Did a 250 km trip on in my preowned Jetta: Real world observations

The Jetta belongs to the highway. She’s an effortless mile muncher. The car feels planted and masks the speed so well

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Had a small 250km (125+125) trip with family during the weekend. Got to know the car in more detail during the drive. Coming from a humble Hyundai Eon, this was a big step up for me. Even though I have driven many cars, but those were mostly rented / outside India.

Some high points:

• Power and Torque. She’s completely stock, producing 140bhp/320Nm. The acceleration is smooth, the torque is addictive, cabin is silent. Completely opposite to our Eon. Overtaking is piece of cake. Just press the accelerator pedal and she drops couple of gears and the maneuver is done and dusted before your passengers knows it.
• DSG gearbox. Now I get it! I got to know why people are singing praises all over the world. The shifts are seamless. Always ready to downshift whenever the driver commands through the A-pedal. Tried sports mode and the way the gearbox redlines the engine in each gear is unbelievable.
• Steering : Light inside the city and weighs up adequately at highways.
• Brakes. All Wheel discs with ABS are confidence inspiring. Though I have not came across any emergency braking *touchwood*, I feel it will serve right when needed.
• Interior Space. Super spacious. Coming from Eon, it feels like a mansion. Some may feel the transmission tunnel hump is an inconvenience.
• Interior quality. The previous owner maintained the interior very well. I have done a interior detailing after purchase which made the interior even better.
• Seating and ergonomics. Electric driver seat is a delight to use. Got my perfect driving position very quickly. Both front seats are super comfortable and provides very good support.
• Rear seat is spacious and with center arm rest, all 3 point seat belts and independent headrests, are nice place to be.
• Tilt and telescopic steering aids in finding the perfect driving position.
• Special mention to the multi tasking indicator stalk. That guy does a ton of job !
• NVH levels are fantastic. At high speeds, some road noise is peeping in, but not a deal breaker.
• Dual zone AC cools the cabin adequately. It’s not super chilling like Hyundai ‘s though.
• Fuel efficiency. The drive was a mix of state highway, express way and city roads. Overall indicated efficiency of 21kmpl which I feel is fantastic.
• Road manners. Jetta belongs to the highway. She’s an effortless mile muncher. The car feels planted and masks the speed so well (My wife even commented that the car feels slow  ). Provides lot of confidence in straight line and corners as well.
• ICE. Pretty basic head unit. I’m not an audiophile, but enjoys music while driving. Felt the sound quality is very good with good balance and bass.
• Build Coming from the Eon, the difference is day and night. The ‘thud’ is something has to be experienced. Even after 9 years, the car feels tight. Interiors also aged very well and feels plush.
• Lighting, Bi-xenon projector setup with cornering function felt adequate. No complaints here.
• Looks. Jetta is a timeless beauty, atleast to my eyes. My family thought I’m mad since I always drool over any Jetta I see on the road (even while I’m sitting inside mine).
• She still manages to turn heads on the road. My colleagues were surprised to know the age of the car !
• In Black shade she oozes elegance.

I was about to ask my FNG to change the timing kit and DSG oil as a precaution, but detailed inspection of service history shown that the previous owner already changed these last year as suggested preventive maintenance from VW. Big relief.

Coming to some low points:

• The passenger side sunshade clip is broken. It holds the shade in place while closed, but if we open the shade, the clip gets dislocated from its position.
• The Skie access hole’s cover is missing. Need to try to source one from used market. Any input helps here.
• Even though front and rear parking sensores are helpful, I feel the car needs a rear camera due to its length and lack of rear visibility.
• As per the FNG, the compressor belt needs to be replaced in another 10k. Some mild vibration is felt inside due to this.
• Very difficult to maintain black car shining. I have asked out apartment watchman not to clean this car since he use same cloth for all cars top to bottom. Instead I’m using Jopasu duster and waterless wash concentrate when needed.
• Worried about the rising polution and our government’s stupid decisions in past. This goes away when I take her for a spin though. Hoping to enjoy the car for as long as possible.
• The fear of something going wrong is lurking my mind then and there. I’ll try to do all the maintenance on timely manner and hope she won’t strand me anywhere.

Mods Planned:

• Get the minor mechanical issues fixed
• Remap is in cards, but thought of enjoying the stock setup for some time.
• Alloys. Either blackening / replacing. Will decide after assessing the budget.
• Complete dechrome and tail light smoking. Still not decided on it. I like the look of the car as it is too.
• Get a full set of magnetic sunshade for windows.
• Dashcam.
• Head unit with Android auto/Car play. Will decide after assessing the budget.

Some pictures :

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