2019 Volkswagen Jetta

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Scout1

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Just finished 2 weeks of driving a 2019 Jetta while on vacation in South Carolina. Thought I'd share my impressions; The car was virtually new when I got it with only 400 miles on the odo and I put close to 2000 miles on it. It had the 1.4 L turbo and 8 speed dual-clutch automatic. Not a bad car overall, comfortable, low wind noise so nice when cruising down the highway, decent suspension, big trunk and fairly nice interior. Nice backup camera and lane assist warning plus follow-to-close warning. It may have had auto breaking, but I'm not sure. I did have a chime and display warning go off when I came up on someone too quickly but I was applying the breaks hard at that point so I'm not sure if the car helped or not.

Overall, the drive-train was a bit disappointing. While it had plenty of power it was pretty noisy when pushed. The programming on the trans really keeps the RPMs low and it really lugs this little engine in order to get fuel economy. Speaking of which, fuel economy was pretty good. The dashboard MPG readout often had the MPG showing in the mid 40's for individual trips but I only averaged just over 38 on each tank when I filled up and calculated it by hand.

I kept it in "sport mode" which raised the RPM's by about 300 or so and kept it just under 2000 RPM under most conditions. But for a "sport" mode, it still shifts really early. I also frequently shifted it into manual mode to pick a better gear for various cruising conditions. Jerkiness was another issue. You felt every downshift when coming to a stop. On normal acceleration, it would often feel like it was bogging due to the early shifts but then when you press the accelerator further to gain some speed it would lurch forward as it downshifted. Kinda difficult to drive smoothly.

Finally, it does have the start-stop feature so it turns off at stop lights pretty regularly. Unfortunately, when it stops it lurches a bit. There was a button to defeat the feature but it has to be pushed every time you start the car, default is enabled. So overall, not a bad little car but some rough edges with the drive-train...
 
The transmission is an Aisin 8 speed "conventional" automatic and is a jerky mess, it would seem, regardless of what car it is installed in.
 
You can permanently disable the start stop on a VW or Audi if you have the proper cable and VCDS.

Many modern automatics have programed shift points to provide maximum fuel economy.
I think VW has had a few issues with some automatic transmissions in the 2019 Jetta.


In the small chance someone here has a VW or Audi and wants to do away with the start stop feature...
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
The transmission is an Aisin 8 speed "conventional" automatic and is a jerky mess, it would seem, regardless of what car it is installed in.

I didn't realize that... I thought they were still using dual clutch autos. When did they start using the Aisin?
 
Originally Posted by skyactiv
They still use the DSG in some vehicles. The GTI and the Golf Alltrack as an example.

Yes, in some vehicles. It is a 7 speed though, made by BW.

The 8 speed automatic is an Aisin, and I think the 6 speed before it was made by Jatco.
 
Originally Posted by Scout1
Overall, the drive-train was a bit disappointing. While it had plenty of power it was pretty noisy when pushed. The programming on the trans really keeps the RPMs low and it really lugs this little engine in order to get fuel economy. Speaking of which, fuel economy was pretty good. The dashboard MPG readout often had the MPG showing in the mid 40's for individual trips but I only averaged just over 38 on each tank when I filled up and calculated it by hand.

I kept it in "sport mode" which raised the RPM's by about 300 or so and kept it just under 2000 RPM under most conditions. But for a "sport" mode, it still shifts really early. I also frequently shifted it into manual mode to pick a better gear for various cruising conditions. Jerkiness was another issue. You felt every downshift when coming to a stop. On normal acceleration, it would often feel like it was bogging due to the early shifts but then when you press the accelerator further to gain some speed it would lurch forward as it downshifted. Kinda difficult to drive smoothly.
It sucks that auto trans are programmed this way now, what's the point of having an 8 speed if the shift logic is going to lug every gear. I like that they put small turbo engines in these economy cars now, extra 25% power with just a tune.
 
"Extra 25% power with a tune." Yes but Ithink this is part of the reason that car companies dislike or deny warranties. Tweaking or upgrading the performance but at what line does it fall onto the customer. I sold VW's for a short while, as I started 3 weeks before Diesel gate which killed sales for even trained salespeople. But i really like the DSG transmission over the conventional any day of the week. Unfortunately people complained that it acts too much like a manual transmission (essentially it is). That and 40,000 mile serving is pricey.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by skyactiv
They still use the DSG in some vehicles. The GTI and the Golf Alltrack as an example.

