Monday, 17 February 2025

2025 Volkswagen Jetta is a capable, affordable sedan Featured

Posted On Wednesday, 25 December 2024 01:21 Written by
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The 2025 Volkswagen Jetta features attractive European styling. The 2025 Volkswagen Jetta features attractive European styling. Photo courtesy of Volkswagen

While other brands are bowing out of the sedan market to focus on SUVs, Volkswagen isn’t quite throwing in the towel.

For the 2025 model year, they continue to offer the Volkswagen Jetta, a budget-friendly compact sedan offering attractive styling and strong fuel efficiency.

Offered for the past 35 years, the Jetta is VW’s only remaining sedan, and gets a refreshed look on both the front and rear ends for 2025, but not a full redesign.

I recently tested a 2025 Volkswagen Jetta (SEL trim level), and I’m back with a full report on how it holds up against compact sedan offerings from Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Mazda and more.


LOOKS

The 2025 Jetta presents an attractive European style design — not overly flashy, but still classy. The refreshed front grille and headlight design looks sharp, and side lines are crisp.

Some trim levels also get a front light bar across the grille, and updates have also been made to the rear design.

Wheels range from 16 to 18 inches in size, and an attractive array of paint colors are offered on the Jetta.

My test vehicle featured a Monterey Blue exterior paint color; 18" alloy wheels with all-season tires and attractive rims; LED headlights and tail lights; Heated, foldable, power adjustable side mirrors; rain-sensing front wipers with heated washer nozzles; plus a power tilting & sliding sunroof.

Inside, the 2025 Jetta offers a straightforward design that’s far from fancy but features comfortable seating for five passengers. The vehicle gets an upgrade in upholstery and a new dashboard design, and its trunk offers a decent 14 cubic feet of space.

Being a compact car, the rear seat will be a bit tight in terms of leg room, and the three passengers in back will be a bit cozy. Up front, however, both driver and passenger have plenty of room to enjoy.

Other interior features on my test vehicle included:

— Grigio & Titan Black leather interior
— Dual-zone automatic climate control
— Leather-wrapped and heated steering wheel
— Heated and ventilated driver's seat and front passenger seat
— 60/40 split-folding rear seat
— Heated rear seat (outboard seating positions)
— Vienna leather seating surfaces
— Multi-color adjustable ambient lighting


HOW’S THE RIDE?

The Jetta is powered by a 1.5-liter, four-cylinder, turbocharged engine, which delivers 158 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque.

All Jettas feature an eight-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive, and have electric power steering.

There is no longer a manual transmission option offered (unless you opt for the sportier Jetta GLI model), and there is no option to upgrade to all-wheel drive (an option some rival sedans offer). The lack of AWD is one feature that may concern some prospective buyers who regularly drive in inclement weather.

Drive modes on the Jetta include: Eco, Normal, Sport and Custom. Sport is the most fun, Normal works well for everyday driving and doesn't feel slow, while Eco will maximize mileage but is the least quick.

Acceleration is not the biggest attribute of the Jetta, with the 0-to-60 time coming in the mid 7-second range. (NOTE: Getting a Jetta GLI will drop that 0-to-60 number closer to 6 seconds)

But despite the Jetta not being a speed demon, that doesn’t mean the ride isn’t impressive. It handles well on regular and curvy roads, and offers a respectable drive quality for everyday use. It’s perfectly suited for everyday family transport, and can handle acceleration when needed for highway merging or passing.

Some rival sedans are definitely more sporty in terms of their overall driving character, but that’s not the attribute every buyer is seeking.

 
TECHNOLOGY, SAFETY

In the Jetta’s tech setup, VW heavily embraces touch controls on the 8-inch center screen, including controls that drivers can either push down or slide to operate. 

Taking a modern approach, there are very few physical buttons and dials, with the exception of a physical volume control and channel changer dial for the radio.

Some people will like the approach VW has taken to the tech design, and others will not, as the controls can be problematic and difficult to control at times, which is not ideal while you are driving.

Voice commands are an alternative, and those worked well for me in the Jetta, and were easy to master. This provides a more user-friendly option for people unhappy with the physical controls.

