Used 2019 Volkswagen Jetta Sedan Consumer Reviews
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great commuter
Bernie, 09/09/2019
updated 09/29/2022
2019 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T S 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 8A)
12 of 12 people found this review helpful
A few things first - I drive 110 miles daily through the hills of NW NJ/NE PA. The drive is ok in the morning (I leave before the rooster crows) and sucks on the way home. I am not looking for a "driving experience", just to retain what little left of my sanity remains. I tried several cars in the price range, with the Mazda 3 coming the closest (and was quite a bit more $), but didn't like the high beltline, the handling was a little stiffer, and the mileage wasn't as good. The Jetta has great visibility, the base seat works very well for me (supportive yet comfortable for a short, fairly lean guy), handling is good enough, and while not a sports sedan, I can easily merge or pass trucks on the hills. The truly magical part is I can get 44 mpg doing 80 mph through the hills in the morning. I cut my trips to the gas station in half, and I don't drive to optimize fuel consumption. Due to the stop and go nature of my return trip, only get about 37 mpg on the way home. The trunk is also cavernous - more than once I have loaded 8' pipe into the car (with the back seats down), and had no issues. Overall, I'm thrilled with the vehicle, but there are a few downsides: - The base tires are only ok in rain, and quite poor in snow. You'll need snow tires if in the snow belt. The price you pay for great gas mileage. - For some reason, at the slightest hint of humidity, the front windshield fogs. My defroster is almost always on. - It is a pretty bland looking car, especially compared to the Golf, Passat, or any of the Audis (I'm indifferent to the appearance, but tend to go to the wrong car when in parking lots, which wouldn't happen to any of the others - probably should not have bought white). - No one carries the specified oil, except VW dealers, and the dealer isn't conveniently located. This is the only "con" that truly bothers me. - When driving in eco mode, early shifts at too low revs, and the trans sounds a little rough. Less so when taking out of eco mode, only impacts the highway mileage by 1 mpg. - VW reliability scares me a bit. Fingers crossed that I can get 200k without a major issue. If you just want to get through a commute in a comfortable, quick, fairly agile, quiet car while stopping at the gas station as infrequently as possible (or about every 550 miles for me), this is a great choice. 1 year update: I'm now at 40k miles after a bit over a year. I've had 1 minor oil leak (fixed under warranty), and the tires are about shot (surprised me a little, as I typically get 60k+ out of tires with mostly highway driving). I feel exactly the same on the car. I'm getting a touch over 39 mpg with spirited highway driving, experiencing no odd noises or decreased performance. The seat is still firm and comfortable, and the car has required no major work. This is still the perfect commuter car for me (roomy, comfortable, handles well, decent acceleration, great fuel economy). If you are looking at a Corolla, Civic, or Elantra, throw the Jetta in your search. You may be quite pleasantly surprised. Update 27Mar2021 With almost 80k miles on the car, it hasn't changed much. The seats are still firmly comfortable, I still get almost 40 mpg in mostly highway driving, no odd squeaks,... I replaced the stock tires with General Altimax, and do much better in the snow. The tradeoff in mileage (about 1 mpg worse) equalled out due the lack of traffic (still much lower than pre-Covid levels). I've had nothing besides routine maintenance (except when I knocked off the mirror casing when backing out of the garage). Routine service costs a bit more than most American or Japanese cars, but not by much (although this year I have to get the brake fluid flushed, not sure what that goes for). Overall, still pleasantly surprised, and if I had to buy another car today, a Jetta would still be in serious consideration. Update 29Sept22 - At 130k, only standard maintenance, another set of tires and alignment (another Altimax, got 70k out of the previous with good wet weather performance, decent in the snow). No noticeable change in performance or odd rattles, still comfortable on long trips. Mileage is down to about 38.5 mpg (from just over 40), but due to increased traffic post covid. My only complaint is the driver's side sun visor clip broke, Volkswagen doesn't sell it separately (that I can find), and they want $370 for the assembly. Will get creative this weekend. After 3-1/2 years, still very happy with the vehicle. Maybe I'm just lucky, but if looking for a compact commuter, I suggest adding the Jetta to your test drive list.
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Great economy car - Replacement for 2017 Sentra
John, 08/27/2018
updated 09/06/2019
2019 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T S 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
53 of 59 people found this review helpful
Our 2017 Nissan Sentra was totaled, it was a great value car. This car will eventually go to my 16 year old when he leaves for College. So we came up with a list and I threw the Jetta on their because I saw a good deal advertised. I couldn't find any Six Speeds close to me so I didn't get to test drive the '18 model. We drove the Kia Soul, Corolla Mi and lastly we decided to drive the Jetta. I was blown away by the Jetta and ended up buying one. The car has a lot to offer in performance and comfort. The fuel economy is great - I could get better but its so much fun to drive and I'm still getting in the mid 30's. This has car play which is a plus and gives us the GPS, etc. This car is a winner and the prices you can get are great!!! Edmunds asked me to update my review - I can say after 7,000 + miles we still love this car and believe its a winner. There are no complaints about this car except I will need to give this to my son at the end of the school year (he earned it by his grades) - it is a lot of fun drive. We ended up enjoying it so much we added an Atlas to our garage also.
