Used 2005 Volkswagen Jetta Consumer Reviews

Awesome new Jetta, wish gas was cheaper

First time buyer of a VW or any German car, and I must say that the reputation of the performance and handling of the new Jetta stands strong. The car is very sturdy on freeways, the tiptronic kicks in smoothly when accelerating between speeds for that extra oomph of power and you hardly know when you are going over 70 mph. Handles superb turning and lane changes. I've never been issued a speeding ticket before, but I just might now! Love the color (got the Graphite Blue). Great, modern interior and exterior look, LOVE the new chrome grill, super speakers, moonroof. Just wish that the fuel efficiency was better - I've been filling up about $35/week which is a dent...but decent.

Wouldn't Drive Anything Else

Having looked at several cars I kept coming back to the Volkswagen Jetta 2.5. I looked at the Saab 9-3, Subaru Legacy, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and all may have had more power; what they lacked was a personality and features that the Jetta has. I get more compliments on this car than anyother car I have owned. People stop me at the gas station and don't believe what kind of VW it is. I consider it a baby Phaeton! This is the seventh car that I have owned and it is far superior to any of the rest.

Great Car for a Teen

I'm 17 years old and my dad bought me a 2005 Jetta in January. It is so great for me, it has great gas mileage and I can count on it since it is brand new right off the lot. The styling is really trendy and hip ecpecially in the galatic blue (like mine). The new redesigned Jettas are really luxurious inside, but the exterior styling is not that great.

Noises and Rattles

I have had my VW Jetta for three months. It makes a horrible noise when starting (after sitting several hours), dealer says its normal :(... (secondary air pump?). Have also had several dash rattles and speaker noise. Dealer ordered repair kit for speakers, but there is no fix possible for engine noise (sounds like a diesel when first starts). I am a first and probably a last timw VW owner.

My First Jetta

This is my first VW or import car for that matter. I am a huge fan of the New Jetta, I love all the features. It feels like I am driving a BMW that I paid 50 million dollars for. I purchased the 5-speed 2.5, and my only complaint is that my back gets sore from riding long trips. The seats don't provide much support and are pretty stiff.

Totally Outstanding - Love It!

This car is the best I have ever owned. The Tiptronic is a really sweet option and the rain-sensing wipers are awesome...especially here in Seattle!! The drive is smooth and you can feel the tires grip the road. Driving in the rain on wet pavement with the ESP is like driving on dry pavement. I would recommend this car to everyone that wants a high-end quality vehicle for an affordable price!

No Regrets

I bought this car as a family car (2 adults, 2 young kids) to replace our Honda Pilot. I must say I was very leary about getting rid of the bigger Pilot, mainly because of the loss in cabin and trunk space, but I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of trunk space the Jetta offers, and interior space, especially in the back seat, is sufficient for our needs. The 2005 model offers a lot of "bells and whistles" standard that do not come standard in the 2006 model, and that's the main reason I went with an '05. The interior design and build quality are superb. The car is built like a rock. The ride is nice and sporty, acceleration is decent. Gas mileage is 20 C / 32 H after 700 miles.

More than pleased with my New Jetta TDI

I love to drive my Volkswagen Jetta TDI. It is quiet, yet we can feel the road. The interior is beautiful and practical and uses only quality materials. The trip computer is a real pleasure. I liked my previous car which was a Mercedes-Benz C240, however this Jetta TDI takes the crown. I do not know why I would pay more when I have it all with this Jetta at $24,000. I have driven it over 7,000 miles in five months and my average fuel economy is 49.6 mpg so far (yes almost fifty!).

Love my Jetta 2005.5!

I have had my 2005 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 for six months, it is always ready to go when I am. It is very confortable and very responsive on the highway.

Wolfs (berg) in Lamb's Clothing

With 50+ years of snow country driving, mostly in FWD Saabs, I find the combination of traction and stability control amazing. I'll take it over any SUV - usually out run 'em anyway, especially when the road gets twisty. It can carry an impressive load and get 30 mpg on cruise at 74.5 mph (by GPS) on mid-grade fuel. Clearly, this is car built for the autobahn as well as the Alps. This is my 4th since '97 and nothing has broken yet - equals great value for the money.

My Third Jetta

I just traded in my Jetta for the new 2005 Jetta. I love this car! I have owned a 2000 TDI and a 2005 Jetta. What an upgrade from the previous vehicles.