The Jetta’s sound system was impressive, delivering a clean and booming sound from the BeatsAudio premium system that includes a subwoofer.

The 2025 Jetta features AM/FM/HD radio, a 3-month trial of satellite radio, Bluetooth connectivity for streaming music and phone calls to the car, and wireless phone charging, several USB-C ports, and an anti-theft alarm system w/ engine immobilizer.

The 2025 Jetta delivers on the safety front, offering a bevy of helpful features that aren’t always found on other sedans.

At the forefront of its offerings is VW’s IQ.DRIVE, which delivers multiple support systems, including:

— Travel Assist, which allows for semi-automated driving assistance
— Adaptive Cruise Control, to maintain distance to vehicle ahead
— Lane Assist, to keep you in your lane
— Forward Collision Warning and Automatic Emergency Braking, including Pedestrian Monitoring
— Active Blind Spot Monitor
— Rear Traffic Alert 

The backup camera on the Jetta is clear and helpful, and the Jetta delivered 5-star safety ratings in government testing.

The Jetta’s airbag system includes 6 airbags, and the Jetta also features an automatic post-collision braking system and tire pressure monitoring.


MPG

One area where the Jetta has great success is fuel mileage. The official numbers on the Jetta are 29 city/40 highway/33 combined.

Those who choose the sportier Jetta GLI offering will see average miles per gallon drop down to 29 or 30 mpg depending on the transmission type chosen.

In my experience driving the Jetta, I saw fuel mileage numbers in the low to mid-30s, so the numbers listed proved accurate, and it’s even possible to exceed them in the right conditions.

These numbers are also highly competitive against all rival compact sedans, so buyers who are aiming to maximize fuel economy will be drawn to the Jetta.

To spell out the math even further, if you can manage mid-30s or higher for fuel mileage, one full tank of fuel will last you between 450 and 500 miles. Not too shabby.
 

PRICE

The 2025 Volkswagen SEL that I tested was at the higher end of the price scale, coming in at just over $30K. Base price on the Jetta starts at $23K, a very reasonable price. Trim levels include S, Sport, SE and SEL.

By comparison, pricing for rivals such as the Honda Civic and Mazda 3 start around the mid-$20K range, a couple grand higher, making the Jetta one of the more affordable compact sedans. Other rivals that are closer in price to the Jetta are the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Elantra.

Most buyers will be happy with the Sport trim level, which comes in around $25K, or the SE trim at $26K. And even if you want to splurge on the top SEL trim level, you’ll only get to around $30K. That’s about as low of price range as you’ll find on a vehicle today, which will be welcome news for buyers on a budget.

If you want a sportier ride, the Jetta GLI model is available, but that comes with a larger $34K price tag.

In terms of warranties, the Jetta offers:
— Volkswagen’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty for 4 years/50,000 miles 
— Powertrain warranty for 4 years/50,000 miles
— Limited Warranty against Corrosion Perforation for 7 years/100,000 miles

These are respectable numbers in terms of overall protection, and you also get two years/20,000 miles of complimentary maintenance, plus 24-hour roadside assistance for 3 years/36,000 miles.

BOTTOM LINE

While it isn’t the biggest name in the segment, there’s no denying that the 2025 VW Jetta is a great fit for compact sedan buyers who are looking for an affordable vehicle that also delivers quality European-style design and fuel efficiency. It’s definitely worth a test drive for buyers exploring sedan options. 

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AutoTechReviews.com can be found on Twitter @AutoTechReview, or stay updated at the AutoTechReviews Facebook page. Follow AutoTechReviews on Instagram at @Autotechreviews. Matt Myftiu can be found on Twitter @MattMyftiu 



Additional Info

  • Vehicle: 2025 Volkswagen Jetta
  • Price as tested: $30,225 (starts around $23K)
  • Best feature: Affordable, strong fuel mileage, attractive European styling
  • Rating: 3.5 out of five stars   
  • Who will want this vehicle?: Sedan buyers on a budget seeking an attractive design and strong fuel mileage
Matt M. Myftiu

Matt Myftiu has been a journalist for two decades with a focus on technology, NASCAR and autos.

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