2019 Jetta 1.4t Rental Review

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I had work in Des Moines last week and the boss wanted me to rent a car instead of driving (so much for making some mileage money) so I got a 2019 Jetta with the 1.4t

Not a bad car, but not much to recommend it. It did get great fuel economy. I think I averaged well over 40MPG on the highway. I probably drove about 850 miles on the highway and less than 100 around town during my rental.

The infotainment system paired with my iPhone XR without drama and I was able to use Waze and two different audiobook applications during my drive.

Visibility seemed good for cars of today. The back up camera seems slow to return to whatever function was in progress prior to engaging reverse.

Acceleration is lazy until you really put your foot in it and spool up the turbo. I"m sure the small displacement contributes to the lack of initial torque. However, put your foot 3/4s of fhe way to the mat and the car will move.

The transmission must have been one of the DSG type units. If not, it certainly had a noticeable downshift when coming to a stop.

I did appreciate the easy ability to disable the auto stop as the button is right next to the floor mounted shift lever. I never felt the need to disable it during my drive, unlike a GM implementation I had last month in San Diego.

Ample room for passenger and a large trunk.

Steering didn't seem to match my experience with other German cars. My Mazda3 feels more German than did this Jetta.

A couple of instrument panel photos for the BITOG crowd, including the available oil temperature status. I did not see the temp rise above 220 degrees F during my rental.

[Linked Image]

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This is probably the best bang for the buck for an entry level car nowadays. I would say Mazda3 but there is a gap of 2-3 thousand dollars to purchase new in real life. There are some other cheaper vehicles to be had but you just have to rest your backside in them for 5 seconds to realize they are not worthy.
 
I can't see in the pics if this thing had paddle-shifters. If so, did you try them out? If not, how was acceleration using any other available manual-mode?

It sounds like this thing might be decently fun if the revs are kept up manually to lower spool time.

//

I also have an XR. What a great phone! Cheap, fast and the LCD screen is fine for me (as opposed to tHE OLED in higher-end phones)
 
The Jetta 1.4 comes with a conventional automatic. Only the GLI has a DSG transmission and a rear independent suspension.
I will note the electric power steering in a 2012 Mazda3 my wife owned was better than the electric steering in a 2013 GTI I once owned.
The electric power steering in my Elantra Sport sucks compared to my GTI.
 
Let me collect notes from above.

No paddle shifters. There was a manual mode on the center console floor shifter, but I never used it. So I cannot speak about acceleration in any such mode.

Surprised it wasn't a DSG as I could sense the downshift from time to time when I came to a stop, not unlike downshifting a manual through the gears.

Probably not a bad bang for the buck vehicle. It was missing some of the configuration features one would like to see. I could find no way to set up the remote locks to just unlock the whole car with one press of the remote. I would press the button twice and still have only the drivers door open. Really annoying when I'm trying to toss my laptop bag in the backseat and had to press the button several more times to get all four doors to open. Especially with it being -3F in Des Moines, so I'd like to minimize the amount of time I'm spending with my glove off my hand. Who knows the state of the remote as the car probably had a fair bit of use with it having 23k miles on it by the time I returned it.

I do understand people might want the option to just unlock the drivers door. I'd just like to be able to choose like we can with our Toyota. I saw no such option on the infotainment system. But I could customize the greeting that appeared in the center of the instrument cluster when I turned the key. I resisted the urge to put some sort of Red Foreman greeting in the system for the next renter.

The only manual rental car I've ever had in the US was one from Thrifty in Baltimore when they happened to have a Neon ACR that was a real manual transmission.

Not sure one can get a true, three pedal manual rental these days. Heck, you can hardly find a true three pedal manual new car today.
 
You can set the locks on the VW to do what you want. https://www.vwserviceandparts.com/digital-resources/online-owners-manual/
google a 2019 Jetta vin number and enter in the VW website if you really wann find out.

Something cool about VW and Audi vehicles made in the past several years is VCDS. With a cable and VCDS software, you can find all sorts of hidden VW tricks like permanently disabling start/stop,
using your keyfob to open and close the windows, enabling the the hazard lights to flash during a panic stop, DRL disable and many more.
 
