The small wagon body style of the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagon and its low emissions power train make it a practical everyday vehicle, but its lack of any good cabin electronics make it a poor tech car.
Volkswagen's new Jetta SportWagon doesn't differ from the 2008 Jetta sedan mechanically or in its cabin electronics. But the reintroduction of a small wagon from Volkswagen, a very practical car design, is welcome.
The 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine lacks excitement, but provides adequate power for the SportWagon. A turbocharged 2-liter four-cylinder is available at a higher trim level.
Although Volkswagen's SportWagon was on hiatus before this model, the company's experience selling the Audi A3 and A4 Avant give it justification for the new SportWagon.
At the trim level of our test car, the center LED display offers limited information. The car's manual shows that it can be had with a larger display, offering more information, such as a full trip computer.
The six-speed automatic will save gas at freeway speeds, but we didn't find that this transmission contributed to the 'sport' in SportWagon. It does have a manual shift mode, but the automatic mode takes control before you can have too much fun.
The stereo head unit in the car is very simple, although it is the Jetta's premium audio system. It has a six-disc changer that can read MP3 CDs. Selecting tracks isn't very convenient, as you have to search through one at a time.
The only bit of cabin tech that really impressed us was the audio quality. The system uses three speakers on each side in front, and two in each door in back, comprising 10 speakers total.
