2011 Jetta SportWagen TDI
We got excited when we heard that Edmunds Inside Line was going to compare the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI and the 2012 Toyota Prius V. After all, we love a little good-natured competition. We got even more excited when we read the article and saw that they described the Jetta SportWagen as “peppy.” (We love that word.)
The folks at Inside Line got big kick out of the Jetta’s big torque, provided courtesy of its 2.0-liter TDI engine that cranks out 236 pound-feet of torque at only 1,750 rpm. The article goes on to praise the Jetta’s six-speed Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG), which features an automated double-clutch manual transmission for excellent responsiveness and a closer connection to the road. They were also a bit surprised that a car with such a sporty profile has such a roomy interior. In fact, they say lots of pretty things about us, but we don’t want to spoil the ending—read the entire article for yourself at InsideLine.com.
Tell us: what do you like best about the Jetta SportWagen?
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I just reached 20K miles with my 2010 SportWagen TDI. Totally trouble-free and I love the mileage. I also like the fact that you don’t see one every minute on the road. Truly a car for the long haul.
I will never own a Volkswagen again. I was so excited about it when I bought it since it averages 40 miles per gallon. Love the sun roof. But my 2011 Jetta TDI Sportwagen has been nothing BUT trouble. The service at the dealer where I bought it (convenient location) was so inept that I now have to drive 30 miles to get it serviced.
It has been in service 8 times in 2 years.
The radio has intermittently lost reception for days since I drove it off the lot. Nobody will fix it because they have to personally experience the problem. The dealer I bought it from saw the problem but didn’t fix it because it passed radio diagnostics. My new service department won’t fix it because they haven’t personally seen the problem yet. They only service cars on Fridays and the intermittent problem hasn’t occured on a Friday yet. Now the CD’s won’t load and the on/off button doesn’t work. I wonder if the dealer will finally replace the radio this Friday.
The seal on my left door broke. The dealer where I bought it glued it together and called it fixed. It came unglued and the dealer gave me some weak story about a part and I never heard from them again.
I’ve had to replace 2 tires since I drove it off the lot and all I do is commute to/from work in it.
All windshield wipers squeak and no dealer will fix that either.
I have now read that the government in the US is investigating fuel leaks in the 2nd fuel injector. I’m worried that I’ll never be able to sell this car to someone else.
The driver’s seat is placed too far to the right. In order to rest my left foot on the foot rest, my thigh hits the edge of the bucket. Very uncomfortable.
I’m returning to Honda as soon as I can unload this beast.
I have 2011 Jetta TDI Sportwagen with 3K miles on it. Made the trip from NYC to Washington DC and got 47 mpg. I am hoping to do better still after the break in period.
Good points about the car: Good handling. Adjustable seats so that other members in the family can drive it. I drove it after Hurricane Irene pounded our area with heavy rains. Did not seem to have problems.
Bad points: Way too much focus on the gizmos and gadgets. A car does not need an information system that seems to focus on the radio so much. I don’t use the satellite radio and I wonder what will happen after the subscription runs out in a week or so. The design of the car seems to be done by focus groups. The DSG transmission is a bit strange and it will take a while to get used to it.
Hopefully the car is well engineered so that it will last at least 100K without much trouble. Its hard to say. Much can go wrong with gizmos and gadgets.
You are so right about the gizmos!! I have a 2011 Sportwagen and still cannot use the CD player. It is too complicated and no where in the operators book does it tell you how to use it! Trans and throttle pedal are also strange. Dealership employs IDIOTS. Mine was apraised at the dealer yesterday @ $14,000.00 It is 6 months old and has almost 10k miles!!! Holds its value well, NOT. Getting rid of this looser today somewhere (not VW ) Good luck on your Sportwagen
I bought a 2011 jetta sportwagon in july and have been having throttle response problems since day one.I have had it in to dealer 4 to 6 times and now they tell me this is normal. What is happening is when I get on freeway i frequently have to push the throttle down 3/4 of the way before it accelerates and then it goes like a bat out of hell. This happens from a dead stop in town , and from a rolling stop.It also rolls back once in a while on hill starts. Is this normal?Ido not two foot drive.
I noticed this too when I took one out for a test drive. The sales person told me that it is the turbo kicking in. Try a gentle push on the accelerator and it will respond more gently.
Mine is exactly the same, and the same respone from the Service Manager. Turbo kicking in. Problem is mine is a 5 cylinder NO TURBO. Getting rid of mine ASAP
Purchased Jetta Sportwagon Diesel in May, and delighted.
We spent several days at our Marina/boatyard in Rockland Me., working on commissioning our sailboat. About 20 couples during the same time were doing the same thing. Of the 20 or so cars, fully 6 were Jetta Sportwagons — all TDIs, and from 4 different states. That’s a 30% market share among sailors for VW on just one model!
Since sailboaters all know that diesels are by far the engine of choice in their boats, and since we all have to transport sails, dinghies, outboards, etc. the Jetta TDI Sportwagon is the hands-down choice.
VW should make a killing selling the Jetta TDI Sportwagon to every sailor worth his salt!!
Alan MacDonald
‘Sea Monkey’
I have a 2010 TDI Sportwagen which I purchased in May 2010. I have 37k miles on it and have had no problems, except for the ignition bound up on me once and I couldn’t shut the car off. I called my dealer, and as always, he took excellent care of me.
The OEM tires had to go, as they just didn’t get me through the bad weather. Since I’ve gone with a more aggressive tread I’ve been fine.
The car is of good quality, but I agree about the stereo. I’ve almost driven off the road a few times trying to change from the CD in slot one to the CD in slot two. And the perpetually glowing TV screen makes me nuts, even when it’s fully dimmed. A coworker has the Canadian model and he has a normal stereo with buttons, but we’re stuck with the touch screen in the States.
The fuel mileage isn’t what I hoped it would be (automatic trans), but it’s still respectable. I like the diesel because I can fill the car up with stuff and it will still move. There’s definitely a turbolag, but that’s exactly what it is and easy enough to overcome by bringing up the RPM before you step on it.
In addition to the stereo, a major drawback is the seats, both back and front. The front seats are too short under the legs and after a year and a half it still feels like I’m sitting on a brick. Long drives lead me straight to the chiropractor. The pleather is ice cold in the winter, and you have to sit in the ice-cold seats before the seat warmers kick in. The passengers stuck in the church pew in the back just have to suffer.
Dropping the backseat is truly an exercise. First you have to remove the headrests, then you have to pull up the seat (don’t forget to move the front seats forward), and then you can drop the seat flat. There’s no handle to grab the seat with to pull it up, so you just have to hope you don’t rip your fingernails off when you do it (mine are short and real).
There’s no heating element in the front defroster, and it doesn’t warm up like a gasoline engine. Therefore, the windshield freezes up until you’re several miles down the road and the engine comes up to operating temperature.
Also, there is no auto headlight option on the TDI! This is truly a drag in the winter when it gets dark at 4:30pm and I have to walk in the dark to the door. Every other car at this price point offers standard auto headlights, so I don’t understand why I can’t even get it as an option on the TDI.
So in all, it’s a good car. The quality and reliability is hands-down superior to the Nissan Murano that I traded in, although it really comes up short on comfort. I wish they would bring back the Passat wagon, but that doesn’t seem likely with the less-efficient Tiguan in the fleet.
I’ve had excellent experience with my regular dealer, and also the dealer who took care of us when the fuel tank was damaged due to road debris. I can’t ooze enough praise for both of them.
Thank you for the feedback!