Volkswagen Jetta 2005 and earlier

tulanekid24

No, I am absolutely certain that the 2002 VR6 GLX jetta I drove had a ESP button. I even pointed it out to my friend who was with me. Maybe it was a change during the middle of the model year?? I dont know.

Does anyone have any info on when the 2003 Jetta will be out? Are their any changes for next year?

xud

Information can be found at
www.vwvortex.com News section.

vocus

The 24-value GLX with the 5-speed Tiptronic automatic DOES have ESP. I saw one at the car show as well. You are right, it does come with ESP. All the 1.8T models still come with ASR, but the ESP will become a line wide option ($280 or so) for 2003. That's what http://www.beetlebuzz.com says anyway.

justin

no jetta has ever had ESP. the Beetle S is the only VW with ESP right now, or ever before. Jettas have EDL and ASR. Electronic Diffential Lock and Anti-Slip Regulation. Basically, Low-Tech Traction Control. ESP is more detailed. I WISH the Jetta has ESP, or DSC as BMW calls it.

My 99 VR6 had traction control, but no way to turn it on or off. now, my 2002 Turbo has a button to disable the ASR.

ste5e

Does anyone know if it's possible to change the steering wheel controls for the Monsoon stereo to tune to preset stations only instead of acting as a seek button when on FM or AM?

Our Maxima's tuning/track select controls on the steering wheel tune to preset stations only and it's really annoying having the stereo blocked by the cupholder(!) and not being able to see what station you're on and then having the next/previous buttons seek.

Thanks.

BTW, I love this car except for the lack of overall legroom, cupholder and this damn stereo steering wheel control issue.

vocus

I wish that one radio control did go through the seek stations too. That would make sense. I was thinking about the same thing as you mentioned the other day though. I wish I could change that button to only scan the presets too, but I think it would be very difficult to do, and expensive.

vocus

No Jetta has ever had ESP before, until now. The GLX has it now. It will be a linewide option for 2003.

jphdxl

Vocus is absolutely right. My VR6 GLX (with the mid-year change to the 200hp engine) has the ESP button next to the emergency flasher button on the dash. Hopefully I'll never need it. It wasn't an option in my car, it just came with it. I'm not sure why the auto climate was an option however.

I also agree that the steering wheel control should cycle through the presets. With the cup holders out, it's hard to hit the preset buttons, but the seek/scan button is no problem. Oh well.

Otherwise, I love this car!

vocus

I told you all. The ESP comes with the 200hp VR6, and will be a $280 option on the rest of VW's line (Jetta, Passat, etc.) for 2003. And it stays on all the time probably, like the ASR.

You start to learn where the presets are after awhile. I have, and had the car since 11/3/01.

justin

i didn't realize the 200 HP VR6 is out. i knew that was supposed to have ESP. i thought it was not out until later this year. oops.

johnny282

from what I understand, the GLX was going to be the first Jetta with the 24v VR6 and ESP, and the GLI would be the next one. I read an article in European Car on the NB Turbo S and one of the things they like the most was the ESP. I guess it works pretty well.....

As for the WRX, my sister-in-law's fiance has one, I've driven it several times and it is an absolute blast, a rocket. However, I too think the interior could be a little nicer for the price, and I don't know why they don't offer a sunroof with it, and the stock 16 inch wheels don't do the car justice......but for only $3000 more you can get 17" BBS (tires are extra). At that price it's getting pretty close to some way nicer cars, namely the Audi A4.....So, I decided that the GLI, for the price, will be a great blend of near-lux and performance. Just wish I knew when I could order one......maybe I'll call VW when the wife gets off the phone (if she gets off the phone :-)
J

vocus

The first time I got into one was at the car show. I didn't like the way the interior looked at all. Way too cheap for the price of the car, even though we all know that price goes to the performance pieces and not the interior. But anyway, I slammed the driver's door and this awful plasticy, clangy sound came out. Ewww, it reminded me of the sound my Cavalier used to make when I shut the door. Yuck.

blueguydotcom

I concur. Strangely, they hold up quite well in crashes though. The i-club has a billion picks of WRXes that tools have crashed. After one year in production my guess is, there are probably 10% fewer Rexes on the road than Subaru sold. LOL

johnny282

The way my future bro-in-law drives that thing, he may end up on that list :-) Put it this way, it has no problem braking all four wheels loose in a u-turn. if I was a betting man, it will either end up wrecked or needing a new clutch/tranny at 15k miles.

