Volkswagen Jetta reviews

2005 Volkswagen Jetta Interior Features

Volkwagen interiors are closely studied by the competition for good reason. VW's designers accomplish more with less, combining expensive-looking materials with simple but attractive styling and excellent ergonomics for very inviting cockpits.

Our test car, a 2.5L with six-speed automatic, was as full of stuff as could be stuffed in a new Jetta. The leather upholstery is well fitted and stitched around contours that provide a high degree of support. The Tamo ash wood trim is indeed trim and not the great expanses of lumber in a lame attempt to class up the interior. To the contrary, it's tastefully applied to complement the interior's sweeps and angles. Helping to relieve the eye of any monochromatic monotony are such touches as metallic trim around the shift lever, metallic instrument cluster rings; chrome door handles, glovebox lock cylinder and trunk release switch, and the button for the parking brake lever.

Between the eight-way power seat, power lumbar adjustment, adjustable steering column and height-adjustable safety belt, all but the rarest of human body types will find a comfortable driving position. The fully electric front driver's seat is positioned with the controls on the side of the seat cushion or it can adjusted automatically, via a three-level memory switch (which also adjusts the outside mirrors) or by the key fob, which can be specifically programmed for each driver (this adjusts only the seat).

A short styling aside here: Exposed windshield wipers were a pet peeve of former VW chairman Ferdinand Piech, and so he ordered that all future VWs would have hidden wipers. To aid in this design, a cowling now sits along the base of the windshield and cuts off some of the view over the nose of the car. It's not a safety issue, but former VW owners will notice the difference right away. To Piech's credit, the hidden wipers do indeed lend a more upscale look.

Each of the five possible passengers is held in place by a three-point safety belt, and each position has an adjustable headrest and emergency locking retractors for the belts. The front seat belts also have pre-tensioners with load limiters for a more effective reaction to need, and the front headrests are active, automatically moving up and forward if the occupant's torso is pressed back in the seat, as happens in many kinds of collisions. To help reduce leg injuries, the pedals get away from the driver in the event of a front-end collision. And there are six airbags throughout the cabin ready to deploy if needed, including side curtains to help protect the outboard passengers.

The thick-rimmed, padded three-spoke steering wheel frames a gauge cluster dominated by the two large dials of the tachometer and speedometer, well shaded from ambient light by a curved cowl. In daylight the graphics read white on black, at night changing to white on VW's signature, soothing swimming-pool blue with lighted red pointers. In either case, the data are easy to comprehend at a glance. Within both the tach and speedo are a number of warning lights and advisories about secondary functions, including one thoughtful warning that the fuel filler door was left opened after gassing up.

Part of option Package 2 are steering wheel-imbedded buttons that can operate a phone, mute the radio, or toggle between the various modes of the sound system. The large center pad holds the air bag and sounds the horn when pressed.

To the left of the wheel is the headlamp switch, which has three positions: When turned off, the daytime running lights are activated. Click the dial once to the right, and automatic headlight control is activated, which measures ambient light and turns on the headlights when needed, such as in a long tunnel or as night approaches. A third click and the headlights are turned on. When they become available, front foglamps will also be worked with this switch.

A large electronic message pad sits dead center, just over