Road test: 2015 Volkswagen Jetta

VW’s latest update is well-priced but isn’t exciting in any way.

The Jetta has had a subtle revamp externally, but its underpowered 2.0L engine produces 115hp, making for glacial acceleration. Photos courtesy Volkswagen

One of the most curious and, at times, frustrating things about being in this job is the way that different countries and regions have different tastes and requirements when it comes to the cars people aspire to driving. This, in turn, means that manufacturers need to appease different market forces and produce cars that might appear visually similar to those on sale in other countries but are, under their skins, very different indeed.

Clear as mud? Yeah, I thought so. So let’s take a look at the Volkswagen Jetta as an example. It’s a car that never really caught on here or in Europe, with most people opting for the more compact and always on-trend Golf. But the specifications and engine choices available to the Europeans are much more enticing than the ones we traditionally have at our disposal. When I last drove a Jetta, more than three years ago, I was impressed by the overall feel of it and the perceived quality of its build, yet felt the engine would find it difficult to punch its way out of a wet paper bag. There’s just no way German or British buyers would put up with this, so they got a much more agreeable package. It’s the same with the Passat, which is essentially the Jetta’s big brother.

And here we are, with a mid-life-refresh Jetta, in the model’s heartland: the United States. Yes, the US market loves the Jetta. I mean really, really loves it. When students get their driving licences, it would appear that the car most of them hanker after is a Jetta, with ownership being akin to a rite of passage. It’s by far VW’s biggest seller in America and, as might be expected, the US will be the first to take deliveries of the latest iteration. No, I don’t understand it, either, but it’s a fact that’s as clear as the day we’re being treated to in Virginia, on America’s north-east coast.

Virginia, where they actually lock you up for traffic violations such as speeding more than 20kph over the limit. Why would any car company consciously choose this place to showcase its new model? Journalists have actually spent time in jail here for “just seeing what it’ll do on this straight stretch of road in the middle of nowhere” – but that’s an unlikely scenario in a Jetta, despite its almost-tantalising name. It’s not like there’s an R or even a GTI version to get anyone’s collar felt.

What you get for your money here, though, is the impression that you’ve spent way more than you actually have. Prices for this new version are still to be decided for the Middle East market, but VW tells us they’re unlikely to change from the one currently offered. And that means getting what amounts to a prestige car on your drive for as little as Dh65,000.

While other markets will get a diesel power-train as well as the petrol options, we’ll be stuck with the latter – a four-cylinder lump that, while still rather asthmatic, at least offers decent fuel economy and high levels of refinement. Externally, the changes are subtle yet still obvious, with a wider, three-strake grille, a wider front bumper, and a wider air intake beneath the bumper, all of which are said to enhance airflow into the engine bay. It’s wider out at the back as well, with a new spoiler on the boot lid, new tail lamps and a newly styled bumper. Lighting is also improved, with an optional adaptive package with bi-xenon headlamps flanked by 15 LEDs. It all adds up to a rather polished, if staid, appearance that smacks of Germanic class rather than youthful dynamism.

On the road, there isn’t much to report, apart from that the Jetta is extremely comfortable, whisper-quiet and perfectly happy trundling around at speeds that keep Virginia’s trigger-happy speed cops satisfied. The interior is usual Volkswagen quality, although the design is as adventurous as the exterior (not very) and I find myself wondering why the Jetta has such a hold on the imaginations of America’s youth. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing to complain about here – it’s just that there’s nothing to get excited about, either.

If anything is wrong, it’s that engine. Bored out to 2.0L, you’d expect it to produce more than its conservative 115hp and achieve a better 0-to-100kph time than a frankly glacial 12.6 seconds. The Jetta is nothing if not underpowered. It would make an excellent commuter car – and for driving around the city in a bit of class and comfort, I’m sure it’s ideal. But that’s about it, because the Golf, at least in the specifications we get here, trounces it in every respect. Except, that is, for price.

That’s the Jetta’s trump card: it’s cheap but doesn’t look or feel it in the slightest. It’s that rare kind of car that you could keep in the garage next to a 911 or an R8 and nobody would think it had cost a tenth of its German cousins. And, for some buyers, that’s really all that matters. For the rest of us, some dynamism might not go amiss next time, Volkswagen, or at least the option of having the Euro version available to us.