The Sport Edition is a limited edition that is only sold in Canada. There are only 2,000 available. It has sportier seats, a stiffer tuned suspension, 16 inch Bugatti alloy wheels, and leather accents on the steering wheel and gear shift.
BODY STYLING
The 2004 comes across as both sporty and stylish. The model I purchased doesn't have a rear spoiler. I appreciate a car that is sporty without a a stupid plastic spoiler. True sports cars like Porches use spoilers for performance. Crap sports cars use them to collect snow in the winter.
INTERIOR
The Sport Edition come with sportier seats that are firmer and definitely more comfortable. The black fabric doesn't come across as cheap like the regular Jetta's. Definitely worth the extra money for the Sports Edition.
The gauges in the 2004 Jetta glows a REALLY cool blue with red indicators for the speedometer and tachometer. The stock radio also glows a cool blue color. The buttons on the radios glow red at night. One thing, you know your lights are off at night when you cannot read your speedometer and you cannot read the tracks on your CD player.
One disadvantage of the VW radio is that you cannot remove it easily to put in a third part radio. A third party radio could prevent a VW technician from using diagnostic equipment on the engine. I actually like the stock radio. It's attractive and the sound quality is really good. I played an old recorded cassette from the 80's and it sounded better than a CD.
There is a connection already installed for a CD changer in the trunk. All you have to do is buy a CD changer and plug it in the trunk. Since the stock radio doesn't do MP3s, buy a changer with MP3 support.
The instrument panel is rather "blocky". It's a made of a dull black rubbery plastic. It's not offensive but it could be a little more "curvy".
I really like the German innovation in the interior of this car. When you open the door for the vanity mirror a light comes on. I also like red glow of the window controls and door locks. The seats, mirrors and windshield wiper fluid are all heated. All controls are easy to read.
One complaint about the interior is the gear shift. The material that surrounds the base of the shifter is a cheap vinyl. It should have been leather.
FUEL ECONOMY
The diesel engine is a really stingy on fuel. After driving 200 kilometers of both city and highway driving I topped up the tank. It cost $7.00 (Canadian) to fill the tank. It took exactly 10 litres to top up the tank. That's good considering I was driving the car like a sports car.
DRIVING
This car is really fun to drive. Its acceleration is not overly fast but it is in no way slow. When you step on the accelerator the car just feels peppy. The clutch for the 5 speed manual is very smooth. Shifts are a lot smoother than any Japanese car I have driven.
SAFETY
The jetta just feels safe. It has standard ABS, front and side airbags and side airbag curtains. The model I purchased came with ESP (Electronic Stabilization Program) It prevents the driver from taking corners too fast and rolling the car. It determines which wheels to use ABS braking and brakes for the errant driver.
COMPETITION
The Jetta is very similar in size to a Mazda 3 or Toyota Corolla. My car topped out at $28,000. That is rather expensive for a small sized car. A Corolla XRS would probably be $2,000 less but would probably require premium gasoline. Expect to pay 30 cents a litre more for cars that require premium gasoline. That is $15 more per fill up. If one filled up twice per month the saving would be $360 per year. ($30/month * 12 months).
As a fuel efficient car its competition would be a Honda Insight or Toyota Prius. These cars start around $30,000 and aren't readily available at all dealerships.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 17,000
Condition: New Model Year: 2004 Model and Options: TDI Sport ABS, ESP, Power Moonroof
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