Lovin the Wagon

My 2005 Volkswagen Jetta Wagon is fun to drive and comfortable. I have not had any problems with it. Its smooth ride is excellent on long trips.

Stay Away

This 2.5 Jetta is the tenth VW we've owned in fifteen years. It is junk. The transmission skips, it will not engage in drive or reverse properly, and there is a dangerous lapse when taking off from a slow down. The rain sensor wipers are terrible. They sometimes wipe when the windshield is dry or won't wipe at all in a downpour. On continuous wipe they go into intermittent (this car does not have it). The climatronic is screwed up. The a/c comes on by itself when temp is set at 70 and it won't turn off. I have been to two dealers and VW service cannot fix anything. The VW area rep has refused to do anymore warranty service. I am filing lemon law and VW is fighting it. I will never buy VW again.

Nothin' Betta than a Jetta

I love everything about this car. It handles great and has outstanding acceleration when you need it. It has a very comfortable ride and is very fun to drive.

My Jetta

I bought my 2005 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 new in September. Since then, it has been in the shop for 37 days for cooling problems. I am getting rid of it, it can't be fixed. I really do love the car it's a shame.

The Swiss Army Knife / Machintosh of Cars

My New 2005 Jetta is great. It has every gadget I could want, except GPS. It is definitely a car made to bond with the driver. This car hugs the road on curves. It never feels unstable. It's as spacious as a midsize sedan. I bought the Pkg. 2 and have everything I ever thought I'd need in a car and more. It has too many clever standard options to mention. I'm 35 years old, and the new body style suits my taste just fine. It's sporty without appearing that I'm trying to hold on too tightly to age 19. I'm so glad I got out of my gas-guzzling SUV for something smarter. Some say it's pricey, but you really get what you pay for. After all, it's a German VW!

Diesel all the way

This is a great car to own. Admittedly, it's not too fast, but it gets the job done. It has good low RPM power and unbelievable fuel economy. My best has been 50.64 MPG so far, that was with 85% highway driving. Be sure to set the cruise control fairly conservatively for best results and constantly monitor your tire pressure.

For the Value Edition you get a lot

I have had this car for almost a year and I still love to drive it. It has a lot of get up and go and I love burning through the gears. The stereo is pretty good considering it is the Value Edition and I love the front end styling. For around $18,000 you aren't going to find a much better car. I leased mine for $158 a month. I have had no problems at all. I just got back from North Carolina, a 10 and a half hour drive for me and it was comfortable enough for just two short gas stops. I would like to get a GLI next with even more power with exterior styling.

So Far So Good

We bought one of the first New Jettas in 2005 after considering Toyota and Honda, but the interior of the Jetta was far superior. So far the only trouble we've had was a cooling fan that would not stop running and was replaced by the dealer under warranty. There was one surprise: the rear brake pads needed to be replaced at 18,000 miles while the front brake pads looked like new. Beware of the state troopers - the car really comes alive once you pass 80 mph!

Great Car

This car has excellent handling, great fuel economy, and is a real blast on twisty roads. The Goodyear tires are great in the wet and dry. The only problem with the summer tires is the need for winter tires and rims. The ride is a little stiff but well worth it when you want to play boy racer. Overall this is an excellent car.

Love my Jetta

I have now owned my Jetta for over a year now and have absolutely loved every single minute of owning it AND driving it! I waiting until the body style changed in 2005 to purchase the Jetta since I felt the other style was a little small. The handling is wonderful, the ride is smooth, and I love all of the little extras the VW has put in the car to play with!

Recaro sSeats Look Good, but...

The car is great. It's fun to drive, it looks good, and it's not too expensive. But seriously...those front seats are just way too narrow. I'm not abnormally huge, but I just can't stand sitting in them for more than an hour or so. And the backs seats are made for toddlers. They have no leg room at all. Everything else is cool. The Tiptronic transmission shifts well, the features and controls are great. The trunk is huge, and nothing has really gone wrong. The only other complaints I have would be the low front clearance (I scrape it on everything) and the low profile tires. A crack in the road in Houston blew out two tires and dented the rims. Oops. All in all, though, this is a great Volkswagen.

Jetta GLI

This is a great looking car sits low to the ground, so you have to be careful. It needs a short shifter and there is not much leg room in the back. The wheel well liners rip easy though. Overall, this has been a great car so far.