I talked to "Kyle" at 800 drive vw and he says the GLI will start showing up on dealers' lots in May. Right on!! I'm putting money down in 3 weeks :-)
J

vocus

I know the car holds up well in a crash, I saw the data on it. But I am just saying, it feels tinny to me when I slam the door. Not like a $25K ride should feel, to me anyway.

johnny282

The way my future bro-in-law drives that thing, he may end up on that list :-) Put it this way, it has no problem braking all four wheels loose in a u-turn. if I was a betting man, it will either end up wrecked or needing a new clutch/tranny at 15k miles.

I talked to "Kyle" at 800 drive vw and he says the GLI will start showing up on dealers' lots in May. Right on!! I'm putting money down in 3 weeks :-)
J

ponm

I think the Jetta's interior is beautiful and deserves high praise. I personally believe the jetta's interior rivals and often surpasses other cars that cost twice as much. But i also feel it is not a driver's car. It has horrible body roll and a very, well, horrible stick shift. The power train is great down low(torque), but it soon runs out of breathe. Now, on the likes of the wrx, the interior is no match for the jetta, but subaru did pay close attention to the two most important things in the interior in a true drivers car. That would be the seats and the action on the 5 speed. The seats are incredible, and the same can be said for the 5 speed. Everything else is pure luxury in a car, hell, even the first intergra type r didn't come with a/c and power windows. I believe an a/c delete option could have been an option on the wrx, and probably many would have taken it. To each his/her own, but I'll stay with my wrx!

blueguydotcom

Actually, the WRX's seats, while supportive, lacked a very key ingredient: leather.

Some people don't like leather and that's fine but please don't tell me you're one of those "leather is slippery" people. If that were so, Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Lambo, et al have been making a grave mistake for decades. Good seats can hold you and have some durability and stain/wear resistance...no need for cloth.

BTW, I got rid of my Jetta's body roll with a sway bar. It's heaven. I just took a wonderful 270 degree inclined on ramp at over 60 and I felt wonderful slingshotting past all the cars in the slow lane, moonroof open (another unfortunate WRX shortfall), stereo bumpin'. It's cool, crisp nights like this that I really do love my my minimal luxury touches and that eager little turbo.

Gimme a WRX with leather and a moonroof and I'd be all over it.

twhite35

Drove a V6 Jetta last night. Very nice engine, much better than 2.0. But the accelerator pedal was very nonlinear in the way its started. You would push the pedal in maybe one forth of the way, not much would happen, then all of sudden it would just take off. Or something like that. Hard to describe. Anyone else notice this? Anyone get the car and learn how to modulate it properly over time? Anyone get the car and regret this problem even after a lot of experience?

Thanks,
Tony

jphdxl

I have a new VR6 and I have the same experience you had last night. I've only got 1k miles on the car and I'm still trying to figure out how to drive it without lurching forward from a stop. I was stuck in stop and go traffic last night on the way home and the grabbing was getting a bit annoying. In part I think it has to do with the hp curve. Below 2k rpm there seems to be little umph, but at 2k, look out! I don't regret getting the car, it's a blast to drive. I just need to be aware of this small idiosyncrasy.

vocus

I have a 2002 1.8T, and the pedal is pretty touchy in it as well. But it's pretty linear too, so it was easy to get used to. On the Passat V6 loaner I had, the pedal was very touchy and not linear hardly at all, so I know what you mean. Maybe it's just a V6 thing with VW. It can be a pain in the rear to be lurching the car, especially in traffic. Also, talk to the service dept., maybe there is some adjustment they can make or something, to make it smoother.

