I’ve owned a Ford Probe and a Mazda Protege, and I’m looking at this car. Compared to the Protege and Probe, would this be faster/ slower? I’m just wondering because it is very cheap on insurance, and someone told me that it was because it’s slow.
Thanks!
Fernando R
May 28, 2010 at 1:30 pm
it has 90 hp . but alot of torque. it’s okay .. nothing to the probe..
qernst8
May 28, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Well, if you look at numbers, yes it’s slow. But those old Jettas are so fun to drive they feel quicker than they really are. I had a ‘98 Jetta and it was pretty good to me. The TDIs run forever too.
Jesse S
May 28, 2010 at 2:49 pm
It is slow compared to those cars. It’s a fantastic car, just don’t expect to win any races with it.
Another plus….it’s name isn’t associated with a proctologist visit.
sapian
May 28, 2010 at 2:56 pm
I purchased two new 2006 TDI’s in march ‘07 and sold one 6 months later with 15K on it for what I paid new. VW changed the engine for the TDI and stocked up on ’06’s and sold them in 07. The new diesel engine (“Blue Tek” in collaboration with Mecedes) Jetta will be out late this year, more power, less economy. The 06 TDI is a Pumpe Düse diesel, (one injector pump for each cylinder as opposed to a common rail injection unit on earlier models) this 1.9 engine puts out 100 HP and a whopping 177ft/lbs of torque at the low end. The pull peters out over 2500 RPM. Fast? depends how you drive. I’ve never squealed tires so much unintentionally. Also in my old gas Jetta I always geared down to go over mountain passes, with the TDI it did the same passes effortlessly in 5th gear, its all about low end torque with this engine. Lugging the engine is not an issue if you have a manual model but you shift more frequently and sooner. The ‘06 auto trans. by the way has a higher top gear so it is actually rated about 1MPG higher at highway than the manual. The MPG I averaged with mostly highway driving was about 47mpg rated by measuring at the pump, The mpg computer is off, because like most cars, the speedo is 3-4 MPH fast. I loved the engine in this car but ultimately sold my car (my wife kept hers) because the ride is too stiff for the long haul driving I do (great if your into cornering fast) and the seat / steering wheel just didn’t fit me well. I have a long back and the lumbar support was minimal and too low and there is no thigh support adjustment. On a 6 day road trip my back went totally out. I ended up getting a factory certified ‘03 BMW 530i with a manual trans. for the same money got for the Jetta, amazingly, I get 33 mpg on the highway and sooo comfortable for the long haul, and fits like a glove. Ticks me off I can’t get the 5 series with a diesel like they can in europe, some day…