VOLKSWAGEN JETTA - Everything You Need to Know | Up to Speed

The Jetta is VW’s most popular sedan, but it’s not just a Golf with a trunk! Join James as he dives deep into the Jetta’s past, and tells you all of it’s secrets!

A big thank you to David @David Inglesby, Will @RubADub Media, and Mike @Eurowise Inc for contributing footage!

Up to Speed is a weekly automotive history show about the best cars, brands, designers, drivers and influencers ever. Host James Pumphrey covers everything from the Toyota Supra to the Chevy El Camino, The VW GTI to the Subaru WRX. The origins of every car will be uncovered to get you Up to Speed..

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Donut Media is at the center of digital media for the next generation of automotive and motorsports enthusiasts. We are drivers, drifters, and car enthusiasts who love to tell stories.

[devlad]

Coworker: "You watching a Donut Media video?"
Me: "... How did you know?"
Coworker: "I can hear Pumphrey yelling over your headphones"

[ryotary]

We seriously need an up to speed on the legend himself, James pumphrey

[aztronomy]

I really miss my Jetta, was a fantastic little car. Lost it in a drag race to some fool with a Honda 2000.

[OskaIvanovichSmirnov]

"This fool is running a Honda 2000. I'll win."

[logmegadeth]

Mk4's smelled like crayons due to the wax based corrosion protection VW used. #themoreyouknow

[anonymousfox]

"VW is a company too big to fail"
GM has left the chat

[corychronic]

That crayon smell is the most nostalgic scent to me and I love it

[SantiagoLopez.T]

I have a 1.8T Jetta MK4 and is my first car. I love it!!!! 😍 Greetings from ARGENTINA 🇦🇷

[Vagdagger]

Hey James, the "Crayon Smell" comes from the breakdown of the interior adhesives used during manufacturing.

[airwicku]

I love how that old crash test of the Jetta being rear ended made it a Golf. So if you got rear ended you now have a functioning hatchback.

[augmentedjustin]

my 3rd car was a Mk4 Jetta GLX (top trim model available for that generation) and I loved it. Came with the VR6 which sounded Uh-mazing after a muffler delete (wish I had gotten around to straight piping it). I ran her all the way up to 215, 000 miles before I decided to retire the old girl and get myself a 2020 GTI (which I also love).

[Prairiedrifter]

I’ve had my 2.5 08 for many many years, just got to 250k miles and the biggest repair so far has been the front bumper after I hit a raccoon

[KGDHMF]

Speaking of DieselGate, Can we get a wheel house episode on the subject? A deep dive ect.
Thanks

[somericanguy]

Pics of Abby driving Pumphrey to prom or it didn't happen...

[ursucuak]

"Don't hit the NOS too soon junior"
-Johnny Tran

[neoninja]

I've owned a MK4, a MK6 and now a MK6.5 Sport. All manuals. Love(d) them all. Just started tuning my Sport recently (1.8T). Such large power gains with so little being done. Freaking awesome! Thanks Donut for this episode!

[angell]

When he said “congratulations on getting married” after saying they went to prom together *I FELT THAT*

[brock]

😂😂😂 So i have a MK4 TDI Jetta, my buddy literally just said "why does your car smell like crayons" just a few hours befor i saw this video

[boomerguy]

Best detailed and enjoyable history of the VW The graphics, filming, narrating and everything else, are all excellent.

[muscless]

I drive a 5 cylinder 2.5L N/A mk5 Jetta, AKA Bora where I live. It's definitely a solid daily car. It can be exciting if you don't care about gas mileage, and the engine sounds pretty good without modifying the exhaust or intake. I got it past the 205 thousand kilometer mark, (about 127k miles) and quite honestly keep it in pretty good shape. I recently changed all of the suspension components but the springs, steering (rack and linkage), and all brake components were changed to give the ride quality an overhaul, and it worked wonders. Needless to say it starts to show it's age (it's a 2006) like the A/C not being as effective, windows being slow, and interior wear and sometimes the gearbox likes to slam reverse in when selected (I know, automatics are for pansies but it's just more comfortable). I constantly travel to a neighboring city about 200km away, and it does damn fine, comfortable cornering at about 160 kph and doesn't break a sweat. being able to adjust seat height and having a telescopic steering column are great features to have, as well as the smaller details like automatic windows and trunk latch. Visibility is also great, except for the small side mirrors. What's with the 2000s trend of making side mirrors small anyway?

Overall it is a very solid car to daily drive and not too expensive to maintain, though I am looking at options to increase the power output (150 hrsprs, 230 nm factory spec, minus a few over time) slightly as the acceleration is sub-par. Cornering is surprisingly good, though it tends to understeer at tight turns being FWD even though it stays relatively flat when not bashing it. The ride quality is not great as it's a bit bouncy when a single occupant is in the car, but it is smooth as silk when on interstate travel or with 4 people in it. The trunk space is incredible, I constantly fit a whole drum set (minus the 22'' kick drum) and sizeable amplifier without needing to fold the seats over, a feature which is also good to have. Finally, another positive is the sound system. Pretty loud without saturation and It has Bluetooth from the factory and an integrated equalizer so it delivers more than enough without the need to modify it.

All in all I love the little car. I would rate it 8/10 as a daily driver, Though I hope to afford something a little sportier for the weekends at some point (maybe newer too).