2011 Volkswagen Jetta User Reviews

Vw Of America —

As a VW owner for nearly 2 decades now I had no reservations about buying a new 2011 VW Jetta SE 2.5 from a local reputable dealer without a test drive. After driving this car for approximately 3 weeks now I am forced by my overwhelming feeling of dismay to write this letter to you. Please allow me to explain. My most recent or previous VW was a 2009 Jetta SE 2.5. I was not only impressed with this car, but also liked its style and features which I was surprised to find in a car of this category. I also found it to be a very solid automobile. I found this out in a more personal manner after being slammed into by another car as I was backing out of my driveway during the worst winter the northeast experienced in close to 30 years. Needless to say my visibility was pretty poor due to all of the snow that had accumulated and I was hit so hard that the damages amounted to $7700 and a lower back injury. A couple of months after the accident I decided to upgrade to a new car. One, due to the accident, and two, because the mileage was quickly growing to where the warrantee would be exhausted. I did not hesitate for 1 minute to go and look at the new model Jetta, nor did I even think to consider another brand of vehicle. After sitting in the car I immediately informed the dealer I wanted one. I took delivery of my new 2011 Jetta SE 2.5 on June 30, 2011. I immediately noticed the ride was a bit more comfortable than my 2009 model, but I also began to notice things were missing as well. Even though other upgrades such as the Bluetooth and thumb controls, a radio unit that will probably take me a year to figure out how to work (because it's not user-friendly) there are also many downgrades. First and foremost I would like to point out potentially dangerous change that was made concerning the automatic traction control. There is no way to shut it off. I don't know about where the designers of this model live but where I live is called the “great northeast” for a reason. We get a lot of snow. I was stuck in the snow several times last winter and the only way to get out of being stuck and stranded was having the ability to turn off the traction control. The onboard computer does not know if the car is stuck in snow or skidding on a street. So it tries to adjust for the skidding, thus preventing a driver from getting unstuck from a snow bank. Other things I miss on my 2011 model from my 2009 model are as follows: 1) The center console lid used to crank up and pull forward providing a comfortable armrest. Now it’s just a lid with no arm rest. This is an important feature to someone who drives a lot like I do. 2) The power seat for the driver side is totally manual now and to adjust the back of the seat there is a plastic handle that is very difficult to operate. 3) The button that used to unlock the gas door is now gone. The new gasoline doors are designed to open and close by pushing directly on them which in my opinion is cheap. 4) The buttons that operate the heated seats are new, but they only allow you three temperatures to choose from. The old design was more adjustable allowing you more than three settings. 5) My new car came with very cheap windshield wipers. More like the wipers I had in my 1997 Volkswagen golf. My 2009 car had very heavy-duty rubber wipers. I also noticed that all the other vehicles in the car lot had those heavy-duty rubber wipers and mine did not. 6) The engine and transmission timing seems to be off. The transmission up shifts too soon and also has to downshift hard when climbing a small hill. This is especially noticeable when the cruise control is set. 7) The leather seats in my 2009 Jetta used to be nice and slippery, allowing one to slide oneself left or right to get out of the vehicle nice and easy. Now you stick to the new leather seats as if they were cloth seats. Why should somebody spend the extra money for leather seats when they act more like cloth seats? 8) The trunk lid went from a nice solid carpeted piece of equipment with hydraulic pressure rods on each side to a bare lid with nothing but plastic covering it. Also, it takes more than one try at closing the lid to get it to lock. It may take a few attempts to finally get it closed and locked and it's still not a nice solid closing sound like my old car (the 2009 model). It sounds very cheap and it jiggles from side to side and goes back up when you first try to shut it unless your shutting it is right on the money. 9) I see that you installed an iPod attachment in the glove box. In the glove box? Why? Also, the cord for it is very short and the vehicles computer software for this item is not updated for the new iPod or iPhone’s operating system so, it does not work. 10) You took away the fuel gauge needle and put in a digital fuel gauge system that does not allow one to actually estimate exactly when you're going to run out of fuel. The little bars disappear and when it gets down to two little bars left the gasoline light comes on. Also, this vehicle seems to use more gas than my old car (the 2009 model). I am filling up the gas tank more now than before. 11) A fabric type of air dam was installed to pop up when the sunroof is open. Why? All it does is catch bugs which makes it look nasty. It will probably have to be replaced soon due to its flimsy construction, costing the customer. I realize that some of these issues may be due to the car still breaking in as it only had 14 miles on it when I took delivery of it from the dealer. However, I also believe that many of these changes are due to the manufacturer trying to save money and be cost-effective but what you don't realize (or maybe you do) is that the customer is getting ripped off because, Volkswagen seems to be taking out things to save money and then increasing the price of the vehicle due to it being a new model and making money on both ends. Now this does not seem fair to me at all.

Primary Use: Commuting to work

2011 Vw Jetta Review — This model - the SEL - is loaded with navigation and all the other amenities including bluetooth, heated seats, the only thing it's missing is a back up camera Great car for the value. It has that solid German feel, I hope it continues to be reliable. Like it a lot!

Primary Use: Commuting to work

Good car,had the 5 speed manual . Decent power,but no 1.8t even though they are rated the same 170 at the crank, VW underrated the new 1.8 by at least 30 hp. This 2011 model had the older suspension set up ,which defers its handling compared to the new 14 and up models. Better gas mileage than the new 1.8 t though,at least in my case.