2016 Jetta 1.6 TDi

[albert_b]

Any thoughts about this particular variant?

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[vje722]

I have one. It's value for money. It's equipped with so much more than you'd expect from a similarly priced Japanese sedan. It has abs and four disc brakes. Not sure if it has EBD, but I presume it does. It has six airbags, two for the front passengers, two side airbags, and two curtain airbags. It has fog lights which double as cornering lights. It has speed sensing door locks. It has a decent touch screen head unit with six speakers and has bluetooth connectivity . It can fit four adults comfortably with each one having their own air vent. It has loads of trunk space with the rear seats that fold for longer items. What it doesn't have are: 1) power side mirrors; 2) center armrest for the rear passengers; and 3) back-up sensors.

On how it drives, it drives very well. It doesn't feel under-powered, though I have yet to try bringing to Baguio to try how well it drives in inclines. The manual transmission has short throws and is very precise. It also has an indicator on the dash which suggests that you shift or downshift, presumably for economical driving. I don't really follow the suggestion as I feel the shift points are too early in the rev range and takes away the fun in the driving. It's not as fun as a Ford Fiesta, but it will do if you're past that driving stage of wanting to go as fast as you could. Feels like it's a grown up car. It's also economical and good consumption returns.

On the riding experience, its has very good sound insulation. The seats are very comfortable and not as stiff as its Japanese counterparts. There is so much room in the car that you won't feel cramped even if you'd be in it for hours.

On the other side of things, its reliability is not yet proven in the Philippines, the cost of parts would surely be more expensive, maintenance costs will be in the higher range, accessories will be very limited, its resale value would be in the lower ranges.

Hope this helps.

[albert_b]

thanks chief! How's the noise/vibration?

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[vje722]

From the outside, you'll know its a diesel. From the inside, you wouldn't notice. It has very good sound insulation and its not at all noisy inside. Engine noise is very minimal and very gas like. There is no noticeable vibration when at idle or when accelerating. Up close you will see that the doors have an extra felt-like material aside from the usual rubber seals so I think that really helps with keeping the noise to a minimum.

[Egan101]

We have the Jetta 1.6L TDI DSG Highline variant. It is one of the first batches of the Jetta 1.6L TDI released locally. We got it thru the Ayala corporate car discount promo.

The car feels very stable on the highway, much like older midsize cars (6th gen or 7th gen Accord). It feels heavier and more solid compared to other Asian compacts like the Altis or Civic. The car may not be as quick as its 2.0L TDI and 1.4L turbo gas brothers but it is quicker than most compact and subcompact cars with a 1.5L or 1.6L NA gas engine (except for the turbo compacts and subcompacts). It's good for a 0-100kmh sprint of 10 seconds. Our family driver tried it for around 160kmh on NLEX and it still feels stable. Fuel consumption is around 10-11 km/L on city routes and 17 km/L on the highway.

There's a bit of clatter on the morning when we fire up the engine but not like the turbo diesel engines used on PPVs. The 2.0L TDI engine feels more refined. Interior insulation is quite good so not much noise creeps inside. The suspension is on the comfortable side. If you ask our family driver, he likes the ride better on the Jetta 1.6L TDI than over the Civic RS 1.5L Turbo. He says the Jetta feels more planted.

The AT tranny is the usual 7-speed DSG dual clutch transmission which VW uses over a lot of cars in its model lineup (as well as those in Audi). As expected with DSG/DCT, it is quick to shift up/down but the downside is the nature of DSG/DCT in slow crawling traffic. You have to drive it like it is, modulate gas input like an MT tranny. Don't drive it like the usual AT or you will be frustrated. On my end, I like DCT over AT or CVT as DCT feels more responsive.

[albert_b]

just as I suspected, it is really one of those underappreciated vehicles in our country today. Thanks guys for the insight.

Looking at the specs sheet, is it correct that compare to do the 2.0 and 1.4 gas, it is missing the following:
steering wheel controls
cruise control
fog lamps

is this correct? Are there other differences?

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[vje722]

The 1.6 TDI MT has fog lamps but no cruise control. I think the fog lamps come as standard. Don't know about the cruise control on both models you mentioned.

[albert_b]

I saw Shangri-la's Jetta, it was the 1.6 TDi variant. It didn't have fog lamps nor steering wheel controls and no cruise control as well

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[vje722]

The steering wheel controls and cruise control are not standard. But the 1.6 TDI should have fog lamps, unless they sold units with and without fog lamps.

[Egan101]

Not sure about cruise control but our Jetta 1.6L TDI DSG has fog lamps, 17" mags, touch screen head unit, perimeter collision warning system, power folding side mirrors, and leather seats. The interior trim and seats have a beige color motif, black would have been better like on the 2.0L TDI variant. Also, it does not have push button ignition.