The base model carries steel wheels and hubcaps as standard, with the Comfortline and Highline models boasting Alloy wheels. For this reason, plus a few more, I perhaps see the mid and high range versions being the most popular amongst buyers. Although it has to be said that the reasonably priced Trendline model may find favor with fleet purchasers who seek to provide their sales staff with vehicles which not only do the job, but also portray an element of success to their customers.

Now although in Canada it is to be known as the Jetta Wagon, stateside, it gets the name Jetta Sport Wagen (that is not a spelling mistake, the O becomes an E for the U.S.???), which I feel perhaps, suits it better. After all, its streamlined coachworks certainly give it a sporty appearance.

The Jetta Wagon's exterior leads one to believe that it sits in a higher price bracket.

Then we have the nicely placed chrome accents, which enhance the look and in many ways, add a little extra sparkle to a purposeful mode of transportation.

The Jetta Wagon's exterior leads one to believe that it sits in a higher price bracket, which is always beneficial to sales. However, VW have followed that through with the interior of the vehicle, and in particular, the quality and feel of its seat coverings.

In my mind, as Audi has been wowing everyone with its more and more upscale vehicles, it appears to me as if VW is positioning itself to move up into Audi's former arena.

The leather wrapped steering wheels and leather seats on the Highline model would not look out of place in a vehicle carrying twice the sticker price, and even the Mid range Comfortline boasts features like heated seats and a premium 6 disc CD changer with 10 speakers.

All in all, I was very impressed with the look and feel of the new Jetta Wagon. Volkswagen has obviously put a lot of thought into the design of its new wagon, and rightly so, because the brand has enjoyed a firm following from wagon buyers for many years.

Practicality is a key word in the wagon industry, and VW understands this better than most. Therefore, a slick roof rack system is standard on all models, just in case the 67 ft of cargo space is not enough.

Now we come to the drive, and VW seem to have that covered quite well also.

Power comes from a 2.5L 5cyl Inline engine which produces 170hp. The engine is smooth in operation and when pulling along a vehicle which weighs less than 1500 kgs, it performs exceptionally well, and returns reasonable fuel economy (10.8 L/100km City, 6.9 L/100km Highway. These fuel figures are for the manual version, but are almost identical for the automatic.

Power comes from a 2.5L 5cyl Inline engine which produces 170hp.