Anakin

I know what you mean. I see that your profile lists you as driving a Honda. I owned a Honda prior to my Jetta and I think what you are experiencing is torque. :^)

Hondas have no torque below about 4000rpm, so you have to push the gas pedal more aggressively to get the car to move. With the VR6 or the 1.8T, you just need a gentler approach with the gas pedal. It took me a few weeks to re-program my right foot, but now I can modulate the pedal and drive as smooth as I want.

8u6hfd

The WRX has a horribly sloppy shifter. It's a solid linkage design which is supposed to be tight and accurate (like Honda's). The main fault of it is the rubber shifter bushing (too soft), and a urethane bushing will correct this problem cheaply.

My WRX buddies much prefer my Golf's shifter versus the stock WRX ones, even though the Golf/Jetta/New Beetle/TT is cable operated.

It's more of a personal taste.

THe WRX has great seats, lousy shifter.

sarah233

Yeah, going from a honda to a jetta i did plenty of launching myself forward in the first couple of weeks. i had to be careful not to crash into the person ahead of me! : )

vocus

I went from a 2001 Protege to the Jetta 1.8T. I hit the gas coming out of a corner on the test drive as hard as I would in the Protege on the same turn, and laid some rubber coming out of the turn. I was like, "woah!". I got used to modulating the pedal though.

My friend has a 1994 Cougar, and it's funny to be in the car with him when he drives my car. He revs the engine, then pushes the brakes so hard he almost throws you through the windshield. It takes him about 2-3 minutes to get used to my "touchy" car.

mseals

Hey guys, I live in the Detroit area and sometimes we get cars a little sooner than most. I don't know why but about a month ago, I saw a bright yellow GLI on my way to work. I thought it was an IS 300 until I got right up on it and realized that it was a Jetta. Well, due to my curiosity, I was wondering when they came out with that color and what model it was. It has the GLI tag right on the back. It looked really nice, though I would never buy a yellow car, not even a ferrari, but it was sharp. It looked loaded, moonroof and what seemed to be at least 17" rims. Very nice package, but I can't see myself spending $25k for a Jetta when I could get everything I want in a Jetta for $21k.

vocus

It's the same thing with the Si you have now. Some people might say they don't wanna spend $20K for a Civic, but there are some others out there who would.

johnny282

Wow, that sounds really cool, but the GLI won't be offered in yellow according to the folks at 800 drive vw. Maybe what you saw was an auto-show only creation? Or someone who got creative with the paint and badging. I know people used to put Vento badges on their Jetta IIIs back in the day, just to be different. I wish yellow was an option, I think on certain cars yellow looks awesome. Anyone remember the Corrado? When I lived in Germany I saw yellow Corrados all the time. Very cool.
J

twhite35

>> I see that your profile lists you as driving a Honda. <<

I am actually driving a 2002 CRV. It has fantastic drivetrain. The engine/auto-transmission/accelerator all work together great. And the big 2.4 liter, 16O HP and torque engine is just amazing. It feels like a V6.

I love the Volkswagens for their suspension/quietness/interiors, but the only drivetrain combination that I liked (I want an automatic) is the was the 2.0 liter four. The auto transmission with the 1.8T was not very good around town (it seems to have a hard time "deciding" what to do) and the V6 accelerator was grabby. Its too bad. I would really like a V6 GTI with a smooth auto transmission, but they don't make one.

vocus

They do not make the GTI with automatic, but the 1.8T with automatic isn't too bad. You just have to get used to running it through town. I have the same drivetrain, and admit the shifting is a little harsh in traffic sometimes. Boy, is it great fun on the highway though.

8u6hfd

Yeah they do,

1.8T is available with the 5-speed Tiptronic (2002)
the VR6, is 5-speed manual only

Anakin

Well, if you can live with the underpowered 2.0, perhaps you would enjoy it. I believe, however, that you could get used to the "grabby" VR6 if you gave it a little while and reprogrammed your right foot. You just don't have to stomp on it to get it moving like you do with a Honda.

