2011 Volkswagen Jetta Sedan vs. Its Competition

Meta Rating 7.8 out of 10

Browse Used Listings
What’s this?

What’s this? X

Our expert editors build comparisons like this one to make it easy for you to understand the small handful of cars you should compare to whatever car you are already looking at. You get general thoughts on each car you should consider plus an easy way to compare basic information for yourself.

Marty Padgett

Editorial Director BIO

Marty Padgett is High Gear Media's Editorial Director, overseeing the words that skim across High Gear Media's portfolio of automotive destinations... More

LATEST ARTICLE
30 Days Of 2013 Ram 1500: Photo Gallery
Our month with the 2013 Ram 1500 is about half over, so it's time to switch gears. The Ram's been... Read More

#5LEADERBOARD RANK
5163ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
111COMMENTS POSTED

Jul 30, 2010

The 2011 VW Jetta has a foot in two worlds: it wants to be tight and inexpensive like some compact cars, but roomy and a great value like some mid-size sedans.

VW says the Honda Civic is a prime target, and the current Civic has a few Achilles heels, from the relative lack of interior space designed in with its steep windshield, to its overly busy instruments and cockpit.

The new Kia Forte nearly hits the Jetta’s space specs, and outdoes its features list with thousands of dollars to spare, but it’s nowhere near as sweet-handling even with a full independent suspension.

Three other cars we’d suggest you drive along with the Jetta are the Kizashi, a compact with great handling and refinement but a marked lack of marketing personality; the Hyundai Sonata, which has a huge front seat and loads of features for a base price under $20,000; and finally the Subaru Legacy, which occupies some of the Jetta’s demographics and handles almost as well—while it also adds much more interior space and flatter, more responsive handling.

2011 Volkswagen Jetta Sedan Browse Used Listings	2011 Hyundai Sonata Browse Used Listings	2011 Kia Forte Browse Used Listings	2011 Subaru Legacy Browse Used Listings	2011 Suzuki Kizashi Browse Used Listings	2010 Honda Civic Browse Used Listings
Quick Specs
Meta Rating
7.8 The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta steps back in tech time and lowers its German street cred—but still delivers a better driving feel and more back-seat room than many other compact sedans.	8.6 The 2011 Hyundai Sonata takes some smart styling and performance risks to raise its profile.	8 The 2011 Kia Forte exemplifies the new direction of Kia, with a simple, elegant style, unexpected levels of refinement, and lots of value for the money.	8.4 The 2011 Subaru Legacy is one of the best-handling mid-size sedans, and the only mainstream one to offer standard all-wheel drive.	8.2 The 2011 Kizashi is the best Suzuki car to date—a sophisticated and well-designed small sedan that's a lot more fun to drive than most other compact sedans.	8.6 The 2010 Honda Civic has a level of sophistication and refinement not possessed by most other small car models, with good safety and overall frugality. But if you like to carry cargo or backseat passengers, you can do better.
MSRP From
$15,365	$19,395	$14,995	$19,995	$18,999	$15,655
Gas Mileage
23 MPG City / 42 MPG Hwy	22 MPG City / 39 MPG Hwy	22 MPG City / 36 MPG Hwy	18 MPG City / 31 MPG Hwy	20 MPG City / 31 MPG Hwy	21 MPG City / 36 MPG Hwy
Engine
Gas I4	Gas I4	Gas I4	Gas Flat 4	Gas I4	Gas I4
EPA Class
Compact	Large Cars	Compact Cars	Compact	Compact	Compact
Style Name
4dr Manual	4dr Sedan 2.4L Man GLS Ltd Avail	4dr Sedan Man LX	4dr Sedan H4 Man 2.5i	4dr Sedan Man FWD S	4dr Man DX
Drivetrain
Front Wheel Drive	Front Wheel Drive	Front Wheel Drive	All Wheel Drive	Front Wheel Drive	Front Wheel Drive
Passenger Capacity
5	5	5	5	5	5
Passenger Doors
4	N/A	N/A	N/A	4	N/A
Body Style
4 Door Sedan	4 Door Sedan	4 Door Sedan	4 Door Sedan	4 Door Sedan	4 Door Sedan
Transmission
Manual	Manual w/OD	Manual	Manual w/OD	Manual	Manual