If you’re one of the 31-plus thousand Canadians who bought a Volkswagen Jetta last year, you’ll be glad the updated 2015 model

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hasn’t changed all that much. VW doesn’t tend to make dramatic changes to its models when it comes time for a mid-cycle update, let alone for total redesigns, but rather evolves them slowly over decades. Such is the case with the subtly reworked 2015 Jetta.

That said it’s kind of late for this mid-cycle refresh. The sixth-generation Jetta hit the market in 2011, which means the 2015 upgrade that arrived last year took almost four years to materialize. Normally four years is the entire lifespan of a compact model’s generation, but then again VW should be given some slack due to continual upgrades since the model debuted. We should also give them credit for building a car that has won them more new customers than any other model in recent history. Jetta sales have almost doubled over the last 10 years in Canada, with

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2015 YTD deliveries once again on target for more than 30,000 units.

It’s apparent both longstanding Jetta fans and newcomers like what they see. The sixth-generation model has always been a looker, at least when it comes to this somewhat conservatively penned four-door sedan. It delivers nice, clean, simple lines in a decidedly minimalist Germanic fashion, exactly what Herr Dr. ordered and exactly what the market calls for. All VW did to freshen up the exterior was replace the two narrowly spaced chrome trimmed grille ribs with three more widely positioned ones, add a glossy black extension to the grille’s lower edge make it look deeper, revise the front fascia with mildly modified headlight clusters featuring

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new optional signature LEDs, add a restyled front bumper and more open, wider looking lower intake plus new squared off fog lamps, and redesign the trunk lid to incorporate newly shaped LED taillights that allowed more influence from VW’s premium Audi brand, slightly rework the rear quarter panels for the same reason, and include a redesigned rear bumper featuring a crisper crease across its midsection along with rear reflectors that look like they’ve been turned upside down from the previous year. It’s enough to invigorate the design yet not so much to disturb its overall visual flow. To that latter end the LED-infused mirror caps are carryover, but de rigueur wheel updates add measurably to the 2015 Jetta’s

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newness. All in all the latest Jetta is an attractive looking car for those who don’t want to attract too much attention, while this particular car’s lovely no-cost Toffee Brown Metallic paint lends a rich appearance that helps it punch way above its weight class.

On that note the Jetta still starts off at a very approachable $14,990, exactly where it was priced last year, although its $1,605 freight and pre-delivery prep charge is up $210. Such reflects the price of doing business in a country with a volatile currency and inflationary running costs. On second thought, $210 can hardly make up for the loss of more than 20 percent on our dollar. What’s more, Volkswagen has redone much of the interior trim, upgraded the steering wheel while adding standard redundant controls, made a rearview camera with guidelines standard and

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placed it within a much nicer standard infotainment system, plus much more.

The MSRP of the Jetta TDI Highline model I tested went up in price a little bit too, last year’s version starting at $27,790 and this one hitting the ledger at $28,290, a difference of $500, although the new 2015 Highline grandfathers a dual-zone automatic climate control system up from the new Comfortline trim level, the outgoing model unavailable with such highfalutin HVAC wizardry in any trim. The new Highline also gets a redesigned leather-wrapped steering wheel boasting controls on both spokes, not just the left side. With the left thumb you can set audio

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volume, cruise control, and other functions, while the right spoke includes Bluetooth phone control, voice activation, trip computer scrolling and more.

Additionally, the new Highline model’s cabin looks much nicer overall thanks to glossy piano black lacquered trim on all three of the steering wheel spokes, as well as surrounding the primary gauge package, all four dash vents, the centre stack panel and redesigned gear shift panel surfacing. Ahead of the driver, the Jetta’s traditional two-dial gauges now have a neat little ancillary metre apiece in their bottom halves, a coolant temperature gauge within the tachometer and fuel gauge as part of the redesigned speedometer, the 2014 model’s instrument cluster looking embarrassingly naked in comparison. The multi-information display that sits at centre is still a monochromatic white on black LCD screen showing the exterior

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temperature, warning lights, a digital clock and a gear indicator when equipped with the as-tested optional automatic, that choice remaining a very reasonable $1,400.