The 1.8T develops max torque at 1950rpm as opposed to 4700rpm in my previous V6 Accord, so it's a very different beast.

I think the auto in my 1.8T has a hard time deciding what to do as well, so I use my Tip quite a lot of the time. :^)

mseals

NO, I know it was a GLI, it definitely wasn't someone who got creative with a paint job. It was either a $4000 paint job or the real thing. I thought maybe a dealer in favor with VW got their hands on it. You know VW of America is in Michigan still I think. It use to be in Troy but I am not sure where it is now. Anyway, I only paid $16,500 out the door on my Si. I still think that is a little pricy for the GLI, but it does have a few things that would make it worth teh paycheck. Two things come to mind, 200 hp v6 and 6 spd tranny. I would be in love with those two until I got my car impounded for speeding twice the legal limit I am still planning on my GLS 1.8t later this year. I wish I could have taken advantage of the low interest rates but I will have to wait until this summer. Maybe I can get top dollar for my Si then too.

justin

that is why i didn't buy the VR6 5 speed. i couldn't get the car to move out smoothly....

vocus

Those interest rates have been in affect for a couple months now. I am sure they will last through the summer months as well.

venus537

does honda only make one model?

Anakin

Huh?

rileyyh

Hey. I've mentioned this before but the WRX does come with options for leather sports seats, sunroof, and other nice things. As of now, I've decided not to get a Jetta (too many around and less reliable) and to get either a WRX or an Isuzu Vehicross. I hear that even though the Vehicross is an SUV, its handling is better than most cars, so both my choices have better handling than a stock Jetta. Which I choose will depend on my test drive.

riley

blueguydotcom

>>Hey. I've mentioned this before but the WRX does come with options for leather sports seats, sunroof, and other nice things.<<

Um, not factory. I know, I looked into the car. Yes, the snakes at the dealership offered to put aftermarket leather on, but that's a deathwish in my opinion. I don't trust aftermarket people to begin with, but having them cover my side airbags is a recipe for death. No thanks. And I certainly don't want some hack cutting open my new car to install a cheeseball aftermarket moonroof.

>> (too many around and less reliable) and to get either a WRX or an Isuzu Vehicross.<<

That's ironic. You're passing a jetta due to reliability, yet looking at an Isuzu?

>> I hear that even though the Vehicross is an SUV, its handling is better than most cars, so both my choices have better handling than a stock Jetta.<<

Um, check those skidpad and slalom numbers. The Jetta with 17s and the sports suspension may not be great, but I know it'll cook an Isuzu SUV.

>> Which I choose will depend on my test drive.<<

If you're really interested in performance, the WRX is the most bang for the buck.

justin

i suppose i am still lost. WHO looks at both the WRX and a Jetta? Two totally different cars. They could not be more different. One is a wannabe rally racer that performs well, and that is it. The other is a medium performing car, that is luxurious, safe, offers understated style, and far better assembly and materials.

i don't see how anyone can consider buying both. then throw in an "extra-terrastrial" SUV like the VehiCross.....

some unique shoppers out there!

mseals

Justin, come on, that is sort of close minded thinking. Haven't you ever been torn between two totally different type cars.

Say on one hand you want luxury, smoothness, quiet plillowy type rides that give so much viceral pleasure that the driving experience is nothing but calm relaxation.

or

The gutteral thrill of hard acceleration, razor sharp handling, and flat out performance.

I know, I know, you are going to say the Jetta has all of that. But lets be serious, there is really only one or two cars who can boast that they have the best of both worlds. Unfortunately they come at a pretty high price tag and they both begin with the letter 'M' followed by the numbers 3 or 5.

