Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £15,820 to £20,265
Plain but smart looks, well-equipped, good choice of engines and transmissions.
Rather ungainly boot design, noisy diesels.
An attractive compact saloon, but lacks image of 3-Series and so on - and the practicality of the Golf hatchback.
With the booted rear, the Jetta actually feels a little better-balanced than the truncated Golf, as is often the case with saloons, which tend to have better weight distribution.
It's a generally responsive drive, though the steering can feel overassisted and it can't belie its substantial overall dimensions and sheer weight: it's not exactly a sports saloon, even with the more powerful engines. It's an easy drive, though, with well laid-out controls and a good driving position.
The diesels are the best bet: both the 2.0 TDI and 1.9 TDI are strong, with plenty of mid-range pull for overtaking and higher-speed cruising, yet lively from a standstill. Volkswagen expects most British buyers to opt for the relaxed 2.0 TDI and that's the engine we'd recommend.
For all-round long-distance driving, this engine with the superb DSG gearbox is the optimum combination: the DSG is one of the smoothest automatic gearboxes around, with a super-quick 'manual' sequential-shift function if you do want to change gear yourself. Official figures for this are 129mph and 0-60mph in 9.7 seconds.
There's no real performance gain from the 150bhp 2.0-litre petrol, and while we've not tested the 1.6 FSI in the Jetta as yet, from its performance in the Golf we suspect it may be a bit underpowered in this car. The 2.0 T-FSI will be the quickest, of course: 0-60mph in 7.2 seconds, to a top speed of 146mph, for the most outright speed.