Great Car

I have had my Jetta for a year and a half with zero problems. This car is fun to drive, comfortable on long trips, has plenty of power and I get 22-24 mpg in town and 32-35 mpg on the highway. In fact, it seams the faster I drive, the better the gas mileage is.

Great Car

I bought this car for my wife in late 2005. She absolutely loves it and will probably keep it for many years to come. I love the heated seats (also does great in the snow). Its size is comparable to an Accord or Camry. I feel it matches up better in fact with a BMW 3 series. It is remarkably similar to a 2002-2005 Audi A4 and the size of the old Passat. Very few downsides show through on the car. The driver compartment aggravates me as I like to rest my leg in the middle of the car, in the VW this falls right on a sharp edge. Also, the wheels are susceptible to scratches.

For the young fans

I bought my GLI with 6k on it from vw about 2 years ago. It's a great car, looks amazing, wish it had the performance to go with that. I have had several little problems with it, biggest was radio. Great overall car with little to improve on, but needs more power!

Great Car

We love this car. Acquired as a lease and will buy it at the end of lease. Haven't had any problems with this car and it's great to drive around in.

Can be improved

Have one ongoing problem, it's the road clearance under car, you will bottom out on road dips (not potholes) just thoses waves and dips that you cannot see. This has caused the dust panel behind front bumper to fall off. You will hit this panel entering and leaving driveways etc. There is just not enough clearance under car. I estimate the clearance under my Jetta to be approx. 2 to 3 inches at most. Is this legal? Local mecanic suggested that mybe Volkswagon might have stiffer front springs to lift car a little higher, will check soon. Good fuel economy but you lose a little of what you save from the pumps when you pay high, very high oil changes.

nice car but probably not again

I bought the new 2005 Jetta with the 2006 body style. I bought it new with about 32000 miles and within about 20000 miles I had to to take in for a tranny problem. good thing it was under warranty. I havent had any more problems except for the interior. Raido is peeling and the handles black paint is peeling. The cosmetic issues inside are garbage but all in all a good car if that is not a conern. I have 2 years left on my loan so I hope it lasts cince it now has 100000 miles on it. Will the car last. Any suggestions on making it last are welcome.

I love it!

I have owned the 2005.5 New Jetta since July of 2005, Option Package 1, and I love it. It's a lot of fun to drive, and the interior is so "fit and finished." If you're looking for a lot of options for a reasonable price, this car is worth looking into. I haven't had any maintenance issues. The one thing I notice (my wife has a 2006 New Jetta), is that the transmission on my car is a little "jerky" shifting between gears 1 and 2, and sometimes between 2 and 3, compared to the 2006 Jetta. But, my older model has more bells and whistles for the price. The bottom line is that I love driving this car.

05 jetta in the desert

I own an 05 VW jetta GL and a 05 vw bug. I dont know about later years or earlyer. But on my 05 jetta the crank pully has snaped off on its own. We have had to replace the water pump EVERY SUMMER.(hot weather area). I have gotten it replaced at a VW dealership for the majority. Now why did they never recomend to get the metal impeler? Why hasnt this model of water pump been recalled? We have gotten our engine rebuilt 2 times for a grand total of $10,000+. 1 of these engines was rebuilt at a VW dealershit. THEY LEFT SOME KIND OF AIR PUMP ON MY ENGINE. told me to bad thats were it goes. the second time by beatle barn las vegas and they gave me my car back in worse condition then b4 it blew.

Classy Small Car

My car has the 2.0L engine and the "Cold Weather" upgrade (seat warmers, leather seats, steering wheel controls). I like the look and size of this car over the new Jetta design. I get about 35 mpg with conservative highway driving(not hybrid numbers but at least it's a PZEV), and while it's not a race car, it moves with plenty of purpose. The proof of this is was driving with college students in all 5 seats, a full trunk of luggage and 3 bikes on a trunk rack, and still having power to pass on the highway(of course the mileage was not the best on this trip). I keep up with maintenance and care, the reliability on the early model years was not great but it seems problems were fixed on this year

Pocket Rocket

We bought this car for my wife brand new in 04 I guess. It's been great ever since and VW has stood behind it. My wife hit a curb, VW replaced the wheel and tire free of charge, a slight defect in the paint on the bumper was also fixed no problem. Fast with super gas mileage what more can you ask for.

