Used 2017 Volkswagen Jetta Consumer Reviews
Traded my nightmare Audi A4 Avant for a Jetta SE.
Christopher David S., 10/30/2017
1.4T SE 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
32 of 33 people found this review helpful
I recently traded my A4 Avant for a brand new 2017 Jetta SE. I bought my Jetta during a great promotion that my dealer was having, and I really feel that it was a great value. I bought it with 8 miles on the odometer and have put 17,000 on it in 10 months. ZERO problems, so far. The gas mileage is a big plus for me. With all of my highway driving, I see high 30's, every day. One day, I was on a long road trip and was using hyper-mileing techniques, and got over 40MPG. I love this car so much that I do not know where to start. Let's start with the engine. I was a bit worried that the tiny 1.4 Turbo would be too small and pathetic for being a daily highway driver. Boy, did the test drive prove me wrong. The 1.4 is a very snappy little motor with great acceleration. It is insanely torquey for such a small displacement engine. This car has neglibile, if any at all, Turbo lag. Compared to my old A4, this car has a very responsive Turbo. The transmission is very smooth, but on occassion decides to shift hard. Maybe once or twice a month, it will act like it can't figure out where it wants to shift. Resulting in a bit of a jerk when it shifts. The tires on this car are noisy. I cannot wait to wear them out, and put some new tires on it. VW needs to drop Bridgestone. Utter garbage tires, in my opinion. As for cabin and interior, this car is VERY spacious. I am 6'0", and weigh 280 pounds. I do not ever regret buying this car. It is comfortable, and has a great amount of leg room. I like the height adjustable seats with a handle to pump them up and down. The trunk is incredibly large. I am not sure how VW engineered the car to have such a large trunk, while maintaining enough leg room that my 6'7" friend can ride in the back seat without cramping up. I live on the ocean and am constantly at a beach with this car. That means lots of sand and salt water on my clothes. The vinyl seats and the nice rubber floor mats are great for this enviroment. Very durable interior, and easy to lift out the deep tray floor mat and just dump the sand out. The seats wipe right off, and clean up easily. For an economy based car, the electronic amenties make it a great commuter. I use the Blutooth every day. Google Maps are used for my GPS. The backup camera is a great feature that I love. USB ports are handy, as well. For the money, you get a lot of features. And, did I mention that it is a great looking car, as well. I wish the warranty were a bit longer, and the oil changes were still free, but so far the maintenance visits have been painless and the service has been great.
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Small (1.4) turbocharged VW sedan with a 5M
Buck, 09/04/2017
1.4T S 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
50 of 54 people found this review helpful
This is the bottom of the VW line......but the top of the line for MPG. VW purchased (buyback program) my immensely competent (but EPA says incompetent) TDI. The Jetta S 5M seems a very good value - noting the end of the model year discounting. Test drive was positive. Purchased late August 2017 for less than my 1988 cost for an Acura Integra 4- cyl hatch. First refueling calc's 477.5 mostly city miles on about 12 gallons of RON 87. UPDATE: (08 March 2018). Odometer now reads 5509 and Fuelly dot com reports an average of 39.9 in 70/30 City/Highway use. Brakes, clutch and 5M shift synchros make for very smooth operation. I like the LED daytime running lights, the USB enables a small flash drive to store all the 6 CD music leftover following JSW TDI 6M buyback. Incidentally this 1.4 turbo out of door price was almost exactly one-half the new car OTD price of my 2013 TDI wagon. ADDITIONAL (Requested) UPDATE 08 September 2018..........Odometer now 12355. Fuelly now says 39.4 (40.1 last 10 fill-ups)........ No issues thus far. Update during virus: Odometer: 33779.Fuelly: 40.8. No, none, nada, nil issues since purchase.
