2000 Volkswagen Jetta GL Reviews

PERFORMANCE:

Honestly speaking, I love the mk4 Jetta, and the mk4 is my prefered generation for Jettas. I find the GL version, which is the starter line Jetta, has decent acceleration, given you're driving standard. I haven't driven the automatic version, but judging for the speed of this car, I could only assum that it would a pretty boring drive. Although it is not the best of mk4 Jettas out there, I really do like the whole performance of the car. It is overall a fun drive, and I have even had people ask me if it is a 1.8t because of the way I handle. That just shows that the standard version is definatly worth it.

BUILD QUALITY:

The actual build on the other hand, isn't the best I've seen from VW. The early mk4s had many design flaws that were thankfully changed in the later mk4s. First of all, there was this weird thing with the front doors, where water would pour in the cracks and end up where the hinges are. Normally this wouldn't cause much of a problem. But since I live in Montreal, the water from all the melted snow durinf winter time would go in the cracks and then freeze the door shut. Sometimes I would have to spend a good 15-20 minutes just trying to open the door without having to bend the endges of the door. Then there are the little things like the cup holder positions. The front cup holders, where placed on top of the radio buttons and wouldn't hold the cup extremly well. So not only would it sometimes spill a bit of coffee on the little cup holder tray, but it would also block your vision of the radio and can sometimes get in the way while you are shifting gears. And then there are the rear cup holders. All I have to say about that is, FORGET ABOUT USING THEM! Because if you even attempt to use them even with the smallest drink, there is a high chance that there will be a lovely new stain in the back seat floors. Then there are little things here and there that keep screwing up: brakes need changing often, the front bumper black rectangle things sometimes fall off, etc.

APPEARANCE:

I am actually a big fan of the look of the mk4 Jettas. I ike the exterior look. There's something very neutral yet aggressive about it. the interior is ok, but of course my car was an absolute bar minimum Jetta, so I never got to enjoy all the little gadgets that the higher models had, and of course no sunroof. But the overall interior is pretty nice. The only problem is the back seat. I'm around 6'1 1/2", which isn't extremely tall, but tall enough to make the person sitting behing me in this car suffer...even if it is a short girl...

COST:

Well the gas is pretty good. On a good day a full tank (around 45-50L) would cost around 40$. With more relaxed driving that could last me 400-500kms, and with aggressive driving, often reaching its maximum speeds on the highway, it would last 300-400kms. The overall maintenance is not too bad, as long as you take car of the car. If you're planning on doing quick and cheap fixes by repairing the car with knock off brands, then your better off buying yourself some japanese car. This car requires its original parts if you don't want any trouble, regardless of the costs...

FUN FACTOR:

This car is definatly fun to drive. Changing gears is very smooth. My Jetta only has measley 115 HP and it's this much fun. I can't wait to get my hands on a 1.8t or a VR6:D

The acceleration is decent, braking is really good, interior could use some work like the back cupholders aren't very functional. The front window clips have broken and need to be replaced. Great car until about 100,000 miles, then you need to get some things replaced on it. Nothing major, no mechanical issues whatsoever. Great car

Beautiful style, great design, well built and solid, loaded as standard.

Pretty good-looking car, I loved the blue and orange instrument lights. Pretty peppy for a small engine, overall fun to drive but fairly unreliable.