- Fully redesigned 2011 Volkswagen Jetta is set to go on sale in October.
- Volkswagen says pricing will start around $16,000.
- It features best-in-class rear legroom thanks to a longer wheelbase.
HERNDON, Virginia — Information and pictures of the fully redesigned 2011 Volkswagen Jetta leaked onto the Internet today ahead of the car's official premiere set for tomorrow in New York City.
According to Volkswagen, the new Jetta measures 182.7 inches long, 57.1 inches tall and 70.1 inches wide. The overall length is 3.5 inches longer than the current model, which results in an unspecified increase in the Jetta's wheelbase.
The engine lineup will remain largely unchanged. For now, Volkswagen has only confirmed the 2.0-liter TSI and 2.0-liter TDI engines that are currently used in the Jetta. Manual transmissions will be standard across the board and a six-speed DSG will be optional on the 2.0-liter engines.
There will be five versions of the Jetta in the U.S. — S, SE, SEL, TDI and GLI. Sales are expected to begin in October, with pricing set to start around $16,000, according to Volkswagen.
Inside Line says: Another conservative redesign for the Jetta that may continue to stifle its popularity in the U.S. — Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor
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mazdadrive says:
06:59 AM, 10/04/2010
Awful interior, boring exterior, features from 1997...
No thanks
shaohsiin says:
09:41 PM, 10/01/2010
Went test drive a Golf TDI and saw the new Jetta. The exterior looks so cheap both in material and details. It lacks the refinement of typical european design that VW used to provided. The old model parked along side looks much more upscale in details and more elegent in propotion. Actually, the new design is so bad that I think the current Corolla and the dated Civic both look better (again, view in person, not just judge by photo).
Too bad, I used to like VW, but this deign is an epic fail in my openion.
vwmkvi says:
11:22 PM, 09/26/2010
I'm sorry to say that this car has ruined the entire Volkwagen brand for me. The new Jetta contains none of the brand's DNA. What on earth were they thinking? This car will go down in automotive history as the Edsel of the 21st century. First of all the car is so generic looking that it is completely void of any emotional appeal. That's a big problem since a big percentage of loyal Jetta customers are women. It's no longer "cute". Another huge mistake is bringing back the "2.slow" engine, which has just slightly more power than the average riding lawn mower (Chinese taxicabs are faster than this car). Is makes me wonder if Volkswagen is planning to dumb down the rest of their cars too. Spiraling down market with a crappy car like this one in an effort to capture some market share from Toyota will prove to be the biggest mistake this company has ever made. It's painfully obvious that they've alienated their core customer with this car. As a long time VW brand ambassador I'm very disappointed. How could a company with such great brand equity, and a fiercly loyal following be so out of touch with their market? Time to fire the bean counters and get back to making cars that matter.
alfig says:
11:57 AM, 07/27/2010
gak vw BLEW IT AGAIN? i had a 2002 jetta turbo..luv'd it...then the browbeat slopped nose 2006 comes out and i cant BEAR to buy the thing...so i'm off to mazda and nissan for a few years..now i'm thinking SURELY they wont choke again and junkify the car but ayep, the accountants over ruled the engineers and we get a boring bland mobile with LOOK HOW CHEAP I AM, DRUM BRAKES....
even my '65 vette has 4 wheels disc....sure it was an option then..but that was 45 YEARS ago....nothing screams cheaparse like drum brakes..NOTHING. it says WE REALLY WANT to make our car crappy..we want you to feel you got ripped off with what you bought...we want your friends/neigbhors to think you went cheap.
well after my nissan lease, cuz i could not literally find any new car i WANTED, yes WANTED to own..i decided...no more of money for new junk cars. i bought a used acura tl for $15.8k with only 57k miles on it..285 hp...it hauls butt..rides nice...acura quality and precision. then i went and got a motorcycle again...cuz they havent RUINED motorcycles...YET...had a suzuki for a few years and now got a buell...you can still have FUN on motorcycles...they havent been dumbed down like cars with electronic throttle nanny control and such. vote with your dollars folks...let the drum brake mobiles site on the lot and RUST waiting for a buyer. even the accountants will EVENTUALLY learn to listen to the engineers when profit turns into loss.
testnet34 says:
07:24 AM, 07/02/2010
@ juan_mx
where did you get this information from, that the new Jetta has drum brakes? Has this sung an early bird at your window sill from your tiny, little tree-house down in the woods? Come clear. Vee dubs (and all other modern non american cars) never have drum brakes because they less saftey and more expensive than disk brakes. We developing cars here in germany, not prehistoric vehicles with ladder frames and leave springs.
And the new design of the Jetta is comletley new styled and developed especially for the NA market. You think, it's an audi A4? No! The old chief designer from audi has also influence into the VW design and the german corporation managers has decidet that should be the new stylish design for the current models. By the way: the new chief designer from kia comes from audi......
And, please let me know, what's so impressive to a bimmer with his ugly style? Our douchbags drive such one.
juan_mx says:
07:49 AM, 06/16/2010
From what one could see in some spy shots, it seems that the cheap versions (at least the S) will have rear drum brakes in order to drop the price and get closer to the competition (that also has rear drum brakes in the cheaper versions).
What else will be downgraded from the 2010 model?
jscion says:
02:50 PM, 06/15/2010
The Jetta looks alot better than I thought it would. I'd buy it and I'm sure it will serve just as well as it already has as a cheaper alternative to a German sports sedan. It really does look very similar to what an Audi A4 and BMW 3-Series would look like if they were the same car.
4g63 says:
01:00 PM, 06/15/2010
@chochmastergen,
the accord and camry don't succeed??? they're best sellers and i don't think they look cheap at all. i really wonder what your ideal car is then? the new jetta is kinda boring but VW is going the safe design direction.
chochmastergen says:
07:15 AM, 06/15/2010
Looks cheap. Plastic, cheap, ugly. Cars like the accord and camry don't succeed because they look cheap, its because they are cheap, and they provide a lot for that money. I'd never use bargain and VW in the same sentence, and now they have a car that looks like it costs half of what it probably will.
angry_mushroom says:
11:38 PM, 06/14/2010
@icecubefosho
Thanks for the pic of the interior. The interior is even better than I expected. If I had the money I might actually choose this over the others on the market right now.