MY08 TFSI Jetta - my car, my review with lots of pictures

[faisan]

Hi All,

I picked up my new Jetta a few days ago and took some pics to share. I thought I would do a bit of a review at the same time.

Exterior

Front


Rear


The TFSI comes with colour coded front and rear lower bumpers. Reverse sensors are standard. I decided to go with white but would have been equally happy with Silver or Grey.

Side with alloys


My Jetta came with side skirts which are not painted. I will definitely be colour coding these at some stage. I don't know when they started including the skirts because I have not seen them on any Jetta in pictures or in person.

The wheels are 17" Classixs. I originally was planning on upgrading these to 18" R32 style rims but after seeing the Classixs in person, I like them and have decided to stick with them.

I like the convenience features and especially like how you can open and close the windows using the remote. Its a nice party trick that I have showed off to a few family and friends


Continued below...

[faisan]

Interior



I always look for a stylish, comfortable and quality interior in all my cars. I do not buy cars with plasticy and cheap looking interiors. The Jetta interior is designed well and has a few nice touches. I particulary like the brushed aluminium strips on the dash and door trims (standard on TFSI).

I opted for leather seats in black. The leather really does make the interior seem much classier and more upmarket. The seats are sports seats and have some bolstering on the seat base. Its not as agressively bolstered as the GTI or R32 but its actually a good thing because my big butt doesnt fit in those seats very well

Pedals


I was disappointed that the TFSI Jetta did not come with alloy pedals as standard. I purchased these from the dealer and fitted them myself. I really like them and now the car feels even sportier

Bottle opener


There are a few nice touches inside. The bottle opener is a neat little feature. There are rear air con vents which is not all that common in small/medium cars. I also was impressed with the built in handbook holder in the glove box.



Door pockets are lined with felt


Its also good to see small things like how the door pockets are lined with felt and not just bare plastic. This shows that VW where really thinking about the quality when they designed the car.


The Jetta is famous for its massive boot. I purchase a boot liner to help protect from sand and grass which is always hard to vacum out of carpet. There is also a shopping bag handle/hook that flips down. I would have liked 2 of these but one is better than none There are also integrated grab handes on the underside of the boot lid. These mean you dont have to touch the top of the boot lid minimising scratches and dirt.

The MY08 Jetta comes with a full size MFD in the dash. I like how you can adjust some conveniece features yourself. Its not as easy to fully control the stereo with the steering wheel buttons like some other cars but its not too bad.

The rear leg room is ok for a car this size but could have been bigger. I would be willing to sacrifice boot space for leg room. The rear head room is also a bit tight for taller passengers. I am 5"11 and find it a little tight in the back. My wife and toddler fit in fine though.

[faisan]

Drive impressions

When shopping for this car, my requirements were that it had to be a sedan, auto, and had good performance. The Jetta delivers all on these areas.

This my first turbo car and I have only had it a couple of days so I am still getting used to learning the DSG and how much throttle to apply. The power is great and is perfect for over taking. You have to be real careful because its very easy to creep over the speed limit without knowing it.

The steering feels light when parking but is weighted nicely when travelling at speed. The Jetta doesnt have paddles on the steering wheel which would have been nice. The paddles are easier to use than the gear stick. I will drive in D for 95% of the time though so it wont be a huge deal.

its too early to report on fuel consumption accurately but I filled up today and the MFD reports that I can travel 580kms before its empty. This is decent considering the power and size of tank.

The suspension is slightly lower with the TFSI and you do feel some bumps. This may also be due to the larger 17" wheels (standard comes with 16"s). Its a good balance between handling and comfort though.

Conclusion

So far so good. I really like the Jetta and its nice driving something non Japanese for once.

I still need to fit my AVC9000 and am figuring out if I can mount a reverse camera without doing any drilling. I will also give it a bit of a clean over the Christmas break.

Apologies for the long post. If anyone would like to see some specific pictures or has any questions, please just ask

[Dave_09JETTA]

Nice touches mate

Thanks faisan,

I like some of the mod's you have made such as the pedals they look hot and the boot liner was a great idea, I too like the handbook holder as placing it in the glove box takes up alot of room.
Im still waiting on my Jetta to get out of that bleeding compound and get to the dealer ( They have had it since December 1st )
Thanks heaps for the pics and comments Im drooling over your car until mine is ready to pick up lol.

[Maverick]

There is also a shopping bag handle/hook that flips down. I would have liked 2 of these but one is better than none

You can purchase these as a spare part from the dealer, they come with the fixings to install as well.

[Maverick]

The Jetta doesnt have paddles on the steering wheel which would have been nice. The paddles are easier to use than the gear stick. I will drive in D for 95% of the time though so it wont be a huge deal.

You can retrofit a GT Sport steering wheel which has the paddles (there are people around who have upgraded to the GTI wheel and may be selling the old wheel - Logzy is one).

And as for D, well we all think that You'll find yourself spending more time in S after a while

[Buster]

I have been actively watching your posts as I am also looking at the Jetta (or a GTI if they ever discount them . Congrats on your new car! You sound like you are over the moon with it. Where did you end up getting it? Did you get looked after? Do tell. Great review, maybe I can tell the salesman something!!!

[faisan]

I have been actively watching your posts as I am also looking at the Jetta (or a GTI if they ever discount them . Congrats on your new car! You sound like you are over the moon with it. Where did you end up getting it? Did you get looked after? Do tell. Great review, maybe I can tell the salesman something!!!

Hey Buster.

They are certainly discounting the GTI so if thats the model you are after, go for that one.

I ended up getting my Jetta from Wangara. The DP is a friend of a friend so thats why I went there. I did get a very good price but I think I could have got that price at any dealer if I pushed hard enough. The timing is perfect to buy a new car now if the colour and spec you are after is in stock.

[nismo23]

Nice ride faisan. Can you tell me what you paid for the boot liner?

[faisan]

Nice ride faisan. Can you tell me what you paid for the boot liner?

it was about $115.50 inc GST.

It does the job but its actually foam and not rubber. I would prefer the rubber one but they didnt have it in stock and this one was a bit cheaper.

[nismo23]

Cool thanks, i think i will need one as a packet of soft plastics that were coated in a fish attractant leaked in mine and took about a week to fade away.
Would have been easier to just pull out a liner and hose off.
So i think i will invest in one very soon.

[blutopless2]

nice colour choice... though i am biased on that one.

here's mine with the 18" charlestons.

[faisan]

nice colour choice... though i am biased on that one.

here's mine with the 18" charlestons.

Very nice bluetopless2

What % tint do you have? The back looks darker than the front for some reason.

Also, what bulid date is your Jetta? It doesnt have the black side skirts like my one does and they are both MY08 models.

The Charlestons do look really good

[livingthedream]

Ive got an MY08...no side skirts

I think you got lucky Faisan - haha

[faisan]

Ive got an MY08...no side skirts

I think you got lucky Faisan - haha

I dont know about lucky. Its nice having them but I think they look kinda wierd in black when everything else is colour coded. Now I gotta fork out some $$ to get them colour coded.

Should look sweet once its done though.