After driving Toyotas for 20 years and pickups for the past 14, I finally made the jump to VW. My daughter outgrew the jump seats in my Tacoma Extended cab, but I still like to haul stuff. A compact station wagon was the best option to get a back seat and good fuel economy. We started at the Honda CRV and Toyota Matrix, but finally decided on the Jetta Wagon. Not only was the sticker less, the VW dealers were willing to deal below sticker on an 03.

The gas models get up to 30 mpg, but the diesel gets 45-50! I then read about biodiesel and decided to put my money where my environmental mouth is. Bio diesel is made from vegtable oil and reduces emisions by 50%. It costs more than diesel but no conversion is needed and it helps the motor last longer. Fortunately the only biodiesel dealer in the state is 5 miles away. Unfortunately no other new car comes with a diesel, but after looking at the others, we decided on the Jetta anyway.

The hard part was finding a GL manual in the diesel. The dealers had limited numbers of diesels and most that had any were the GLS. The 2003 GL comes with am/fm/cass/cd, AC, Power windows, cruise control, automatic door locks w/remote key, alarm, power mirrors, heated exterior mirrors, and an adjustable telescoping steering wheel.

The GLS allows for more options, but the only significant difference is a sunroof and $1,000 more cost. The GLS can allow for more options such as Electronic Stability, if you want to go there. The GLS includes an arm rest but I found it was always in my way when I tried to set or release the hand brake.

The car is lacking in dash storage compared to the Toyotas, but they make up for it in the trunk area. The cargo area has a side storage area for a first aid. The lower compartment has a full size spare surrounded by several storage units.

The split rear seats fold down to create more storage and they thought to put holes in the bottom of the seats to hold the head rests that need to be removed when the seats are folded. Although the front seats loose some leg room, my 5'10 frame had plenty of room with the seats down.

The car handles well, rides very nicely both empty and with 5 occupants. The diesel is a Turbo Diesel Injected, which performs the same as a conventional gas car. I drove both gas and tdi and the only difference is the diesel motor noise outside. The car is quiet inside and we could not detect any smell from the diesel.

My fist half tank yielded 380 miles on 8 gal of fuel, 45 mpg before its even broken in.

The best thing about this car is it is still made in Germany, unlike the other Jettas, which are made in Mexico and Brazil.


Update 12/13/02

After the first 3700 miles I am still happy. Haven't had any problems or need to deal with vw (knocking on wood). I have run the diesel on biodiesel (approved diesel made from soybeans)as much as possible. My around town is 44 mpg and the long distance mpg hit 48 mpg. I don't notice any difference in mileage between bio and regular diesel.

The tdi isn't for those interested in winning a quarter mile race, but it can squel the tires in 1st and 2nd. You can feel the turbo lag for a beat when you put your foot to the floor, but it picks up enough for safe passing. Now that the cold weather is here, I do notice a little diesel cloud and smell when first starting. The cloud is more like that of a gas car, not the black smoke you see with trucks.

The control for the heated mirrors has to be turned off manually to avoid burning out the elements.

Update 5/4/03

Just returned from a vacation trip driving from Maine to Florida and back. In preparing for the trip, I noticed a hole my heal wore into the floor mat. I pointed it out to the dealer when I took it in for the 10 k service. They ordered new mats under the warrenty but were not willing to talk about upgrading to heavier mats. Oh well.

The ride was very good on the highway and I really appreciated the cruise control. I recently discovered that you can make speed adjustments up and down on the cruise control, which is much better than cancelling and reseting it as I was used to. The mpg was consistantly 50 mpg, this while carrying 3 people and a pile of stuff. My average speed from Virgina south was 80, but the tach was still under 3k in 5th gear.

We drove over 3000 miles with no problems. The Jetta now has over 13,000 miles with no major problems. My floor mats came in while I was gone, so I stopped in to pick them up. They almost didn't honor the warrenty because the service rep put my 10k mileage in at 16k and the mats are only covered in the 1st year or 12 k. They agreed it was a typo when they looked at the odometer and my mileage records. I have heard vw has been working hard to improve their service reputation. They recently sent me a notice about a web site for my car. It is now set up and shows my service history so far and will show any recalls that might show up (hopefully never) as well as special offers.

8/4/05 Update

The rear hatch handle broke last year but the car was still under warranty so the dealer fixed it no charge.

The car has 69k now and more problems are popping up. The glove box latch latch broke. It wouldn't open so I had to take the glovebox apart to open it. I ordered a new one from the dealer but when I got it, it didn't match. The part number from the origional lid comes back to a different model, which of course is a special order.

A squeking noise in the front end means the sway bar bushings are worn.

Like most 4 cyl motors, the timing belt needs to be replaced at certain mileage. The old belt needed replacing at 60k, but my car has a newer belt that is supposed to be good until 100k. The dealer still recomends replacing it at 60k though.

It still rides better than my wifes Echo and gets 10 mph better mileage.
Amount Paid (US$): 21000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: gl