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Volkswagen Jetta vs. Honda Accord
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Comments
i have 260 000 km with it.
i'm very satisfised. the car is very secure on the road and the brakes are very efficient even in curve or on bad roads.
i have a corolla too, but it is a good car if there are no curve no wind and if you don't need too break heavily.
considering maintenance : i replace just the rear pads at 100 000 km and all brake system at 200 000. never had trouble with nothing else (just my window which stay opened because of the cold (-35 C in montreal : a plastic part broke). i make oil replacement each 15 000 km : that save me time. but just put synthetic oil. it costs more per replacement but it still cheaper per km than the corolla.
in term of gas comsumption : 5.1 average on 260 000 km against 7.4 with the corolla (170 000 km).
conclusion : you pay a bit more but you have what you pay for. i'm thinking in selling the corolla and buy a new jetta tdi with 6 automatic speed (it is better on highway at 130 km /h) i will keep the old jetta until the end (400 000 km??).
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/diesel3e_20051003.htm
I don't drive a VW, but I have driven the NBTurbo before. It was a blast to drive, great handling and pick-up, but I didn't pay the bill when it started falling apart (the fog light has recently popped out of its housing, hanging near the road now, also).
Just allowing another VW experience to be shared. I know for every bad there will be a good, but Consumer Reports seems to agree that Honda has many more good days than does VW, while delivering similar driving experiences, and much more horsepower while getting 30+ miles per gallon of $2.75 regular, instead of $3.53 diesel, and cheaper at purchase time, maintenence time, and worth more at trade-in/selling time.
Let's get REAL. If you believe that more than a quarter of a percent of diesel car owners in the USA home-brew their fuel, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
Singular owner experiences are meaningless in the overall picture of a brand's quality. From JD power to CR, both Honda and Toyota are rated FAR better than VW.
PSS: You guys are too easy
The way you're talking on this thread is as if your opinion is a fact.
Let's stick to the subject instead of talking about each other.
You say such things like you don't believe me. You can got to Birminghamgasprices.com and see for yourself. Some rural stations sell diesel as low as 3.29, but in my city, Hueytown, you will see that the local BP sells it for $3.55, higher than the $3.53 I beleive I said earlier.
By the way, consider yourself unlucky on Hondas, because expert literature reports that Hondas and Toyotas are MUCH more reliable than a VW or Chrysler. I realize every car brand will have a lemon, but VW, according to many car litereature resources, has a record for making many more reliability flops than Hondas, or even several domestics!
The personal comments need to stop. Now.
Few unscheduled visit to the VW dealership to fix problems with Jetta will offset any perceived gains with TDI engine. Where I live diesel is 10% more than regular gas.
Accord, once out of warranty can be serviced by neighbourhood mechanic and oil changes done at walmart/gas station.
I too drove, actually test drove several, a 2005 TDI manual shift and the power is very good. It is deceptive that it is only 100 horsepower. I liked the car and the price.
In fact if a dealer hadn't of wedged $300 in July 2004 I would have bought a 2003 Golf 90 horspower TDI in July 2003.
However, after further reading and remembering my Audi LS100 experiinece where I would regularly visit the service department every couple of weeks and the service men knew me by name I decided relaibility was more important to me.
Good Luck,
MidCow
P.S. - Did you notice diesel prices are now 20-30 cents higher than premium ??.
After I bought a new '86 Peugeot 505 Turbodiesel, I had much the same experience, but whenever I turned into the dealer's service entrance, the PA system immediately blared either, "We're in The Money" or "Happy Days Are Here Again".
I find the insight and commentary on this site to be absolutely funny and entertaining to read keep the post coming
I drive an EX 4-cyl Accord after shopping, and while it doesen't have leather, it doesen't have vinyl, i mean "leatherette" either. I believe my dad's '91 Civic DX had it though! I'll give VW this, their cars are fun to drive, but the Jetta's engine was a dog when put above 4,000 rpms, and my Honda just gets giddy and takes off when I rev it up!
Seems like the harder I push the pedal, the faster I should go; an antonym of the TDI diesel engine (higher revs, power drops). The GLI has plenty of zip, but, for the same money as a V-6 Accord, it just doesen't have the beans to cut it in my book.
Price it lower and it can be competitive with the Si Civic, but it is already slower in the straight line (7.1 to 60 vs. mid 6s for the Civic Si) and doesen't have the handling advantage of the front differential the the Civic does. The Jetta is a great car for some people, but with the sticker, I'm left wanting more car for my money.
Yup.
Yes they are. Like a 40k mile New Beetle Turbo that has cost more in repairs than the down payment should have been? I'd say not everyone has problems like this lemon yellow bug has, but it appears that these are more common in VWs than in Hondas (read any consumer magazine).
Mazdaspeed 6
Acura TSX
Honda Accord EX 6-Speed
Pontiac G6 GTP
Volkswagen Jetta GLI
Granted prices for Jetta when optioned out are Accord like but this does not make it a competitor.
As far as Accord reliability. I owned one and It did have issues.
Looking around the internet at other chat rooms, I have to really wonder sometimes where the Accord gets its golden image of reliability.. Just my thoughts..
Granted prices for Jetta when optioned out are Accord like but this does not make it a competitor.
When it comes to family cars, a LOT of people hinge their decision on price (see how well the new Sonata is doing?). When a loaded Jetta 2.5 is $27,000 ish, and a loaded Accord 3.0 with Navi and 100 more horsepower is $29,000 ish, it sure looks like VW doesn't need an Accord to be parked near a Jetta when it comes time for that VW dealer to push a purchase. Maybe a Toyota dealer should buy a Jetta to park near its Corollas...
Sorry, I struggle to find the design that can cost as much as $10,000 more here.
