2014 Jetta 4 year review

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Hello BITOG crowd! I hope everyone has had a good day. I just wanted to get on and write a quick review of my wife's 2014 Jetta. She has had it for over 4 years now so I would like to share our experience.

This Jetta replaced her original which was totaled in an accident. Some notable differences between the old (2013) Jetta and her current one are the 1.8T which replaced the old 2.5 inline 5 cylinder that was in previous models from 2013 and back, as well as fully independent suspension. The MKVI Jetta's before the 2014 model year were equipped with a rear torsion beam. The fully independent set up noticeably improves ride quality and handling.

I will start by staying it has been a great little car. It currently has over 36,000 miles and has been very trouble free. The only true repair has been the ignition cylinder that got sticky and made removing the key difficult. That has gone bad twice, both times it was replaced under warranty with little fuss. VW even gave us a rental car for the time it was in the shop. Early on in the ownership there was a software update for the transmission programming that improved smoothness from a take off. Before the update the car would hesitate then "lurch" forward from a stand still. For some reason VW had these programmed from the factory with some sort of disconnect every time you came to a stop. I am sure they did this for fuel economy reasons but it didn't make for smooth acceleration from a stop. Anyway, that was "fixed" right away by a software update. Other than that the car has had no real issues.

There are a lot of things I like about the car, but one of the most notable things would be the power it offers, especially for the class of car it falls into. Keep in mind the Jetta competes with the Corolla, Civic, Elantra, Cruise etc. In my opinion it does surpass these rivals at least in this area. The 1.8T is the same one that VW puts in the Passat (a full size sedan), so the 170 HP and 184 ft lbs of torque move the Jetta out very nicely. Peak torque hits at just 1500 RPM. It also returns very good MPG, we seem to average 26 MPG even with extreme short trips. Her work is very close to home, less than a mile in fact.

We both find it very comfortable to drive / ride in. The seats are comfortable on short and long drives and the steering and throttle response are well...quick to respond. Very little input is required for the desired response. Steering FEEL on the other hand leaves a bit to be desired, but that is to be expected with electric steering. If I have to complain about one area in the driving dynamics department it would be breaking. The breaks are quick to grab so around town stopping is a breeze, but if you have to stop quickly I find I have to press pretty hard on the pedal. My daily driver is the Accord, a larger car, so I am assuming the Jetta just has smaller brakes by comparison. They just feel a bit weak on a hard stop.

Fit in finish seems top notch, everything fits together nicely and there are hardly any squeaks or rattles. The whole car feels very solid in ride and construction.

Of course this is BITOG so I have to say a word about maintenance. We have followed the maintenance schedule according to the owners manual up to this point, with the exception of oil changes. The dealer changes the oil and filter once a year or every 10K miles per the manual, but I change the oil half way through that interval so the oil is in fact being changed every 5K. We plan to keep the car long term so I feel having fresh oil in the sump will keep the turbo happy. I always use Castrol Edge 0w40, and when the dealer maintenance expires I will use OEM oil filters as well.

That is pretty much it, just wanted to share our experience with VW. I have always been a Honda fan boy but after this car I also have some VW blood in my veins. Feel free to ask any questions you may have about our ownership.


 
Thanks for the review.

However-on BITOG there isn't a lot of love for VW's.


Unless it's a 1967 Beetle-those cars where you couldn't here the person in the passenger seat talk to you.......
 
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Thanks Greg. Great review. I very nearly bought one myself in 2015. I think they are good "bang for the buck", and very stylish too. Hope you enjoy it for years to come.
 
Not to be a smart aff but my Nissan Versa, a cheaper car with roll down windows and manual transmission, has been more reliable than your German-engineered Jetta. Mine has 60k miles.
 
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Originally Posted By: FermeLaPorte
Not to be a smart aff but my Nissan Versa, a cheaper car with roll down windows and manual transmission, has been more reliable than your German-engineered Jetta. Mine has 60k miles.


Glad it has served you well!
 
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Thanks Greg. Great review. I very nearly bought one myself in 2015. I think they are good "bang for the buck", and very stylish too. Hope you enjoy it for years to come.


Great bang for the buck for sure.
 
Good review.
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VW certainly makes a lot of BITOGers run away, although Chrysler makes them run away crying
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The base models with little gadgets, tend to be quite solid and reliable. Even the GTIs are quite solid. I think it's the uniqueness of their TDI models that got them bad reputation for the most part, well and maybe the old 1.8T with the small sump and exhaust running under it, and people not using the recommended oil.
 
Originally Posted By: FermeLaPorte
Not to be a smart aff but my Nissan Versa, a cheaper car with roll down windows and manual transmission, has been more reliable than your German-engineered Jetta. Mine has 60k miles.
*starts the slow clap*
 
Also my 2012 Jetta had the ignition cylinder replaced last summer. It got so bad it was hard to turn off and on, at one point it took me a couple minutes. Obviously they are having problems with the cylinders.
 
Originally Posted By: FermeLaPorte
Not to be a smart aff but my Nissan Versa, a cheaper car with roll down windows and manual transmission, has been more reliable than your German-engineered Jetta. Mine has 60k miles.
With a frown on your face the whole time.

No one buys a VW expecting it to be a 100% trouble free appliance. They buy them because they handle, drive, and perform nice.

Guys: Did I just defend a VW?
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Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: FermeLaPorte
Not to be a smart aff but my Nissan Versa, a cheaper car with roll down windows and manual transmission, has been more reliable than your German-engineered Jetta. Mine has 60k miles.
With a frown on your face the whole time.

No one buys a VW expecting it to be a 100% trouble free appliance. They buy them because they handle, drive, and perform nice.

Guys: Did I just defend a VW?
grin2.gif



I was thinking that myself. It would be punishment for me to drive 60K in a Versa. My Chrysler junk has been pretty decent, though and fun to drive.
 
Knock on wood my '12 Golf 2.5L Base w/6 sp. Auto has been fantastic! I'm glad your Jetta has served you well! Have you dropped the transmission pan yet and put in a new strainer w/some new fluid? I did this on mine @ around 28K and it was worth the effort. (On my latest D/F I used Pennzoil fluid I bought @ Napa.) Your magnets will have alot of fine metal shavings on them. Also, early on replaced the factory oil drain plug w/an aftermarket magnet drain plug. Safe and hopefully many more trouble free miles to come! Bill. Oh...one more thing, consider replacing your fuel filter as well.
 
sorry, but 36k after 4yrs is hardly anything to brag about. if you said 136k and only the ign cylinder issue, then yeah for a vw you did well.
 
Nice review. Glad you are enjoying it. The haters didn't pay for it - someone always has to rain on your parade if you don't drive what the community deems "acceptable"!
 
My son bought one when he got out of the Military in 97. Drove it for 15 years and 230,000 miles without any major issues. Sold it and bought another Jetta which he is still driving. Nice car.
 
Originally Posted By: earthbound
sorry, but 36k after 4yrs is hardly anything to brag about. if you said 136k and only the ign cylinder issue, then yeah for a vw you did well.

I would like to see the 136K in a cold climate where they use tons of salt on the roads, brutal on wiring, brakes, anything exposed. Florida is where people and cars go to retire.
 
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