Yes, in some vehicles. It is a 7 speed though, made by BW.

The 8 speed automatic is an Aisin, and I think the 6 speed before it was made by Jatco.


The 6 speed in the previous 2 generations was also made by Aisin. We have that unit in our Jetta.
 
Thanks for your review. My MIL recently purchased one of these is in the mid level SE trim. Overall I like the car a lot. I also noticed the jerky downshifts and "early" shifting automatic. Neither of these characteristics bother me, I appreciate the high fuel economy it delivers and the jerkiness is nothing new. Our 2014 Jetta with the 6 speed Aisin drives very similarly.

For the price these are an absolute bargain compared to the competition. VW packs a lot of value in the Jetta. Whenever it's time to trade in my wife's Jetta we may get one of these. Hopefully they have the bugs worked out by then.
 
Originally Posted by gregk24
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by skyactiv
They still use the DSG in some vehicles. The GTI and the Golf Alltrack as an example.

Yes, in some vehicles. It is a 7 speed though, made by BW.

The 8 speed automatic is an Aisin, and I think the 6 speed before it was made by Jatco.


The 6 speed in the previous 2 generations was also made by Aisin. We have that unit in our Jetta.

You're right. The 5 speed was Jatco.

Seems everyone makes or has made a box for VW. BW, Getrag, Aisin, ZF, Jatco...
 
So a Japanese transmission ruined an otherwise good German car?
lol.gif
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by skyactiv
They still use the DSG in some vehicles. The GTI and the Golf Alltrack as an example.

Yes, in some vehicles. It is a 7 speed though, made by BW.

The 8 speed automatic is an Aisin, and I think the 6 speed before it was made by Jatco.

Well my 2015 Jetta Se 1.8t has a Aisin 6 speed .Not one issue but i service it .
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by skyactiv
They still use the DSG in some vehicles. The GTI and the Golf Alltrack as an example.

Yes, in some vehicles. It is a 7 speed though, made by BW.

The 8 speed automatic is an Aisin, and I think the 6 speed before it was made by Jatco.

Well my 2015 Jetta Se 1.8t has a Aisin 6 speed .Not one issue but i service it .
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by skyactiv
They still use the DSG in some vehicles. The GTI and the Golf Alltrack as an example.

Yes, in some vehicles. It is a 7 speed though, made by BW.


The GTI and Golf Alltrack still have the optional 6-speed DSG. The Golf R is the one with available 7-speed DSG.
 
Originally Posted by NothingNew
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by skyactiv
They still use the DSG in some vehicles. The GTI and the Golf Alltrack as an example.

Yes, in some vehicles. It is a 7 speed though, made by BW.

The GTI and Golf Alltrack still have the optional 6-speed DSG. The Golf R is the one with available 7-speed DSG.

The GTI has had a 7 speed DSG since the release of the MK7.
 
My old but new then, 67Beetle, simple, always started, mileage, maybe 25mpg, can't remember,--you could get air on it, but we never did...was 1900 dollars with tax out the door,,,, yes you are right,,that was yesterday and yesterdays gone...............memories..
 
Originally Posted by gregk24
Thanks for your review. My MIL recently purchased one of these is in the mid level SE trim. Overall I like the car a lot. I also noticed the jerky downshifts and "early" shifting automatic. Neither of these characteristics bother me, I appreciate the high fuel economy it delivers and the jerkiness is nothing new. Our 2014 Jetta with the 6 speed Aisin drives very similarly.

For the price these are an absolute bargain compared to the competition. VW packs a lot of value in the Jetta. Whenever it's time to trade in my wife's Jetta we may get one of these. Hopefully they have the bugs worked out by then.


I agree, Jettas are an attractive option. It would be so much better though with just a little reprogramming of the transmission. Even though sport mode kept the engine running a little bit faster, it would still lug down below 1500 when cruising. That's why I kept grabbing the manual shift to pop it down a gear. In Sport mode, it should keep it up around 2000 I think. That and reprogram it to downshift a bit more smoothly so it doesn't throw your head forward every downshift! It's kinda like having warped rotors as you roll to a stop!
 
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