I agree that this is steep for a 150HP vehicle. Supply/demand will eventually make VW prices go down. Consumers may see the Jetta isn't such a great deal and they will sit on the lots.. maybe? I sure hope so It would be good for me as a possible future buyer.. I sure like the way the car drove and felt.. Price is important..I don't have to buy right now.. I am patient..
My new Accord drives pretty nice. I miss the tight handling, road feel, and power of the 1.8T. I gave all that up for the reliability and lifespan of a Honda. The Accord is a nice car that handles pretty well. It's got some loose stearing a little more mushy suspention. The engine gets going pretty good from a stop, but lacks the power of the 1.8T from there. It seems to have more passange room, but smaller trunk space and a narrower entrance from the trunk to backseat.
There are certainly pros and cons between the two. To me it's a decision between fun and practical.
The Accord though seems to handle the road coming around corners/turns pretty well. The Jetta tracked the road very well and with typical/not overly aggressive driving, I don't feel I'm missing much/anything with the Accord. There are certainly differences, but I realize the Accord doesn't have racing tires and sports suspention. I haven't really tested, but I also feel breaking was better with the Jetta. My only other issue so far is the stearing is much looser and I feel considerably more disconnected from the road. There are pluses though from not "feeling" the road (and its potholes) in Michigan.
I'm not putting one car over the other, except for my experience (and the generally reputation) for repair issues. If you're not planning to keep your VW past its 4y/40K warranty, or you're getting an extended, I wouldn't have an issue with VW. But I prefer to run cars into the ground and don't have the budget for unexpected car expenses. Plus I feel I got a great deal on a car that, even at MSRP, is already a pretty good value.
Besides having more power you would have larger tires, better brakes (assuming you drive a LX model) and a slightly sportier suspension.
Now, with discounts, the GLI could be had for roughly the same price, but it still comes up short in my book. Better handling is its strongest suit, but it loses big in rear-seat room. Then you have the highly questionable reliability of Jettas over the past ten years. They are not the "made in Brazil" disasters they used to be, but they certainly don't bring to mind the golden age of VW, either.
If I wanted a small performance car for $25-30K, I'd get a Subaru WRX, which trailers the Jetta GLI in pretty much every performance category. If I wanted something with room for four adults, I'd get the Accord (which I did). The Jetta is something of a compromise between the two, but comparably equipped it prices itself right out of range. Getting a Jetta as opposed to the Accord, to me, meant paying more money for a less-reliable product with less room and less power. Slightly better handling and promises of "German engineering" just weren't enough to make up for it.
Best I can tell, the new Jetta has comparable acceleration to the 1998-2002 I-4 Accords (They also had 150 horsepower and 152 lb-ft or torque (less torque than Jetta, but they weighed less than the Jetta).
Best I can tell, the new Jetta has comparable acceleration to the 1998-2002 I-4 Accords (They also had 150 horsepower and 152 lb-ft or torque (less torque than Jetta, but they weighed less than the Jetta). The Jetta wins off the line, but after 3,000 RPM (merging revs, for example) the Accord wins out, and sounds much sweeter than the moaning 5-cylinder.
And my first car was a 68 Bug, So that hardly counts?
Not until you realize the zen and bliss of driving a VW/Audi product, and stop bantering inferior products...
What is it about VWs that some consumers dig, and other people loath? Perhaps the new J D Power APEAL Study can help us shed a light on this. VW and Audi did very well in this study - with VW pretty much on target, i.e., just below the luxury makes.
Your sarcasm floors me...lol...
They drive great, yes, but until they change their reliability issues, you'll get used to that route between home and the dealership, if it's anything like the VWs I'm around lately (2000 New Beelte, new 2005 Jetta). Good luck.
Me too rev it up to 4,500 rpm and pop the clutch, spped shift without taking foot off the gas. A little hard on the transmission but gets you great perfomance times.
On the automatic, put in neutral rev up to red-line shift to drive (2) put in drive with foot on brake reveup engine with brake on the relase foot on brake. Goot times but hard on the atiomatic transmission.
Zippiy is less than 7.0 seconds
Really zippy is less than 6.0 seconds
YPMV,
MidCow
I leave the ptrue perfromance tests to the car magazines. Real fast times destroy cars.
My observations:
Jetta is more versatile than the Accord. A car with the heart of an SUV, with out the fuel consumption. Jetta has more cargo room (trunk space) and a roomier back seat for passengers. For the same $$ more safety and convenience features associated with the Jetta. The Jetta felt more solid when driving and shutting the doors.
I have owned the Jetta for over 1 year and still enjoy it. Most smaller cars beat the driver (and passenger) up on road trips longer than 1 hour. The Jetta was more comfortable than the Ford Taurus on a 10 hour trip - mainly because of the duel temp controls. (Duel temp controls, best thing ever when traveling with a passenger.) Only regret is ... None.
A roomier back seat than an Accord you say. Those are strange observations.
I will most definitely replace this car with another VW. I had 185,000 miles on it and was hoping to put many more on it. Oh well - maybe the next one will last longer.
If I had more time and knew how to post a pic I would. If someone tells me how I will check later and post one.
Stacey">
Don't know about the heart of an SUV, but I do know about the fuel consumption:
VW Jetta - 22/30 - 150 hp
Honda CR-V - 23/30
Toyota RAV4 - 24/30
Honda Accord - 26/34 - 166 hp
The Jetta is down about 3 inches on interior legroom from the Accord, nearly 3 inches rear shoulder room, and more than 2 inches front shoulder room from the Accord*.
Roomier than the Accord, right...
*From www.VW.com's "Compare" function
We will NEVER own another VW made vehicle.
Jimster