The most deciding factor for me in purchasing this vehicle was fuel economy.My previous vehicle was a gas guzzling SUV.I was spending from $35 to $40 a week in gas just to drive to work.After spending over $3K in repairs for the SUV,I knew it was time for me to replace it.With the Jetta,I`m averaging 520 miles on a full tank of gas.That`s driving it over the regular speed limits I encounter on my daily commute(55 MPH).I`ve been able to get more miles (620) if I slowed down to the posted speed limits.Regarding the interiors,my car has cloth seats,tougher to keep clean,but feel definitely better than leather,wether the temperature is cold or hot,cloth is more comfortable than leather.The instrument panel is nicely laid out.I liked it that every control you can manipulate,is lighted,so you don`t have to look for them in the dark.The car has a lot of nice features such as the ability to roll up and down the car windows from the outside.When you have had your car parked outside in the hot sun for a while,you can roll the windows down to let all that hot air out before you get in.Another handy feature is that you can pop open the trunk with the remote key control.Very handy when your carrying an armful of things to store in the trunk.

Handling and performance;
I remember driving my SUV in the rain at 55 or 60 MPH and hitting a puddle.The SUV would shake and feel as if would skid and loose control.I`m happy to say that this does not happen in the Jetta.Don`t know if this is inherent to the car`s clearance from the ground,but to me it feels a lot safer to drive in the rain.Cornering at speed,the car feels very solid.I did not find the acceleration from a stop to be better than the 1.8T gas engine,but for a diesel is no dog either.At highway speeds,and even in traffic,passing is no problem.I usually need to downshift,if at all,one gear to pass with speed and comfort.Steering is excellent and solid, it does not feel overly light or too hard, at any speed.

Comfort;
I have driven with the family on long trips,about 4 hours in length.My two teenage sons ride in the back without complains,even though I know they have very little leg room.I do feel a little cramped,not wanting to recline the seat too much (I`m 6'1",270 lbs.)and reduce their leg room more.Volkswagen uses a wheel to control the reclining of the seats.They do use a handle to move the seat up or down,why not throw another one in there to recline the seats? There`s little room to maneuver the hand in position to handle the control to recline the seats.The only big drawback I find is the lack of a center armrest for the front seat occupants.I think I would feel a lot better if I were able to lean to the right and not having to find support on that side from the center console.The A/C does a pretty good job of cooling and keeping the cabin comfortably cold,although on very hot days I find I have to keep the fan setting on three to speed up the process.

As for the car price,I only paid that much because I traded in the SUV,and was "upside down" with the loan,otherwise I could`ve got it for around $18K.The only extra really worth getting was the Monsoon stereo system.I definitely recommend it.
Amount Paid (US$): 25,000.00
Condition: New
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: GL,Monsoon,Manual