2021 Volkswagen Jetta Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The current Jetta is slightly longer than the outgoing model. Its wheelbase is also a bit longer. It maintains the same height but is wider by about 2.5 centimetres. This alone creates a slightly more upscale presence. Then it adds a wide, angular grille, inspired by that of the VW Arteon sport sedan.

This styling is far more dramatic than the previous generation's comparatively staid appearance. Simplicity was often the hallmark of VW design, but the previous Jetta’s front end could put you to sleep. This design doesn’t indicate much from a performance standpoint, but VW is clearly attempting to bring an upscale aura to a new Jetta.

That said, I would have been fine with a more subtle grille. This one might be fine on a range-topping sport sedan, but it’s a little much on a compact sedan. Of course, when you move inside the cabin, you'll see the same angular design language. So even while driving, you can't really escape it.

But that design element adds to a cabin that manages to be as upscale as the car's exterior. It’s spacious and attractive, while also being quite functional. Not all surfaces are soft-touch, but they're just enough to give the interior a premium feel. The seats are impressively comfortable and would be perfectly fine for long drives.

Trim levels for the Jetta are Comfortline, Highline, and Execline. (The higher-powered Jetta GLI model is covered separately.) Automakers typically send us fully loaded versions of their new vehicles, but not so with the Jetta. Of all the trims VW could have sent us, it shipped the base Comfortline trim, which is a pretty gutsy move. Volkswagen knows exactly what it has with this car, as the base trim comes well equipped, with 16-inch alloy wheels, LED head- and taillights, heated front seats, heated exterior mirrors and washer nozzles, and a 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Volkswagen’s Car-Net App-Connect. This touchscreen also comes standard with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as Bluetooth.

The Highline is likely to be the more popular trim selection. It adds leatherette seating surfaces, a panoramic sunroof, 17-inch alloy wheels, a leather-wrapped shift knob, and heated front and rear seats. It also adds a rear centre armrest with integrated cupholders, a heated wiper park, dual-zone climate control, and keyless entry with push-button start. Finally, a blind-spot monitor system with rear cross-traffic alert is added. The R-Line appearance package is standard on this trim with the manual transmission and optional with the automatic.

The Execline rounds out the lineup and adds front fog lights, heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a digital instrument cluster, on-board navigation, and an 8-way power-adjustable driver's seat with memory settings—it’s a little strange to make a power seat available only on the range-topping trim, but if you’re commuting with this car, you probably won't need to adjust the seat often. Other standard features include leather upholstery and a 400-watt BeatsAudio system with 8 speakers and a subwoofer.

Regardless of trim, the Jetta offers a single engine: a 1.4-litre turbo inline four-cylinder. This engine makes 147 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. It actually has 3 fewer horsepower than the previous engine, but you’d never notice. In fact, the engine feels more responsive than the one in the previous Jetta.

Part of this is because, although it's less powerful, the engine is tuned to deliver power quickly from a stop. You can also credit the Jetta's acceleration to the 8-speed automatic transmission, which replaces the previous six-speed automatic. The eight-speed unit manages power very well, and the added gears allow the Jetta to operate with more power and more efficiency across a greater range of speeds.

If you want to shift on your own, the 6-speed manual transmission is available on the Comfortline and Highline grades. All grades are front-wheel drive only.

Usually with small, turbocharged engines, you experience one of two issues. Some are well-suited for acceleration from a standstill, thriving in stop-and-go city driving. Try getting up to speed on the highway, however, and you’ll wait a while for the power to arrive.

On the other hand, some small, turbocharged engines are well-suited for gaining speed and passing on the highway, but they just aren't tuned to accelerate off the line. These can be brutal while driving around town.

Thanks to its engine tuning and the transmission's additional gears, the Jetta doesn’t have hidden weaknesses at low or high speeds. It handles residential driving just as well as cruising on the highway, and it even has enough guts to overtake at higher speeds.

