2019 Volkswagen Jetta: Upscale, not upsized

[MUSIC] After a few generations of neglect, witness the return of the Jetta. It's a little bit bigger, it's slightly longer, and that frees up more space inside for people and cargo. Not much, but enough to make that spec improvement for 2019 claim. However, rather than a move up in scale I feel like this is more of a move up scale for the new Jetta, and more importantly it feels like less of an afterthought in Volkswagen's lineup. So how much better is the 2019 Jetta? Well, grab shotgun with me in this SEL premium model and we'll find out together. [MUSIC] So the performance news here is that the [UNKNOWN] is finally Famed MQB platform, the modular platform that underpins the Golf and the GTI. However, rather than being a hot hatchback, what we have here is a sedan. And that's fine, it's a different tool For a different job, and the Jetta's job is being comfortable and quiet. And it excels at that job with a ride that is smooth and steering that's pretty direct but not tiring, so this is a very easy car to drive over long distances. Meanwhile, road and wind noise are also attacked by the same aerodynamic upgrades as this generation sees that help it get fuel economy that's better than before. Now you'll notice that I didn't say anything about this car being stronger or more powerful at the opening, and that's because it's not. Under the hood you'll find a version of the same one 0.4 liter turbocharged sports cylinder that underpinned the last generation. Power is down a couple horsepower, to 147 ponies. But torque is still the same, at 184 pound-feet. And that's a good amount of torque for a car of this size, it makes it feel nice and responsive around town. However, on the road, it You are kind of relying on the transmission, the [UNKNOWN] automatic that is standard in this vehicle to fill in some of the gaps. And it doesn't always do the best job. You try to push this car on a [UNKNOWN] road, you'll find not only the suspension and the [UNKNOWN] Really set up towards understeer, which makes it not very fun to go around corners but also that the gearing's a bit taller, a bit too much space between second and third gear for this to be a really fun car on a twisty road. So just chill out and enjoy the ride. While you're enjoying that ride you'll find And that this cabin is full of a lot more cool tech. We talk about a lot of it in a separate video but we've got a big navigation system here, Volkswagen's most advanced version of its digital cockpit and that's gonna make this car feel really smart. The Beats audio system is all right. I kinda wish that it was the Fender audio system that was on some previous generation Volkswagen models but it gets the job done and it sounds Pretty good. Meanwhile, we got a bunch of safety tech also helping things out. Standard is gonna be a rear view camera and Volkswagen's pre-collision assist system. But then with the fully loaded model, we've also got things like lane keeping assist and adaptive cruise control that works with stop and go traffic. It's a bit stuttery in stop and go traffic But it gets the job done. That's a theme you'll notice with this car. It gets the job done. It's not the most exciting car on the road, but it's not a terrible choice. And with a lower starting price than before and better fuel economy at 30 city and 40 on the highway, well, it's still a pretty solid choice. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] The 2019 Volkswagen Jetta starts at a surprisingly affordable 18595. But this SEL premium model with all of the bells and whistles we like tested around 27 K. Let's call it just under 28,000 with destination charges. Still, that's not a bad price, and this is a really good choice for someone looking for a comfortable [MUSIC] Stylish and well equipped mid [INAUDIBLE] if not necessarily concerned with having the fastest steamy holder. [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]