I had an Audi A4 with the same engine/gearbox for a year and echo your comments 100% - it doesnt move out of its own way until boost threshold is reached and it transmutates into a scalded cat! well equipped and well comfortable but at that combination of kerb weight and swept volume I'd want a TDI for daily duties
 
I am a bit perplexed about the power comments, I find the opposite to be true it has almost immediate torque off idle and runs out of steam up top. What I could find online pre purchase said something like 1400 rpm on up pretty much flat torque curve, and that's what it feels like.

Not sure if official but it's rumored the R-Line May have a manual option in 2020.
 
Well, I do drive a 2.5L Mazda3 and a 4.6L Grand Marquis, so 1.4L before the boost isn't very much torque.

The Mazda is a true stick, so it just seems to go without effort.

But I had to give the VW 3/4s throttle to get brisk acceleration. No need to press the pedal so much on my two daily drivers.

However, to be fair, it had no problem cruising at between 70 and 80 on Midwestern rolling hills while returning ~40+ MPG on the highway.


Originally Posted by DuckRyder
I am a bit perplexed about the power comments, I find the opposite to be true it has almost immediate torque off idle and runs out of steam up top. What I could find online pre purchase said something like 1400 rpm on up pretty much flat torque curve, and that's what it feels like.

Not sure if official but it's rumored the R-Line May have a manual option in 2020.
 
VW went full Japanese in last few years with models that are not GTI, GLI or R. They are trying to compete with other appliance vehicles and further distance Audi from it. How successful that will be is still the question.
1.4T has Aisin 8 speed and that transmission has some sketchy record when it comes to programming.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
VW went full Japanese in last few years with models that are not GTI, GLI or R. They are trying to compete with other appliance vehicles and further distance Audi from it. How successful that will be is still the question.
1.4T has Aisin 8 speed and that transmission has some sketchy record when it comes to programming.
They are going to become the German Subaru.
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by edyvw
VW went full Japanese in last few years with models that are not GTI, GLI or R. They are trying to compete with other appliance vehicles and further distance Audi from it. How successful that will be is still the question.
1.4T has Aisin 8 speed and that transmission has some sketchy record when it comes to programming.
They are going to become the German Subaru.

That is only for US market. VW is separating European models and US models drastically.
In Europe, it is business as usual.
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by edyvw
VW went full Japanese in last few years with models that are not GTI, GLI or R. They are trying to compete with other appliance vehicles and further distance Audi from it. How successful that will be is still the question.
1.4T has Aisin 8 speed and that transmission has some sketchy record when it comes to programming.
They are going to become the German Subaru.

Meh, VW in many aspects is what GM wanted to be. Masters at cost-cutting and platform sharing. I was in a new Jetta and it lacked the VW feel. It felt like a Toyota but more solidly made.
 
Originally Posted by nthach
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by edyvw
VW went full Japanese in last few years with models that are not GTI, GLI or R. They are trying to compete with other appliance vehicles and further distance Audi from it. How successful that will be is still the question.
1.4T has Aisin 8 speed and that transmission has some sketchy record when it comes to programming.
They are going to become the German Subaru.

Meh, VW in many aspects is what GM wanted to be. Masters at cost-cutting and platform sharing. I was in a new Jetta and it lacked the VW feel. It felt like a Toyota but more solidly made.

That is what their intention is, in the US, to compete with Toyota, Honda etc. In Europe they are sticking to their old philosophy.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by nthach
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by edyvw
VW went full Japanese in last few years with models that are not GTI, GLI or R. They are trying to compete with other appliance vehicles and further distance Audi from it. How successful that will be is still the question.
1.4T has Aisin 8 speed and that transmission has some sketchy record when it comes to programming.
They are going to become the German Subaru.

Meh, VW in many aspects is what GM wanted to be. Masters at cost-cutting and platform sharing. I was in a new Jetta and it lacked the VW feel. It felt like a Toyota but more solidly made.

That is what their intention is, in the US, to compete with Toyota, Honda etc. In Europe they are sticking to their old philosophy.


What philosophy is that? Aren't they going full on EV in Europe?
 
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