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Roomy yet Small footprint, Fast yet Efficient
T.M. Kane, 01/20/2018
1.4T S 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
31 of 34 people found this review helpful
I have a 1.4 liter manual - the cheapest car VW sells. I think it's a matter of taste. This car has a classic, form follows function, understated yet poised and handsome design while the Japanese are going to a transformers/exotica style school of design that appears juvenile to my eyes, nor do I think that it will age well. The Jetta is a compact with back seat legroom exceeding 38 inches - enough for even large adult passengers to be comfortable - which is nice if you occasionally drive coworkers or clients to lunch. It also has an enormous trunk space. I have the 1.4 bottom end but it has the same torque as the 1.8 top end. This car will go from 0 to 60mph in under 8 seconds - traditionally the very definition of a fast car (that's v-6 performance) yet it gets over 40mpg on the highway if you drive 70mpg or under, and in excess of 42mpg if you drive at 65mph or less. This quite simply is a car that exceeds the performance of its classification in all perimeters: interior/trunk size, acceleration and efficiency. It also has more cache than most other compacts. It neither looks nor drives like cheapo. I think buying the 1.8 liter is unnecessary. It cost more, gets slightly less gas mileage and has the same torque (pulling power/accelaration) which means its only real advantage comes if you are going to be routinely driving over 90mph. There might be a practical performance advantage if you buy the automatic, my is manual, but I'm not sure its worth the increased cost and loss in economy. This car was a remarkable achievement for VW. The interior is practical and handsome and logical but I'd prefer a more driver focused layout. Also the car came with nice steering wheel controls with a sophisticated and highly accurate cruise control that allows me to set my speed right at the maximum allowed for my long highway commute to work. My feeling, when I was shopping for a car was that the Jetta offered the most car and most substantial car for the money. Chevy actually has a competitive model. Mazda is the gold standard, but it is more crampt and has the transformer design, the Toyota is less crampt but less mpg and worse performance characteristics. Whenever I see a compact I think "that guy could have bought a Jetta", though if its a Mazda, I can understand, different taste and perhaps better quality - though I have had no quality issues, I have owned Japanese makes before and their quality reputation is well deserved in my opinion.
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Great Low Cost Buy Used Car
david smith, 02/11/2018
1.4T SE 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
10 of 10 people found this review helpful
Very sure-footed in snow & slippery driving conditions. My only complaint is "blind-spots" for lane changes. I'm a seasoned driver who has had several close-calls changing lanes on the highway in this car (no lane departure or other driver-assist detection cameras/software)... I recommend that you check & double-check for another vehicle just behind & beside you before changing lanes - the "B & C-Pillars" seem to block out vehicles traveling just beside & behind you. Otherwise, I really like this car for my needs.
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Don't Overlook the VW Jetta
Carroll Baldwin, 12/24/2017
1.4T SE 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
15 of 16 people found this review helpful
I had a 2008 VW Jetta, and really liked it, but the 2017 certainly shows 9 years of improvements over my old car. I got another Jetta for several reasons - I loved my previous one, the price was fantastic, and the 2017 had many more features and extras over the former one. In my new Jetta, I feel like I'm riding in a luxury car, without the luxury car price. It was a much better deal than the 2015 Toyotas I found, and it was new! I'm sold, and have had enough experience with VW that I can highly recommend them. This time, don't go with Consumer Reports - you won't be sorry. I have had my Jetta almost 8 months now, and still love everything about it. As you can see above, it is my second Jetta, and I would not hesitate to get another one in the future. My grandson now has my 2008 Jetta, and loves it - still running great.
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A Very Pleasant Surprise!
J. Johansson, 03/25/2018
1.8T Sport 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
18 of 20 people found this review helpful
In 2016 I was reorganizing my life. I traded in a newish Volvo, for this a brand new Jetta Sport 1.8 Turbo. It was the most intriguing car at this price point. (It was important that I purchased within my means, still having a new, dependable car with warranty - but that was within my budget.) Everything else seemed cheap. I really was expecting to not like it and to be very unhappy. But to my surprise, this Jetta sports model with larger, turbocharged engine, revised suspension, wheels and tires, and 2 tone seating - drives like a sports car. It has great acceleration, tight steering and great interior with seat bolsters that hold you in place! It feels A LOT more like an Audi than a Volkswagen! My friend calls it a poor mans Audi. I agree. It also has a sleeker appearance sitting lower to the ground on larger sport wheels and tires. For the price, it's amazing and a bonafide secret. Seriously, if you strap on one of these sports models you will be sold! Oh, and it has a huge trunk! This review is for the Sport model with the 1.8 liter turbo. I can't vouch for the regular 1.4 liter turbo models.
