The Jetta Is Average—But It’s Still Better Than Most Crossovers: Review

In 2024, I drove some 30-odd autos, sufficient for many of them to mix collectively right into a hazy mush. There are exceptions, after all, however the infinite sea of grey SUVs is nearly indistinguishable in my reminiscence. However as a metropolis dweller, they nearly all undergo from the identical issues: They’re too massive for Seattle’s slender streets, tough to parallel park, and have poor visibility (particularly for pedestrians). To not point out they’re usually fairly boring to drive. 

So when a shiny blue 2025 Volkswagen Jetta ended up in my parking spot for per week, it was a right away standout. It isn’t the right automobile, however it’s a automobile, and that alone made it one in all my favourite drives of final yr. 

The Jetta is mildly refreshed for 2025, though below the pores and skin it’s nonetheless the identical MK7 platform that debuted in 2018. The turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder nonetheless places out 158 horsepower, and the eight-speed computerized is the one transmission. VW killed the guide on all Jetta trims exterior of the sporty GLI.

The Jetta is remarkably environment friendly, with 33 mixed metropolis/freeway miles per gallon; I hit this quantity simply in my top-trim SEL check automobile. Base consumers get this drivetrain, too, and for a beginning worth of simply $23,220—which makes the Jetta one of many most cost-effective automobiles on sale in 2025—it’s improbable. 

Picture by: Victoria Scott / Motor1

Professionals: It is An Precise Sedan, It is Painted In An Precise Shade, Nonetheless Extra Satisfying To Drive Than Most SUVs

Virtually as spectacular because the Jetta’s worth is how full of life the turbo motor feels when it’s not lugging 4 thousand kilos of steel. A curb weight of only a contact over 3,000 kilos makes it really feel markedly extra thrilling than lots of the bigger autos I’ve pushed lately. Sixy miles per hour occurs in simply over 7 seconds, which isn’t essentially fast, however the low journey peak makes that journey off the road a lot livelier than an equal SUV.

Regardless of the torsion-bar rear suspension, the journey is comfy sufficient for the worth level and doesn’t really feel utterly numb or floaty when hucking the Jetta by an off-ramp. The steering is extra relaxed, however once more—it seems low-strung steering in a automobile is extra participating than tensed-up, twitch-reflexes in a crossover.

Picture by: Victoria Scott / Motor1

Picture by: Victoria Scott / Motor1

Let’s be trustworthy: The Jetta is about as mundane a sedan because it will get, and I discovered myself having real enjoyable in it. Why?

I’m satisfied many of the Jetta’s enjoyable issue comes right down to seating place and cabin design. The driving force is low to the bottom—thanks, sedan journey peak—and can also be low relative to the cabin ground. Your legs are outstretched, your heels sit in entrance, and your palms nearer to chin stage. It feels dynamic at relaxation—like many efficiency sedans of yore. Throw within the Jetta’s massive, ethereal greenhouse, and when in movement, you see extra: extra pavement, extra movement blur. The feeling of velocity is heightened. 

With all of those sedan elements effectively performed up, the Jetta feels full of life even at low speeds. And, after I was confronted with parallel parking in Seattle, it felt simpler than it has in any automobile I’ve had in ages. Positive, the Jetta has a comparatively brief 105.7-inch wheelbase and a good 35.8-foot turning circle, however I may additionally see out of it. Rear-view cameras and 360-degree shows are useful, however nothing matches with the ability to intuit the scale and form of a car simply. The quickest path to that’s merely visibility.

Picture by: Victoria Scott / Motor1

Cons: Ponderous Eight-Pace Computerized, Horrible Contact-Capacitive Controls, Awkwardly Positioned Infotainment Display

The Jetta nonetheless has all the trendy conveniences that make life really simpler, thoughts you. An 8.0-inch touchscreen and CarPlay/Android Auto are commonplace; the SEL mannequin I examined had heated and ventilated entrance seats and a bass-heavy however pleasing Beats-branded 9-speaker sound system. It’s nonetheless received comforts; it’s simply not a crossover.

The remainder of the Jetta has some outstanding traits for the small sedan class (cargo quantity is great for a small sedan, at 14.1 cubic ft of trunk capability) in addition to some disappointing ones (the brand new capacitive-touch HVAC controls are finicky and vastly worse than final yr’s buttons), however at its core, it’s a very well-executed sedan. 

Picture by: Victoria Scott / Motor1

Throw in the truth that the new-for-2025 Monterey Blue Pearl end (seen on my check automobile) is a no-cost possibility accessible on all trims, and it’s an precise inexpensive automobile that may come painted in an precise honest-to-God coloration. 

For me, that’s rattling memorable.