Short Take Road Test
This is the first Jetta wagon in America, and it's a large deal. Not only because the Jetta is the bestselling European car here but because it's VW's top seller as well, with 144,853 of the little buggers rolling out of U.S. showrooms in 2000 alone.
For 2001, two wagons are offered: the $19,150 GLS, with a 115-hp 2.0-liter four-banger. And the $25,950 GLX, powered by the 174-hp VR6. Next year, an entry-level GL will appear, as will an optional 180-hp, 1.8-liter turbo in the GLS.
All Jetta wagons are built at VW central in Wolfsburg, and all include, among other niceties, ABS, an eight-speaker stereo, side airbags up front, heated mirrors, and remote locking. The GLX ups the ante with traction control, a sunroof, rain-sensing wipers, 16-inch wheels, and a leather-laden cockpit.
This new wagon is stubby - closer in length to the little Suzuki Esteem than it is to, say, the Ford Focus wagon. Yet it's also tall - taller than a dozen of its sport-wagon brethren. These seemingly contradictory proportions nonetheless mesh. Not only does the wagon look great, but it also swallows 34 cubic feet of household miscellany and 71 cubic feet when the rear seats are flattened. That makes it roomier than 10 wagons listed in our 2001 New Car Guide, including such standouts as the Audi A4 Avant, the BMW 3-series wagon, the Subaru Outback, and the Volvo V40. The floor back there stretches 39.5 inches between the wheel wells and close to 64 inches from the driver's seatback to the cargo door - big enough to ingest an Ariens 911 mower. Beneath the floor are six useful storage bins, surrounding the full-size spare.
The cargo bay would be even more appealing if it were easier to access. The recalcitrant rear headrests must be removed before you can fold the rear seats, yet there's insufficient headroom to yank two of them clear until the seats are raked well forward. And the rear hatch must be lifted via a puny half-inch-deep indentation, a grip maddeningly hidden for styling's sake. It's a tactile miscue, and its latch responds to key-fob signals at geologic speed only.
While we're carping, there's also this: The Jetta's throttle remains a nonlinear affair, such that step-off can occasionally snap necks. The rear seat is a sardine experience for two, painful for three. And understeer is still the predominant cornering trait, particularly if your entry speed is a mote high. It's better than it used to be, however. Our test car was fitted with the optional 17-inch Michelins and firmer sport suspension ($600). That combo now allows the driver to provoke a moment of modest rear drift - not sufficient to rotate the car but enough to supply a fleeting fillip of fun. The big tires seem also to have erased some of the at-the-limit steering numbness common to the sedans.
Our GLX stuck to the skidpad at 0.77 g, a hiccup better than a Volvo V40. This admirable traction, of course, comes at the cost of ride, which is insistently firm, sometimes harsh, at least over rippled surfaces and expansion strips.
Our automatic wagon, 223 pounds heavier than the last Jetta sedan we tested, nevertheless achieved 60 mph in 7.2 seconds. That makes it not only a half-second quicker than a manual-shifting VR6 sedan but also a pacesetter among other desirable sport wagons, including the V40 (8.3 seconds), the Saturn LW2 (7.8 seconds), even a Passat GLS V-6 (8.0).
In all other matters, this wagon is a knockout: superb visibility, firm seats, strong brakes, quiet cockpit, smooth upshifts, minimal torque steer, flawless freeway tracking, Audiesque low-speed steering, and a luxurious and meticulously assembled cabin atop a platform as taut and rattle-free as a bridge girder.
We wish it weren't so dear, of course. What you'd spend on a GLX wagon would also put you in a dandy Taurus/Sable wagon, Subaru Outback, Volvo V40, or even one of VW's lesser Passats. Frankly, if grip isn't paramount, a better choice is the GLS five-speed with optional VR6, fetching a daintier $21,450.
No matter which flavor you select, the new Jetta wagon is as practical, satisfying, and zesty an errand hopper as Volkswagen has ever fashioned. Highly recommended.