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2019 Volkswagen Jetta for sale near you
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- 1.4T S SedanMSRP: $6,9952 mi away
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Pleasantly surprised
Bill Malec, 12/22/2018
updated 12/27/2023
2019 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T S 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
24 of 26 people found this review helpful
Price was much less than expected. Coming from a VW diesel I'm impressed with the 1.4L engine's torque and especially the mileage. I averaged 47 mpg driving home with the car 200 miles from where I bought it. That's diesel territory! Interior quality is much improved. Very quiet and comfortable inside. Update: 59,000 miles now. Absolutely zero problems.
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Needs Improvements
2019 Jetta Buyer, 08/12/2019
2019 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T SE 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 8A)
10 of 10 people found this review helpful
I purchased this vehicle in October 2018. I thought it was a good value compared to a Honda Civic (previous owner) and a Toyota Corolla. Overall this car is ok as a daily vehicle but it is not comfortable on long road trips. The passenger seat is not adjustable and has no lumbar support. The transmission does not shift smoothly at speeds below 35. The service technicians said the other Jettas on the lot performed the same way so there was no problem. Also had 3 service alerts (basically a manufacturer voluntary recall) in 9 months. I recently decided to trade this Jetta for a Subaru.
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Almost 5 Stars
Curtson, 12/18/2019
updated 01/09/2025
2019 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T SEL Premium w/CWP 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 8A)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
I have had this Jetta for 1 year and 15,000 miles. The gas mileage has been excellent; I have gotten 44-46 mpg driving interstate from IA to NM, WY, and ND. It is quiet. It handles very well in high wind conditions. On the trips to WY and ND, I did not realize how strong the headwind was until I stopped at a rest stop. It can be a little sluggish from a stop because the transmission shifts at low rpm to increase mpg, preventing the engine from generating momentum. If I need a quick start or am merging into heavy traffic, I shift the transmission into Sport and that improves the take-off noticeably. The handling can be improved by setting the Driving Mode Selection to Custom mode and then change the Steering to Sport; I have been satisfied with the result. I have not needed any repairs or had any malfunctions of the drive train. There have been no squeaks or rattles. The rear doors need to be firmly shut, however. If just bumped shut they may not close completely and the alarm will sound when you start to drive. The trunk has popped open 4-5 times in the past year when I thought I had it closed. The driver's seat is ventilated. How much do I like that? I will never buy another vehicle without ventilated seats. It is a very comfortable seat (I am 5'9", 190 lbs). The passenger seat, on the other hand, is disappointing. I can only take this on long trips when I am by myself. Any trip over 3 hrs (at best) causes my wife's back to stiffen. VW really needs to give the passenger seat at least a manual vertical adjustment. Also, the passenger floor mat does not have anchors so it always slides up higher under the dash, resulting in about a 4 inch gap behind it for dirt to get on the carpet. I understand why VW tries to save money to keep the cost down but these seem like poor choices. There is going to be a passenger much of the time and this cost-cutting ends up being very noticeable. Interior: a little much hard plastic but not unreasonable for the price. The infotainment system is excellent. The screen is a nice size. The Virtual Cockpit is very nice. The Beats audio sounds very good. I like the navigation better than Google or Apple Maps but there is 1 glitch - it will stay on interstates to a fault. For example, I drove from Kansas City to Hugoton, KS. The logical route is I-70 to KS-156, then to Hugoton by a diagonal route. The navigation will, instead, take you all the way west to a highway in western KS, then south before backtracking east to Hugoton. Following that route takes an extra hour. The problem is avoided by adding a stopover along the preferred route. My service manager and I checked all 2019 VWs with Navigation on his lot and found this is a system problem with VWs software; we reported it to VW last July but I haven't heard of a correction. For my efforts diagnosing the problem and dealing with the difficulties it caused me until I figured it out, VW gave me a free 10,000 and 20,000 service package which I appreciated. I think the wheels at this trim level are ugly and dull. In the brochure and website, the wheels appear much more shiny than they really are. I even waxed them to brighten them up. The other trim on the car is a bright chrome so it just doesn't match visually. I suppose it's dumb (and my wife has suggested that whenever I mention it) but I'm always vaguely annoyed that I bought a car that I don't really like looking at. I just get inside quickly. Overall, I am glad I bought this Jetta and enjoy driving it. VW really needs to improve the front passenger seat and get the navigation bug fixed since that package is a $1,000 extra; those things are costing the car a 5-star rating. Other than that, I have no meaningful complaints. Update @ 28,000 miles. I have had no problems with the Jetta. The Hankook Kinergy tires that came on it need to be replaced before winter, which seems like not many miles on them. The trunk popped open a few times at first but hasn't in a long time. Mpg remains very good. I have taken it on several long trips and was always comfortable. Update @ 48,000 miles: Still runs well. Not an exciting car to drive but above average acceleration (Sport mode is useful when needed) and handling. I have had no problems and have only done routine maintenance. My main complaint about this car remains and always will be the front passenger seat. If VW was going to not give it any adjustments, they could have at least set it at a comfortable height for an average size person. It's so low that's almost like sitting on the floor. 60,000 miles. No problems. The warranty just ran out and I'm considering buying a 2025 Jetta to replace it because of the improvements that VW made (slightly larger engine, heated steering wheel, general styling updates). I would recommend this to a friend, as they say.
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