This is my 2008 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 SE and my 1995 Honda Civic EX Coupe. For my Honda, go to page 2.


I'd have to say that so far I am very satisfied with this vehicle. It has 16k and still running strong. Haven't had any major problems with it yet. I previously had owned a '95 Civic, so I knew right off the bat that I wanted something bigger with a little more power. Some other possibilities I was considering were a new SI or a new Accord. But the SI was a little pricey for insurance because it's considered a sports car and the Accord was a little more expensive than what I had in mind. I have kind of always been interested by European cars so I decided to take a look at a couple Volkswagens. Immediately after driving this car, I was hooked. It handled much, much better than the Hondas and it also seemed faster and torquier. Plus I couldn't decide if I wanted a stick or an automatic, yet the Jetta was available with the auto-stick. Plus the car was right in the price range I was looking for. 

Here is the guage cluster. I thought the blue/red theme to the lighting was cool. The top speed is electronically limited between 128mph and 132mph, not that I have gone that fast, hehe. I also thought that the whole design of the cluster/dash was very organized and simple. 

Here is a picture of the radio and dash. The car comes with Sirius satellite radio (3 mths free), your regular old AM/FM, 6-disc CD changer and in the glove box there's a little thing that I can plug my iPod into. The car comes with a 10-speaker audio system, I'm not sure what brand of equipment they used, but for being a factory stereo, it sounds great.

Here is a couple photos of the exterior. I was happy that the car had alloy wheels. Another thing I found cool was the turn signals in the side mirrors. One thing I wish they would have included for this trim is HID headlights. I believe you have to move up to the GLI trim to get them. Maybe that might be something I swap on once the car gets a little older.

The car has a 6-speed Tiptronic. Most Volkswagen owners or car people for that matter, already know what that is, but for those of you who don't -- it's technically an automatic, but you can push the lever over and shift all the gears yourself. Then it's got your regular old Drive and Sport Mode which is just drive but a with little more agressive gearing. I was originally going to get the stick, but that was a 5-speed compared to a 6-speed, plus I had never driven a stick in the winter, and stats I looked up on the car said that the autostick had faster 0-60 times than the manual. Plus I don't think that the Jetta comes with the Auto-Roll feature. I'm pretty sure that's only on the Passat.

The engine is a 2.5-liter inline-5. 170hp/177 ft-lbs torque. It's got good get up and go. It's basically half of the 5L V10 in the Lamborghini Gallardo but with some minor differences. Still though, the car gets somewhat decent gas mileage. Could be better, could be worse.

The interior has leatherette seating, which is like leather but it's supposed to be easier to keep clean and it won't get ruined if it gets wet. Both the passenger and driver side are all power and are heated, a luxury I found very appealing for those cold winter days. The car also has plenty of room on the inside and a huge trunk. I actually crawled into the trunk and could easily sit up and move around in it. The big thing I also noticed was how safe the car is. It has an airbag on everything. 

Page 1: Volkswagen (You Are Here)

Page 2: Honda