You have to take cars for what they are, a mix of performance and luxury and normally leaning to one side or the other.

justin

yes, i totally agree with most of what you said.

but instead of the "M", please give me the "AMG"....;)

I NEED that three-pointed star on my hood. Regardless of how much "M" power I might give up, the hood ornament on the M-B makes up for it all. Means you have "arrived", in my opinion. I can't wait to get there!

blueguydotcom

lol...talk about chasing a brand. Why didn't you buy a used MB?

MB doesn't mean you've arrived...it means you bought a pricey german tank. Nice cars, but it has very little to do with arrival and more to do with a willingness to pay for extras.

BTW, I cross-shopped many cars. My criteria: fun, comfort, some measure of luxury. After an exhaustive search I narrowed it down to the WRX and Jetta. If the WRX had come with a moonroof and leather (factory), that woulda been my car. Because it so totally lacked in luxury content, I went with my second option.

mseals

Justin, I will give it to you, MB is the premier brand. But it comes at a price and 98% of their cars are just luxury, not performance. Sure AMG is the preformance end, but it is still Luxury first. If they quit putting slush boxes in them and put a good 5 or 6 speed in them then yes. I believe there are only 3 or 4 MB's that come with a stick. Remember, for the price of a GLI you could have a C230 coupe. That comes with a supercharger and puts out about the same as a 1.8t. I just am not a big fan of hatchbacks but from the front it is all MB. I do love their looks and talk about resale, I swear, it is like those things appreciate or something.

mseals

Justin, just another note, I agree with you, MB is a step above BMW, but I still think that M's got them on the balance of performance and luxury.

justin

i know the M cars perform better than the AMG cars. for my money, i would prefer the MB. won't handle as well as a BMW M, but, the AMG's are just as fast with more luxury. and yep, they are TANKS. no one makes cars like that anymore. i like that german tank-like feeling.

plus, say it out loud:

"I drive a BMW." Sounds okay.

"I drive a Mercedes-Benz." Sounds better

of course, none of them hold a candle to my Jetta

target3

I looked at the pictures of the C230. I still like the Jetta interior better. I really haven't seen anything that beats it (exception being rear-seat space).

ponm

My wife was looking at buying either a jetta or a wrx. She opted with the jetta, I opted for the wrx and were both happy. Besides, who really needs luxury in a car(I know I'm going to get slammed for this comment). I can't stand sunroofs, and truly, I could live without my a/c and power windows and locks. Just give me a good drivers seat and good vision of the road and I'm set.

rileyyh

I notice you say, "an isuzu", which leads me to think that you don't really know about the Vehicross.

You can't even compare the Vehicross to other Isuzus. It is handmade like other expensive cars that are built in limited numbers like...what's it called...a Ferrari...or is it Lamborghini?

While it may be an SUV, there is a guy known as Tone, who has a modified version of the Vehicross which has beaten WRXes.

As for reliability, it's gotten all good ratings since it came out in 1999.

I've been told that the sports suspension for the jetta doesn't do much. The Vehicross comes with sports suspension which is used in rally cross races (maybe you've heard of...Paris Dakar?). It's the first (and I believe still the only) commercial vehicle to come with such advanced suspension system.

The WRX will clearly out maneuver the Vehicross on pavement. It's unclear which will win in dirt. But I believe that the sports suspension and 17" wheels of the Jetta can't compare with the Rally Cross suspension, 18" wheels, and 215ft/lb of torque at 3000rpm which accompanies the awesome Torque on Demand 4 wheel drive system.

An Isuzu, I wouldn't buy. A Vehicross is definitely worth consideration.

And oh, blueguydotcom, you mentioned luxury? The Vehicross is the car show model turned commercial that has started Recaro leather seats and carbon fiber trim in commercial cars. It also comes with an in dash 6 CD player.

riley

The WRX and VX are both cool. Jetta is definitely nice, I liked it ever since the new design. But it's just become another Honda to me. I don't want a car that I'll see everywhere I go.

blueguydotcom

The Vehicross is now in the league of handmade supercars like a Ferrari or Aston Martin? Sheesh. Yeah, I know I'm totally impressed when I see an NSX. LOL to each his own, man.