This was my last VW. Bottom of the line GL - the only option on the car was AIR. This had the 115HP 2L 4 banger with a 5 spd manual. The cool thing about this care was that it would run at its HP (115MPH). I once drove from Needles to Newberry Springs in a little over 1 hour. I did the whole run without dropping below 100. However, that was when the car was about 4 months old and the suspension, etc. was still nice and tight. Purcahsed new out the door for about 15,000 and put about 145,000 miles on it. I sold it in 10 years on eBay for $1800. It had some minor problems, but the AIR was still good. Never had any major problems with the car. I recall the biggest expense I had was the ignition switch needed to be replaced - my daughter broke it during my attempts to teach her to drive a stick shift - she gave it up.

Performance- From factory: nothing to brag about. Great low end torque. Good gas mileage, VERY dependable. Build Quality- Its a VW, so its got its quirks, but a well built car IMHO Appearance- The Mark 3 Golf/Jettas are one of my favorite generations of VWs design history. Stays true to previous generations "look". Everything else afterwards was a big change Cost of Ownership- Get past maintenance, and its pretty cheap to own. Low insurance rates, and great MPG Fun Factor- My favorite car I've owned so far... ad some mild mods to it, and its a blast to drive.

Bought it new and drove it for 160K miles. It was still going strong. The VR6 engine was great. Plenty of power/torque for a little car. Solid construction.

Great little car! Fun to drive with good power and decent handling in the corners. My Jetta had an automatic transmission which is a nice option if you're not into the manual shift. The automatic lacked a little in the acceleration, but still fun to drive. Interior was average and the heater/stereo controls were basic along with the sound system. Braking was adequate. This vehicle was very dependable for the time I owned it. Very little maintenance other than routine oil changes, etc.. Nice cargo room in the trunk for the size of the car. Overall very nice little car that is dependable.

The jetta is pretty simple- no power windows- and not very powerful, but it has been reliable so far, is very sturdy even after11 years, and is running great at 132,000. It's great to have a small, reliable car that get's great mileage (30mpg in the suburbs) but is somewhat unique. It isn't the fastest, prettiest, or coolest car I've ever seen, but it has more personality than your average car.