Used 2018 Volkswagen Jetta Consumer Reviews
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We have a limited number of reviews for the 2018 Jetta, so we've included reviews for other years of the Jetta since its last redesign.
Traded my nightmare Audi A4 Avant for a Jetta SE.
Christopher David S., 10/30/2017
updated 11/06/2018
2017 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T SE 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
43 of 45 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
updated 08/22/2022
2017 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T S 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
63 of 67 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 6/20/2022; Odometer: 45505 Fuelly: 40.7. No issues since purchase!!
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Fun, Zippy, Great Handling Roomy Sedan
Mclaren Spencer, 01/10/2018
2018 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T S 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
17 of 17 people found this review helpful
The clutch is super easy to use, the truck and back seat have all the room you could ever need. Very high quality build and materials. A fun, zippy turbo. Best bang for your buck out there.
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Great Low Cost Buy Used Car
david smith, 02/11/2018
2017 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T SE 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
17 of 17 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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Roomy yet Small footprint, Fast yet Efficient
T.M. Kane, 01/20/2018
2017 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T S 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
39 of 42 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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A lot of car for the money
Aikiman, 11/03/2018
updated 11/05/2019
2018 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T SE 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
21 of 22 people found this review helpful
Edmunds’ review is lukewarm, but mine isn’t. This car has been engineered with the driver in mind. It’s German roots are everywhere; from the quick acceleration, confident braking, and on-point handling it is a joy to drive. After one year the car has had no problems and is still as fun to drive as when it was purchased.
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A zippy sports sedan without a high price tag
LF, 05/27/2018
2018 Volkswagen Jetta 1.8T SE Sport 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
12 of 12 people found this review helpful
I LOVE my new 2018 Jetta. I have the Sports model and I could not be happier with it. I have been a loyal VW driver for 18 years and this car does not disappoint.The exterior is so slick looking and eye catching. I love the way it gets looks when I am driving and the "invitation" to "race" from much more expensive cars, has me gleeful every time.. The interior is also quite sleek. The black headliner and all black interior is so sexy. The driver's seat fits me and is comfortable, unlike the seats in the 2015 Golf (my previous car). The infotainment center has undergone a huge upgrade and it is so easy to use, practical and fun. There are not a lot of bells and whistles but I don't need them. The only things I miss from my Golf are the sunshade extenders and having air/heat vents in the back seat. Why aren't there any there? I think this is a major design flaw. I also wish the stereo was heftier. The speakers are already in need of some tune up and it has only been a month. I am enjoying the more comfortable ride of the Jetta. It is smooth and responsive. It feels like it is "floating" over the road in a good way. The acceleration is quick (but not as zippy as the Golf) and the car feels heavy and safe. I am getting used to the keyless entry. I don't love that ....and I am so happy to have the ENORMOUS trunk. I adore this car. I look forward to (hopefully) many years of fun and safe driving.
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21,000 mile report
ezshift5, 06/02/2019
2017 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T S 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
12 of 12 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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Don't Overlook the VW Jetta
Carroll Baldwin, 12/24/2017
updated 07/02/2018
2017 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T SE 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
17 of 18 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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Fantastic
William, 05/25/2018
updated 12/01/2019
2018 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T S 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
21 of 23 people found this review helpful
This is our third Jetta since 2014, all 5sp manual. The 2014 was very roomy, comfortable, reliable. The 2.0 engine was underpowered and poor fuel economy (26 avg), but great budget car. We then bought a new 2016 jetta S. The 1.4 turbo engine and gearing changes made this car perfect. Plenty of power and avg 36mpg. A tree fell on the car and forced another purchase. The 2017 was identical, with addition of LED daytime running lights. We get 36mpg city and 42mpg highway. The best part is we bought the last two in mid July, they were on sale for $13,000. Last year I rented a Chevrolet Malibu for a 1400 mile drive in 2 days. Mpg was 35 and very uncomfortable. I just made a 2 day 1400 mile drive in the Jetta, 42mpg and plenty comfortable. Love this car. *UPDATE* Made another 2 day 1400 mile trip. Avg speed 68-70mph. 51mpg. Car is amazing. *UPDATE 2* 21K miles. No issues. Mpg still unbelievable. Note: idling greatly cuts mpg. With no idling while parked, we consistently get 36-42mpg around town, 48-51mpg hwy.
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