Originally Posted By: stephen9666
Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
Last time I looked at a Jetta must have been around 2009...
It was just a bit too tight inside for my very large frame.. chest width, no gut...
I was very impressed as all doors and the trunk shut with bank vault solidity.
Awesome. Are they still like that now?
You looked at a MK5. 2010 was the last year for the MK5, which was a real Euro VW.
The MK6 was a major cost-cutting exercise for VW. It's a cheapened model aimed at the US and China. They made it worse in every way except back seat size. Cheap interior, outdated 2.0 engine brought out of retirement for low-end models, less advanced suspension on most examples.
The MK6 was pretty bad when released in 2011, but they've done a pretty good job of polishing that turd. They've finally updated the engine and suspension on even the low-end ones (I think). The interior is still pretty lame, however.
The next Jetta will be on the MQB platform and should be a lot better, but it's still a ways out for us.
Its not all bad, like you said in 2014 they upgraded to fully independent suspension and replaced the 2.5 in mid to higher trim models with the 1.8 TSI. I hear a lot of people complaining about the hard plastic interior, I get that...but understand your getting a sub $20,000 car with a great engine and superior driving dynamics compared to others in its class, its also loaded with features. They had to cut costs somewhere and they did that with the hard plastics. Having said that, the plastics hold up VERY well and everything is screwed together nicely. This paired with the leatherette seating should keep the interior looking new for years.
Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
Last time I looked at a Jetta must have been around 2009...
It was just a bit too tight inside for my very large frame.. chest width, no gut...
I was very impressed as all doors and the trunk shut with bank vault solidity.
Awesome. Are they still like that now?
You looked at a MK5. 2010 was the last year for the MK5, which was a real Euro VW.
The MK6 was a major cost-cutting exercise for VW. It's a cheapened model aimed at the US and China. They made it worse in every way except back seat size. Cheap interior, outdated 2.0 engine brought out of retirement for low-end models, less advanced suspension on most examples.
The MK6 was pretty bad when released in 2011, but they've done a pretty good job of polishing that turd. They've finally updated the engine and suspension on even the low-end ones (I think). The interior is still pretty lame, however.
The next Jetta will be on the MQB platform and should be a lot better, but it's still a ways out for us.
Its not all bad, like you said in 2014 they upgraded to fully independent suspension and replaced the 2.5 in mid to higher trim models with the 1.8 TSI. I hear a lot of people complaining about the hard plastic interior, I get that...but understand your getting a sub $20,000 car with a great engine and superior driving dynamics compared to others in its class, its also loaded with features. They had to cut costs somewhere and they did that with the hard plastics. Having said that, the plastics hold up VERY well and everything is screwed together nicely. This paired with the leatherette seating should keep the interior looking new for years.