Great car

2005 Jetta gas auto $3000 - 4 years plus and is the best used car Ive owned, usual wear and tear of a car of that age, it runs smoothly and handles great. highway speed at 90km to max fuel, travelling 110km it really eats gas. noise level is very comfortable, it has a CD player in it which I like, sunroof - here nor there for me, heated seats are great, - 45 cel plus an added bonus during the cold winters in northern Alberta, tank heater is great I do believe it is called, better than a block heater, as it circulates warm coolant throughout the engine, replaced the windshield thanks to two transport trucks by debris falling off the truck, cheap to maintain mechanically and insurance. the engine and frame is structurally sound, but the body could use a paint job, but that is cosmetic, which doesn't interfere with operation of the car, so I am not going to spend $3 - 5000 on a paint job on car almost 20 yrs old in addition, a previous owner installed a remote starter on it again great when it is - 45 cel out. Id buy a newer should one come along con - gas consumption with a 2.0 l engine, I wish it would be a little easier on gas, 90km - 2500 rpm 110 km - 3000 rpm which makes huge difference in gas. regardless if I am alone or not in the car

Awful Car!

These cars are so cute! I've had mine for a short time and bought it brand new, yes BRAND NEW and have already spent over $4,000 in repairs for stupid problems....not to mention they dont tell you...this car is not a German car...but in fact made in Mexico! It has terrible build quality. Oh yeah, and you need to put oil in it once a week unless you want the engine to blow, it EATS up oil !

Don't buy a Volkswagen

I've had my Volkswagen Jetta a year now and it is the worst vehicle that I have ever owned. I am constantly at the shop spending money and Volkswagen does not help with the repairs at all, even though they should. I will never buy a car from Volkswagen again. My advice is buy from another manufacturer. Everything from the stereo, the moonroof, the center counsel, the cup holders, the starter, the windows, ingition coil, the break lights, and the transmission breaks. And thats not all. Don't buy a Volkswagen... You will regret it 10 fold. You would be better off with the Accord. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Worst car I ever owned

I bought it at 65k. At 80k everything needed repair. Engine, transmisson and electrical. The 1st repair shop will repair anything but VW and Audi. The 2nd shop said the VWs are the #1 car they see and to sell it now. #3 shop said the same thing. I sold that piece of junk, bought a Ford and have had 0 problems.

Not your VW Golf

Have owned both a Golf and a Jetta and would say that for the price, your best bet is to go for a Golf which is much more reliable than a Jetta.

First and LAST VW

Love the car but mine was a lemon. Features are great, love the German design. Never own one without at bumper to bumper warranty

Software Problem for Jetta CA, MA and NY

As all of you who own a 2004 or 2005 model year Volkswagen Jetta sold in California and other states, the car has a unique problem that causes it not to start smoothly in the morning. I found numerous complaints filed to the National Highway Transporation Safety Administration for the 2004 Jetta. The jerk start is caused the sudden engagement of transmission when the brake lamp is turned off. Until then, there is no drive power supplied to the drive shaft. Don't you feel it? Other than that this is a nice car.

From Gas to Diesel

Never owned a diesel or VW before. I needed a high mpg car for a longer commute. I was leaning towards a hybrid, but I test drove it and I was impressed. Just turned 1,100 miles on the car. It's been a great commuter car so far. The car handles well and latest safety test rating are and added bonus.

Never a Regret

I drive 86 miles round trip to my job. I get an average of 48 miles per gallon on diesel. I was driving a 4 wheel drive, half ton truck which only got 14 miles per gallon. I live in St. Louis and the temperatures can be very cold. My Jetta is very reliable and fun to drive. I love it! I will buy another Jetta TDI. Thanks Volkswagen.

TDI is a great engine

I've now had the Jetta wagon with the diesel engine for about two months. Assuming it lasts (the engine assuredly will, time will tell about the rest of the car)it is a wonderful car. Comfortable, road-friendly, intelligently designed (they even have a sunglasses holder), this is a great car. And, I'm getting 40 mpg. It loves to cruise at 80 mph. Great car.

VW has hit a homerun with the new Jetta

We have driven Mercedes diesel autos for fifteen years. my wife got us interested in the Jetta diesel and we made a good decision to buy the VW. it is a pleasure to drive.

Best Car Ever!

German garbage

Never buy German; stick with Japan, S Korea, USA, Subaru