My colleague, Kelly, and I have recently completed our 20 000 km test on the Fiat Punto so when I was asked to go away with a friend on Tuesday afternoon I had to find wheels fast. Fortunately, the Volkswagen Jetta 2,0 TDI has just joined our long-term fleet and was available for my midweek break up the west coast.
I had spent a couple of hours putting a great road trip song list together on my flash drive – completely forgetting that most VW products don’t have USB ports. So, imagine my disappointment when I got in to the Jetta and couldn’t find a place to plug it into. Although it would be unfair to complain as it does have aux and iPod ports. But, as I do not have the means to use these things (I am still rather old school and only just got the hang of the flash disc thing), I ran back up to my desk and quickly grabbed a few CDs for the trip.
The space in the boot of this Jetta is nothing short of extraordinary. It is huge … 510 dm3, in fact. I had no problem fitting my travel bag, groceries, my friend’s travel bag, beach bag, surfing gear, more groceries, an umbrella, towels and bedding in the boot. There was even space to spare. We hooked up the soft racks for the surfboard, but I was almost convinced we could have put it in the boot as well. It has a bit of a never-ending Mary Poppins’s bag feel about it.
And we were off to Elands Bay. The ride was smooth. Changing between the manual gears was a treat – slick and easy with no fuss at all. And it certainly has power; overtaking was a seamless task. The driving position is comfortable and the drive felt shorter than the just over two hours that it took us. Elands can be pretty rustic and there is many a dirt/gravel road, especially if you are on a surf mission. But the Jetta stood its ground. On more than one occasion, we drove from Elands Bay to Lamberts Bay along a dirt road stretch of about 40 km and it was no problem for the Jetta. The ride stayed compliant and at no point did any of the occupants complain about feeling uncomfortable. In fact, they remarked that they hardly noticed the gravel road.
We managed to do about 735 km and when I arrived at the office this morning there was still just under a quarter tank left.
I am really glad to see this car join our long-term fleet. It is a car for the city but also makes a long journey comfortable and effortless with the amount of space it offers. As I playfully joked to my friend along the drive, “I would recommend this for a family, you could fit about five kids in that boot and still have space on the back seats.”
Welcome to the team, Jetta. We are very glad to have you.
Do you own a Jetta? Let us know your thoughts about it. You can mail us at [email protected]
For more info on the Jetta, click here and here.