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21,000 mile report
ezshift5, 06/02/2019
1.4T S 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
The initial cost was rock botton low due in part to VW's world- wise emissions situation. At $14,337 Cash OTD, I still had over 10 large to bank following VW's buyback of my 2013 JSW TDI. Car has had no issues since delivery. Fuelly indicates 39.9 MPG average for the 21k. Trunk is huge. Transmission and clutch are very easy to use. Brakes are effective with no fade or judder noted to date. I could do without the hard plastic interior and the non-VTEX seats - but again the price was right!!
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A Great Value For The Money!
George Townsend, 11/11/2016
1.8T SEL 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
13 of 15 people found this review helpful
I purchased this car because I'm selling my 2011 Jetta Diesel back to Volkswagen as part of the emissions lawsuit where VW "gamed" the emissions tests and got caught. I loved my diesel Jetta but it had 135,000 miles on it and the lawsuit offered me a $15300 buy-back deal. For an additional $10,000 I bought a brand-new 2017 SEL with a 1.8Liter turbo engine and all the bells and whistles. It doesn't get the mileage of my diesel (up to 53mpg) but it rides terrifically and has all the options one could want. The car is fast, with great acceleration from the turbocharged engine, and it's nimble in the curves and in braking. There's plenty of room for 5 persons and the trunk is roomy and spacious! Unfortunately, VW isn't offering the 36,000 mile free maintenance warranty anymore, but this car is reliable and steady, needing only oil changes in the short term.
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Three and a half years, no issues
Pete, 07/19/2018
1.4T S 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
13 of 15 people found this review helpful
Fun little car with spunk and great gas mileage- not unusual to average over 40 mpg on the highway. We have moved to the mountains in Colorado, lots of hills at altitude has dropped fuel mileage to around 34, at 8,500 feet that's pretty good! Plenty of power for the mountains as long as RPM stays above 1500. We've had it for three and a half years now and have put 33K miles on (not driving much - Covid) with no issues. Received 1st recall notice this month for fuel rail. 6 speed would be better but love the car. Very happy with purchase and experience so far.
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2017 VW GLI: Civility with a killer instinct
Jason S. Davis, 11/02/2016
2.0T GLI 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6AM)
16 of 19 people found this review helpful
This car is hungry; truly in an almost uncivilized way...to be driven. The 210 hp TSI engine growls like it just wants more road to chew. For those who have heard criticism of VWs engine amplification to the cabin, three things: 1. Consider the source. 2. It’s an asset to hear when to shift gears. 3. Give it a listen first hand, the sound befits the agility of the car. Cornering is effortless and quick (four-wheel independent suspension) and the DSG gearing leaves cars in the rear view mirror at an alarming rate. The SE package is the only trim offering this year but valued well with every 2016 SEL amenity sans some front lighting features. As far as the body styling, the accents are sharply placed and the overall body appearance will undoubtedly age better than its over-styled U.S. and foreign competitors. The cabin is comfortable, well thought out and designed for both driver and passenger. Nod to Fender and VW for and even more remarkable sounding stereo then my previous 2012 Fender system. One wish: Versus my 2012 Jetta TDI, I have lost around 29 lb-ft torque which I long for at times. At that point, the GLI horse power with its torque placement at the low-end of the RPMs (unlike its “completion”) and my wish for the deisel has disappeared. Between the pairing of the 210 horse and the low-end pull the clamouring for the lost torque is a long distant memory (sort of like the car that could have been behind me just a second ago). Bottom line: Pick a nice day and go for a test drive...be prepared for the "giddy up" and to enjoy yourself. *One additional comment: in my experience, not having a GTI badge means you get most of the performance with fewer tickets secondary to it being a sedan. I have driven and appreciate both and “you can’t argue taste” but I appreciate a “sleeper” over something that screams.
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