Conclusion

2006 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T (Photo: Amyot Bachand, Auto123.com)

At $30,000, the Jetta delivers as much or more than nearly all of the similarly priced so-called entry-level luxury cars. It whips the Acura CSX out of shape and leaves the base Volvo S40 in the dust. If the buyer of a $30,000 vehicle is wiling to leave the glory of a logo behind, he or she will find themselves handing BMW 323i and even 325i owners the trophy for the second place in a dash to 100 km/h. And all of this, for thousands less.

But, what is the real price paid by the owner of a new Volkswagen? The last fifteen years have not been very kind to Volkswagen owners: poor reliability, expensive maintenance and parts topped off with difficult to diagnose problems. As the mk5 Jettas and Golfs start accumulating more kilometres, more will be known about the cars and if VW has been able to leave the darker days behind them.

Good stuff:
2.0T
6-speed gearbox

Not so good stuff:
Hard seats
Long term ownership costs and reliability

2006 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T (Photo: Amyot Bachand, Auto123.com)

Competitors:
Volvo S40
Acura CSX
Mazda3 GT
Dodge Caliber R/T
Ford Focus ST
Chevrolet Cobalt SS Sedan
Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V