Comparison review: five compact sporty sedans (Third place)

The 2009 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 is a good mainstream economy sedan masquerading as a premium one. See more photos of the Jetta in today's slideshow. 

The idea behind the Volkswagen Jetta is a strong one: the feeling of solidity and quality of a traditional German luxury car wrapped in a compact package and priced on the high end of the small car class. Even though that package wouldn’t promise outright sportiness, such a Jetta would certainly offer excellent driving dynamics to go with its refinement. 

Alas, that sort of Jetta is not quite what Volkswagen is selling. 

The Jetta does indeed offer a nicer interior than the other four cars in this comparison, but it’s still not rich-feeling. The firm ride loses composure over repeated bumps, yet the Jetta’s over-light steering and its porky 3,200+ pounds of mass interfere with its agility. And its five-cylinder engine sounds unpleasant and provides unimpressive acceleration along with mediocre gas mileage.  

On the whole, the Jetta is comfortable and practical and has a nice interior, but the experience it provides is more like a pleasant mainstream economy car than the premium ones it is priced alongside. 

Inside the car, drivers get very comfortable front seats that are well-shaped to offer good lateral support yet whose bolsters don’t interfere with getting in and out of the car. These seats are finished with a high-quality cloth on the base model Jetta driven for this review; other trims come standard with convincing imitation leather. But although most materials in the interior are higher quality than in the average small car, the interior’s design is more straightforward than luxurious, giving more of an ambiance of nice-mainstream than truly premium. 

One clear advantage the Jetta has over similar-sized cars is its trunk, which beats the averaged midsize family sedan at 16 cubic feet. But its interior dimensions are otherwise firmly in the compact class, with a rear seat that’s high-mounted and comfortable but offers little extra stretch-out space. There are few sedans remaining on the market that don’t offer acceptable comfort for four adult passengers, mind you, but the Jetta’s volume is within the norm for its class. 

SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THE JETTA IN TODAY'S SLIDESHOW

The Jetta’s driving dynamics also remain firmly within the econocar norm, without the extra level of ride quality, powertrain refinement, or handling agility Volkswagen pitches for its product. That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, as today’s economy cars drive very well. But as a nicely-equipped Jetta costs nearly $20,000, it would have needed to be more special. 

The ride quality of a good midsize car instead of a good compact car certainly could have helped the Jetta feel special. The otherwise junky-feeling Chevrolet Cobalt compact sedan (read review) benchmarked the previous-generation Jetta’s ride quality – sold from 1999 to 2005 – yet beats Volkswagen’s current offering at providing the ride of a bigger, more solid car. Some have said that European cars are tuned to provide a high level of stability at triple-digit speeds on the Autobahn, but such a capability is both difficult for a car reviewer to evaluate and for a Jetta owner to use anywhere in North America. 

As far as sportiness, the Jetta’s primary strength is wide availability of a manual transmission, which some brands’ dealerships are often reluctant to stock. That transmission – a five-speed on 2.5-liter Jettas – has short throws but doesn’t have the direct feel you’d find in a good sporty car; it’s more disconnected from the mechanical act of a gear change. 

The shifter certainly looks the part, at least; its appearance is one of the interior’s few visual upgrades over the average compact car, where a stick shift is more likely to be sold to a bargain hunter than someone looking for a sports sedan. Short and stubby and with a well-shaped knob, it’s firmly in the European style and not at all unlike what you would find in an Audi. 

The Jetta’s engine, however, wouldn’t be found on any premium car. It sounds coarse and gets loud too quickly, even as it is already hesitant to rev and does not accelerate the car with the sort of punch that a stick shift, five cylinders, and 170 horsepower might suggest it should. It can’t even be blamed on the car’s weight, as there are heavier midsize sedans with similar specs that feel punchier. It can’t be blamed on an effort to maximize gas mileage either, as some of those midsize sedans also beat the Jetta’s fuel efficiency. 

The Jetta is also offered with a four-cylinder diesel engine that doesn’t return strong acceleration but gets exceptional gas mileage, with an EPA rating of 10 miles per gallon more than the 2.5-liter’s estimated 24 mpg in mixed driving. (Read review of the diesel Jetta TDI) There is also a punchy turbocharged four-cylinder that requires premium fuel but exceeds the slower five-cylinder’s gas mileage, but this engine’s availability is barely more than theoretical under $25,000. 

Changes in direction in the Jetta feel more like a Toyota Corolla than a German luxury sports sedan, with steering that neither has the appropriate heft nor response to live up to that billing. The Jetta’s suspension is adequately sorted to get the car around tight, fast corners, but it feels larger than it is and does not feel rewarding to drive. Other reviewers have said the even pricier GLI version, which includes the turbocharged engine, is a big step up. 

Prices have been mentioned frequently in this review because Volkswagen is of the mind that it can charge a premium over similar vehicles for the European-style driving experience it purports to offer. Volkswagen also matches some luxury brands in offering three years (or 36,000 miles) of no-cost scheduled maintenance under its "carefree" program, though Edmunds.com has suggested that the company's dealers aren't necessary being careful with the free-maintenance vehicles. The window sticker on the Jetta driven for this review included the justification “because it’s better” near the car’s price. 

The Jetta outranked the Subaru Impreza and Kia Forte in this comparison because it is indeed better than they are. But that is not as much because of Volkswagen’s excellent effort as a weak one from Subaru and Kia. The Jetta is on par with the better mainstream economy cars, but it is not better than they are. 

Yet as Volkswagen seems to believe, the Jetta is good enough to command a price tag in the range of the most expensive cars in its class. And it’s not better than they are. 

Vehicle tested: 2009 Volkswagen Jetta
Vehicle base price (MSRP): $17,515
Version tested: 2.5 S
Version base price (MSRP): $17,515
Vehicle price as tested (MSRP): $18,514
Estimated transaction price as tested: $17,470
Estimated transaction price as comparable:* $19,331
Test vehicle provided by: Fitzgerald Volkswagen of Frederick, Md.

Key specifications: 
Length: 179.3 inches
Width: 70.1 inches
Height: 57.4 inches
Wheelbase: 101.5 inches
Weight: 3,239 pounds
Trunk room: 16.0 cubic feet
Turning radius: 17.9 feet
Engine: 2.5-liter I5 with 170 horsepower
Transmission: 5-speed manual
EPA city mileage: 21 miles per gallon
EPA highway mileage: 30 miles per gallon
EPA mixed driving: 24 miles per gallon

For more information: Volkswagen website

Coming up tomorrow: SECOND PLACE

*Note on pricing: when possible, the vehicles tested for this review were equipped comparably to the tested Forte SX, with leather interiors, sunroofs, and manual transmissions. It wasn't always possible. The five vehicles in this comparison are offered with most of the same features in the required price range, but the specific cars available to drive for this comparison ranged from base models with no options to fully optioned vehicles. These discrepancies will be noted in each review and corrected for as much as possible.