Sixth JETTA MAKES sense

Sixth JETTA MAKES sense

It was fairly warm at the crack of dawn around the spectacular Devi Garh Fort Palace Hotel, as we lorded over fellow beings going about their matutinal ablutions two hundred feet below. The narrow streets were beginning to thrum as denizens of Delwara, 30 km north-east of Udaipur, took another shot at life amid the bucolic, verdant bounties. The distant resonance of a temple bell, green mountains and lush paddy fields — yes, all in Rajasthan — offered a pleasant contrast for penpushers from cacophonous, polluted and hypertensive metros. A sumptuous breakfast tucked in, we looked over the arched balconies and that's when we sighted them 200 metres away, at the base of this 18th century fort-palace: a row of 8 gleaming silver … Huh? Baby Passats? Or did they ctrl+alt+shift >>> the Vento? The first thing that the sixth-generation, all-new Volkswagen Jetta does is it gives a sense of déjà vu. Where have you seen the car before? But take a closer look and the proportions pleasantly expand, with the teutonic nuances hard to miss. Front up, what strikes on the fascia are the trapezoidal headlamps and the five horizontal lines, just like the Vento, and a clean-cut masculine bearing, accentuated by the tray-ish cooling grill. Ah, this one looks, feels big, comfortable and safe. The hood has more geometry than its predecessor thanks to the character lines marking out a quadrangulated V, which, in turn, melds into a coupe-esque windshield. Look around and you see muscular shoulder lines wind through the A and B pillars, wrapping up two-part tailights (which replace the orb-ish split one in the fifth avatar) that have the same trapezoidal treatment, just above the double-exhaust tips. This rear has more allure this time, but falls short on oomph. Yet, it's a sight better than cousin Skoda Laura's hindquarter. Interior The accents are, well, German functionality with elan — classy but not flashy, function plus decent form. The top Highline manual variant, which we drove 40 kms, has a 12-way electrical driver-seat adjustment option. Due to a larger 2633 millimetre wheelbase, there's almost 3 inches of extra legroom for the rear-seat passenger than the previous Jetta. Plonk your derrière on the leatherette, and boy, it feels comfortable with nice thigh support. But the protruding transmission tunnel for the middle passenger can be an issue, especially when the family travels. It's there in the Polo, the Vento and the Jetta, thanks to the platform/chassis used in a host of Volkswagen Group cars. The armrest on the back seat hides a neat utility manoeuvre. Flick down and a cubbyhole trap is revealed that opens into a cavernous, 510-litre boot — just in case you want to pull something out without stopping the car. And a 60/40 split folding rear seat exponentially expands the boot to an awesome 1,550 litres. The dash, with a drop of woody accent on the illuminated glove box, is well-appointed, with a large-touchscreen music system (in the top variants) and a 6-CD changer with Aux-in and 8 speakers — which, pounded out some grating static too at full tilt. Then there's Parktronic assistance, and 6/8 airbags for safety. Even the base Trendline version, priced around `15.5 lakh on road in Mumbai, is well specced out: it has electronic stability programme, ABS, 6 airbags, 16-inch alloys and a decent music system, but adorns fabric upholstery. A goggle storage on the headliner adds a nice touch. What's missing? Automatic climate control is the most conspicuous, and an adjustable front armrest. And what's the point of having cruise control in Indian cities? Or the sixth gear in cities? Performance Driving the DSG — direkt schaltgetriebe, German for direct shift gearbox — the automatic variant, was an absolute pleasure. It took out 50 kms of winding country roads like a breeze. The 2.0 litre common rail diesel engine planted on the six-speed gearbox packs a terrific punch, delivering a rocking 140 Pferdestärke (PS, or horse strength in, ahem, German) at 4,200 rpm. The car torques out at a solid 320 Newton Meters between 1750 and 2500 rpm. Both the auto and manual variants have fabulous straightline speed, show great composure when nosing 200 kmph— and swerved with panache as a biker nonchalantly angled in from the utterly wrong side, sticking to the median on a blind curve along the highway to Ahmedabad. Such thrills, it is said, is common in Rajasthan. Phew! The steering feels lighter than the previous Jetta and dovetails accurately. With its tall gearing, the automatic performs brilliantly and intuitively. The manual's no slowpoke either, and is eager to take off through smooth, well-clicking shifts. Sound damping works well and what you get is a bearable road roar at rev-out. Ergonomic head restraints (three in the rear) soften the whiplash well. The suspensions — coil springs with shock abs and suspension stabiliser in the front and multi-link in the rear — were efficient on chapped asphalt and the steeper bumps. Mileage There is only a diesel variant in the Jetta, and its maker claims a mileage of 19.33 kms per litre for the manual, and 16.96 kmpl for the DSG, citing tests by the Automotive Research Association of India. That would mean around 12-13 kmpl in real-life city driving. Par for course in a segment that also has the Renault Fluence, Skoda Laura and the Chevy Cruze — all of which have more or less similar fuel-burn math. Verdict At around Rs.20 lakh, the DSG version looks a bit pricey, nudging the super premium sedan territory. The base Trendline version hits the round at a decent `15.5 lakh, but Volkswagen has a tough fight on its hand because all the three rivals — the Laura, Cruze and Fluence, as also the Toyota Corolla Altis Diesel — offer a lot of value-for-money proposition.