When The Base Fashions Are The Winner

The Volkswagen Jetta is now 45 years previous and staring into the existential void of center age, battling for relevancy in a world leaving the compact four-door sedan behind. In its lifespan to date, it has been a critic’s darling, an fanatic’s pleasure, and a rental fleet staple – hardly ever all on the identical time, although. In its present kind, the Jetta is a cheap, feature-laden entry-level sedan aimed on the savvy purchaser wanting premium options in a classy compact bundle with out spending a fortune.

In that sense, the seventh technology Volkswagen Jetta already delivers, however the 2025 mannequin goals to enhance on the formulation with a refresh. The entry worth is underneath $25k and it comes with a 158-horsepower turbocharged 1.5-liter engine that sips gas at a fee of 39-40 miles per gallon.

The mid-generation refresh is the automaker’s manner of reminding us a automotive is on sale by making enticing updates – typically substantial, typically simply new bumpers, up to date headlights, and some small gear enhancements and tweaks for usability. On paper, the 2025 Jetta falls into the second bracket, however we spent per week with the refreshed mannequin to see how the updates influence on a regular basis life.

Exterior: Conservative Fashion

This technology of Jetta seems to be sharp in a manner that does not stand out, which is at present the conservative Volkswagen manner. Nevertheless, we do not see that as a nasty factor, and for 2025 Volkswagen is upping the sharpness recreation with narrower and slit-like headlights, a thinner grille, and extra assured entrance and rear fascias. On the higher trims, the Jetta now has a light-weight bar connecting the entrance lights, as is the present development throughout the business. From a important viewpoint, we respect how the bottom automotive’s grille has gone in opposition to the development, and we discover the connecting gentle bar pointless, and strikes us as an afterthought.

The usual drop of 0.6 inches on the suspension that was reserved for the Sport trim helps the Jetta’s new stance and sense of favor. Our check mannequin is the top-trim SEL, which rides on 18-inch wheels as a substitute of the Sport’s 17-inch discs. In case you recurrently learn automotive opinions, this paragraph is, certainly, foreboding. Learn on.

Inside: Combined Feelings

From the surface, the Jetta carries off a premium look with its styling. Nevertheless, the inside has lots of plastic that allows you to know the place prices have been minimize. The general design is an enchancment, however we’d take some comfier seats inside over the dramatic exterior updates. There’s additionally lots of cheap-feeling plastics that kill the temper.

We do not typically touch upon seat consolation as there’s principally a base degree of seat design, and from then on, physique varieties range. It is a massive a part of why everybody ought to sit in after which check drive a automotive earlier than shopping for it. Nevertheless, the Jetta’s seats are objectively somewhat off-putting; we discovered the identical on our first drive with the Jetta GLI and expounded additional on the problem of the seats in our dialogue on how we would enhance the 2025 Jetta.

To seek out out if we have been being overly important, we even obtained our neighbors to sit down within the Jetta, and sadlym, they agreed with us. These aren’t seats we want to sit in for a protracted journey. Regardless of this, the neighbors have been impressed by how roomy the Jetta is inside for such a small automotive, which works on to the trunk, which has far more house than you anticipate.

Infotainment: Significant Commonplace Enhancements

On the constructive facet, the beforehand commonplace 6.5-inch touchscreen has been changed with an eight-inch unit, which we discover an excellent measurement for on a regular basis use. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto aren’t commonplace on decrease trims, however Twin-zone computerized local weather management is now commonplace, and the brand new local weather touch-controls do a surprisingly good job contemplating Volkswagen’s observe document there.

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The SEL mannequin comes with a 400-watt BeatsAudio system with eight audio system and a subwoofer, but it surely’s not one thing to get enthusiastic about. It seems like a system that is been inserted right into a automotive with out forethought. The bass is unfastened and boomy, the highs are shrill, and the mids are muted. It isn’t as unhealthy because the JBL system within the Toyota Supra, however we’d begrudge paying additional for it. It is flat-out unhealthy, and no tweaking of the EQ could make it sound prefer it ought to have the phrase premium connected to it.

Underneath The Hood: The Nice Commerce-Off

With solely 158 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque coming from the turbocharged four-cylinder engine, getting from a cease to sixty mph takes simply over seven seconds. Nevertheless, we noticed 37 mpg general via our week with a good quantity of driving up and down a mountain. The Jetta does not really feel sluggish, and it is not fast off the road as the primary gear is brief – which means it helps the torque, which is absolutely out there at simply 1,750 rpm, get the car going.

*metropolis/freeway/mixed as per the EPA

Final yr’s six-speed handbook is finished away, though you possibly can nonetheless get it on the GLI if you wish to row your individual gears. We do not miss it an excessive amount of hear save for the truth that the beforehand non-compulsory computerized transmission that’s now commonplace is not nice. The quick first gear makes up for an absence of engine energy from the beginning, however the transmission does not rush to vary gears. For individuals who prefer to hustle via a metropolis, it is not preferrred, even with the early availability of the engine’s torque.

On The Highway: Some Revision Nonetheless Wanted

Not serving to the uncomfortable seats is the combination of 18-inch wheels on low-sidewall tires and the suspension on our SEL trim tester. It registers high-quality with us when you solely ever drive on excellently constructed and maintained roads. On closely trafficked roads linking small cities, the trip turned annoying in a few locations the place we normally would not discover something. Possibly the 0.6-inch decreasing of the suspension ought to stick with the Sport trim, the place you’ll anticipate to commerce trip consolation for a sportier angle. Mixing that with 18-wheels, effectively, it makes it exhausting to advocate the SEL trim.

Across the metropolis and on typical commuter roads, nonetheless, the Jetta turns into nice and simple to drive with gentle steering and an general gentle feeling to the automotive. On a again street, it is a nimble little automotive with nice physique management and respectable braking but it surely comes up quick within the enjoyable facet of driving dynamics in contrast with Honda’s Civic or the irrepressible Mazda 3. If you’d like slightly extra out of your VW sedan, the GLI is a should:

Conclusion: Select Your Trim Correctly

Once we say “select your trim correctly,” we imply do not stretch for the SEL mannequin. As a substitute, benefit from the worth for cash and, presumably, higher trip high quality provided by the lower-rung fashions, or the addition of an XDS differential on the Sport. Principally, faux the SEL and its 18-inch wheels and BeatsAudio system do not exist. It is clear that Volkswagen’s product administration is set to offer worth for cash in a handsome bundle that is not a penalty for not having over $25,000 to spend on a brand new automotive.

As a product with a objective, the S, SE, and Sport trims obtain the objectives of being handsome, sensible, feature-rich, and financially wise. That makes the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta effectively value a check drive if these are the containers that want ticking.