the quality dept.) & I looked at it and tried to see what the problem was and it looks like the metal piece inside the body of the car that hangs onto the flap when closed, was not in postion to catch the flap and click it closed. We tried to modify it but to know avail. Very cheap design. Even the hidges on the gas flap were not very sturdy.
I love VW but I'm just disappointed that they feel through on this one.
P.S. I would love it if they brought back the VW Bus in the same reto style as the 60's version. In an optional 4x4 and ethenol fuel version. Full doors that open on the side and tones of space in the back to easily through in a couple of bikes, camping gear and luggage without much fuss.
Cheers!