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VW Jetta A5 is one of the most popular cars among europeans. Basically, only VW Jetta A5 should be sold by VW. 

 The VW Jetta A5 came as a continuation of a VW experiment that was more successful in the balkans than jeans brought from Turkey and more successful than fishnet T-shirts. The original VW Bora was a Golf IV with a boot or a Passat B5.5 lite, take it as you like and it was a curiosity that sold.

Moreover, the Golf IV started the 1.9 TDI hysteria from VW and the Golf V came to continue it. And because the Bora sold reasonably well, VW launched the VW Jetta A5. Is it pronounced VW Jetta? Or VW Jetta? Or VW Geta? Who knows.

Here are three reasons why the VW Jetta A5 is the best car for the typical middle-aged european:

• It’s Volkswagen so it has the right badge. It’s not like you’d be a Ford or a Toyota or a Citroen loser or an Opel loser and God forbid you get within 50 metres of a Dacia. You’ve got a Volkswagen, you’ve shown them losers how it’s done and who’s the man. Plus you’ve heard from the neighbours that VWs are the toughest things since Rasputin.


• It’s got a diesel engine. And not just any engine, it has the famous 1.9 TDI. But wait, don’t sit on the seat, hold on to your testicles because the VW JETTA A5 COMES WITH 2.0 TDI!!!!!!!!! And there’s also VW!!!!


• It has four doors and a boot. Basically, it looks like a real car, not a toy. Meat must be meat, the house must be house, the woman must be woman, the car must be the car and alcohol must be alcohol.


• Stereotypes aside, there’s another real reason why the VW Jetta A5 has been so successful. Basically, in 2005 you had very few compact car-based saloon options. You had the Ford Focus II sedan which looked pathetic, you had the Opel Astra H sedan but everyone was either busy getting it serviced or buying the estate version. You also had the Mazda 3 sedan but nobody was interested in that one, and the Toyota Corolla doesn’t exist in the European vocabulary either. You also had the Volvo S40 but that one was busy being serviced. About Dacia Logan and Hyundai Accident, I don’t even bother to write anything. The only real rival to the Jetta was the Renault Megane II sedan, but again nobody bought it because it wasn’t VW.

VW Jetta A5 Engines

Petrol

• 1.4 TSI of 122 horsepower – Like many things in life, the first time is not what you imagine it will be and eventually it will be painful. Same with the 1.4 TSI with VW’s chain-driven timing where the timing chain tensioner needs to be checked every 50km.


• 1.4 TSI of 140, 160 and 170 horsepower  – You get both a a turbocharger and supercharger so you get the infamous Twincharger which was withdrawn 2 days after launch due to excessive reliability and mechanic protests.


• 1.6 MPI of 102 horsepower – The old 1.6 MPI launched at the same time with the radio, and this is also the only 100% LPG compatible petrol. Occasionally it eats coils packs and oil, but unless you have an oil can in the boot, you don’t feel like you have a genuine VW.


• 1.6 FSI of 116 horsepower  – The cheapest petrol on the list in terms of the purchase cost. If you want something cheap, simple and reliable that will haul your ass around town, this may be the most decent engine for it. Be careful with mechanics though, because many people shy away from it because if it involves work we’re running away.


• 2.0 FSI of 150 horsepower – You don’t have the 1.8 TSI like on the Octavia II so the discussion is much simpler. This is the only civilized and sporty engine in the VW Jetta A5. Apart from the responsible consumption, you shouldn’t have any worries with this engine because it’s a 2.0 FSI and the price is very low.


• 2.0 TSI of 200 horsepower – The 2.0 FSI version is rarer on the Jetta A5 than the times when the girls don’t give me the nod when I write something to them on Facebook. Not even on grindr. Like any self-respecting 2.0 TSI owner, don’t forget to take the oil drums with you.

Diesel

• 1.6 TDI of 105 horsepower  – What was intended to be the successor to the 1.9 TDI was just a slightly ill-fated attempt. The 1.6 TDI was to the 1.9 TDI what the Gothic 3 was to the Gothic 2. Strangled by modern emissions standards, this 1.6 TDI is more tormented by life than a minimum wage employee in the private sector. If it runs 200 metres in town this engine loses its EGR, injectors and particulate filter.


• 1.9 TDI of 105 horsepower  – That’s the famous VW 1.9 TDI. A tried and tested old engine, free of general reliability issues (except for the BXE that still leaks connecting rods through the exhaust). Somewhere late in life, it wears out the camshaft and engine mounts.


• 2.0 TDI of 140 horsepower  – This 2.0 TDI series comes from the Golf and Octavia and is not part of the issue generation on the Passat B6 and A4 B7. The only notable issue with this engine is the appetite for dual mass flywheels and clutches, and in extreme cases, the clutch when it goes berserk takes the gearbox with it. VW 2.0 TDI . This 2.0 TDI DOES NOT have the oil pump balance shaft issue.

VW Jetta A5 General Issues

• Does not have enough diesel engines.


• Modern diesel engines are more sensitive to diesel quality than a freshman meeting the cockroaches in the dorm for the first time. If you give it diesel taken straight from the bucket, you will contaminate the tank with soot and it will end up destroying the common rail. Basically, you can get another one. Another car.


• Some of the more god-awful engines also got a DSG automatic, and the poor man’s engines got a poor man’s automatic. Both are equally poor in reliability, except the DSG is much more expensive to maintain. And if the mechatronic, basically the gearbox computer, has failed, you can get another one. Another car.


• No VW since 2005 without ABS issues and the VW Jetta A5 is no exception. Thanks to the G201 sensor for keeping us busy and the mechanics rich.


• But wait, there are more issues to tell! The famous compressor that breaks down every 5 minutes on the Octavia 2 is also on the VW Jetta A5, only it breaks down less often. But it still breaks down and that doesn’t warm me up or cool me down. It’s just a broken compressor.


• The door locks are made of chewing gum and at the first contact with rain they will come loose and fall off. But at least the car looks like a car, with 4 doors and a trunk.

VW Jetta A5 Verdict

It’s a compact sedan from VW that has both a 1.9 TDI and a 2.0 TDI, what more do you want from life? Joking aside, the VW Jetta A5 remains just a Golf V with a boot, because it hasn’t made its own identity as the next generation has. Still, this compact sedan came along and ticked all the boxes, which is why there are more cars on the street than I have damp in my apartment block, and that’s a testament to its popularity and reliability. 

Which engine do I recommend? If you want a compact city sedan that will get you around, probably 1.6 MPI or 1.6 FSI, the only difference is that one runs 100% on LPG and the other doesn’t, but the 1.6 FSI is cheaper to buy because it doesn’t mess with LPG. So whether you are interested in putting LPG or not, that’s where the purchase decision comes down to. For diesel, if you want the VW Jetta A5 but don’t have the money for the VW Jetta A5, get a 1.9 TDI. If you have the money and want the full experience, get a 2.0 TDI.

Which engine would I buy? 2.0 FSI 150 horsepower.  #yolo.