Steering is fantastic in the Jetta. It’s not overly stiff like a German performance sedan, but it strikes a blend of smooth and sporty—like an entry-level trim of the BMW 3 Series. It’s well-weighted and has precise turn-in when taking a corner, and there’s not much body roll at all.

All of that should be expected from a German sedan, but the ride also manages to be soft over rough roads. That’s been a real surprise, although it's also something I’ve found in other new cars lately. Several automakers seem to have cracked the code on offering a refined yet soft ride without it feeling like you’re floating. This is something VW must have forgotten about when it made the redesigned Tiguan SUV a little too soft, but when it comes to handling and ride quality, Volkswagen has found its mojo again with the Jetta.

Incredibly, there’s almost no fuel penalty for going manual or automatic; with the manual transmission, the Jetta uses 6.9 litres per 100 kilometres combined according to Natural Resources Canada, while with the automatic it burns 7.1 L/100 km combined.

The Jetta's front seats are comfortable even on long trips, something uncommon among new small cars. Rear-seat legroom and headroom are perfectly adequate, while the front is plenty spacious. Trunk space is 399 litres, average for the class.

The touchscreen sits above the front climate vents, and the shifter is moved back a bit versus the previous generation, which makes the touchscreen easier to use and operate and puts it more into the driver’s line-of-sight. And the change in shifter placement allows the centre tray in the middle to be larger. VW also did away with the retractable tray cover—people care more about easily tossing a wallet and keys into their car than how it looks in photos.

Layout and function are key in the Jetta. Some automakers are putting volume and climate controls on the touchscreen, but here the touchscreen functions are blended with real buttons and dials. Arguably, only a Subaru Impreza is more function-forward than the Jetta. If it’s practicality you want, that's high praise.

As we mentioned in the Look and Feel section above, you get a lot with the base Jetta, including a 6.5-inch touchscreen display that comes with Volkswagen’s Car-Net App-Connect as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Offering CarPlay and Android Auto as standard equipment is great, because that means you don’t need to move up to the top-tier trim to get a navigation system. You can simply use the Maps app within CarPlay or Android Auto.

A notable feature standard for the Execline trim is Volkswagen’s Digital Cockpit. Similar to Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, Digital Cockpit replaces the conventional instrument panel with a full-colour digital display. This display can be personalized to present a driver with the information of his or her choosing. The driver can also project the navigation display directly onto this massive 10.25-inch screen.

The Jetta comes with a full array of safety features, including front and side airbags as well as a reversing camera and a tire pressure monitoring system. It also comes with an automatic post-collision braking system. Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert is standard on the Highline grade. The Execline comes standard with additional driver-assistance features like automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, a lane-keeping assist system, and automatic high beams.

With the IIHS, the 2021 Jetta scores a Good rating in all crash testing but falls short of a Top Safety Pick recommendation due to its headlights, which range from Marginal to Poor depending on the grade. The NHTSA gives the Jetta a five-star safety rating.

The 2021 Volkswagen Jetta's base MSRP plus destination and other fees comes to $24,032 Canadian. Add an automatic transmission and pricing starts at $25,432, which is the equivalent to our test unit. This is the least expensive way to get into an automatic-transmission-equipped model.

The mid-range Highline starts at $27,932 with the manual transmission and $28,082 with the automatic. This will likely be the most popular trim. The all-show-but-no-additional-go R-Line treatment adds $1,200 on the automatic and is included with the manual.

The range-topping Execline, offered only with the automatic transmission, starts at $31,432.

It’s possible for a vehicle to be more than the sum of its parts. Nothing about the Jetta is particularly ground-breaking, but then again, small cars aren’t supposed to be head-turning—they're just supposed to get the job done in the most comfortable, efficient way possible.

But the Jetta manages to combine a comfortable, refined interior with the latest technology and an efficient powertrain. That would have been enough, but VW went a step further and actually made the Jetta a truly enjoyable car to drive. That final bit may be enough to return the Jetta to its previous market position.

Note: Images show a US model.