Move your eyes over to the centre of the IP and you’ll see a tiny change only Jetta fanatics will take note of without my prompting. A new smaller hazard button continues to sit between the centre vents, now joined by a new orange backlit front passenger airbag off warning indicator residing above. Upgrade this centre stack with the Technology Package and you’ll pay $2,495, which is $925 more than you would’ve last year, and that’s without Volkswagen having to include the aforementioned rearview camera that you’ll remember comes standard on the base model. The Tech package continues to get a navigation system, but now it’s set

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into a much larger and clearer high-resolution display with better graphics and more intuitive functionality plus a 30-gig hard drive, while the powerful 400-watt Fender audio upgrade along with its eight speakers and subwoofer continues forward unchanged.

On that particularly resonant note, while others are eschewing CD players as relics from a soon to be forgotten past, VW continues to supply a six-disc changer in the top-tier Highline (replaced by a single-disc unit when upgraded to the Tech package), nice for those of us who enjoy superior quality audio yet can’t get enough storage on our smartphones for 24-bit FLAC files, or alternatively can’t afford one of Sony’s pricy albeit phenomenal sounding HD audio devices. Personal device connectivity comes via VW’s frustratingly Apple-centric Media Device Interface (MDI), although a regular USB can be ordered for the majority of today’s smartphone

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users who own an Android device (knock, knock VW, anybody home? Check the comScore ratings for the last couple of years and then get on the program by making a USB standard). Lastly, for those who enjoy a constant barrage of all things old, current and brand spanking new, not to mention talk shows galore, the Highline comes standard with satellite radio.

Highline TDI carryover equipment includes Iridium brushed aluminum-look trim across the instrument panel and doors, whereas the dash top and IP facing continue to be made from a premium quality soft-touch synthetic and door uppers remain nicely textured albeit hard and uncomfortable for elbows. All of the switchgear continues to be excellent, however, especially the steering wheel buttons, and the leather wrapping the wheel’s perimeter feels as smooth as a baby

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calf’s derriere while beautifully stitched, plus its thick, meaty design and nicely indented thumb spats make you feel like you’re piloting a Jetta GLI instead of an ultra-thrifty turbo-diesel.

Just press the ignition button on the lower console and the 2.0-litre TDI four-cylinder comes alive as effortlessly as the proximity system unlocks the car to get inside in the first place. Adjust the Highline’s leather-upholstered six-way powered driver’s seat with manual lumbar support, heatable to three degrees of glory (the front passenger gets the same seat heater in an eight-way manually adjustable bucket), position the tilt and telescopic steering wheel for optimal ergonomics, slip the six-speed dual-clutch automated DSG into D or better yet, slot it to the right for Tiptronic manual mode, and get ready for more forward thrust than you probably expected.

The TDI mill makes 150 horsepower between 3,500 and 4,000 rpm, which is nothing

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to get too excited about, but its 236 lb-ft of torque from as low as 1,750 rpm has got toothy smile written all over it. It’s no match for the GLI’s rev-happy 207 horsepower 2.0-litre TSI, but it’s plenty quick enough to have you looking far into the distance for any would-be impounding joy killers, while its fuel economy will keep you head over heals in love long after its 17-inch alloys are curbed, metal dinged, paint chipped, and beautiful black lacquered interior bits dulled and covered with rueful scratches.  

While utilizing cheaper clean diesel fuel, the TDI’s claimed five-cycle EnerGuide rating

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is 10.3 L/100km in the city and 7.2 on the highway with the standard six-speed manual or an even thriftier 10.0 city and 7.3 highway with the DSG, provided you don’t drive it as enthusiastically as I just inferred. The DSG is wonderful for just loping around town or wiling away the miles on the open road, its six gears nonchalantly swapping cogs when eased down the road. Alternatively it’s a super quick-shifting sport sedan gearbox when engine revs are high and the need for speed increases, a delight whether left to its own devices or coaxed via the aluminum and leather-wrapped central shifter. Yes, no paddles grace the backsides of the lovely three-spoke steering wheel, but the DSG shifts just as quickly all the same, while the compact VW’s fully independent front strut and multi-link rear suspension soaks up road surface irregularities without drama while clinging hard and fast to pavement with typical Germanic poise.

It

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would have helped if my tester’s 225/45R17s weren’t optional winters, their wide, tall treads hardly conducive to making the most of the balmy, dry weather we left coasters experienced throughout most of the winter, all of the spring and early summer months this year. Still, it kept its lane when pushed hard, only nudging out its front end when I purposely got silly and asked too much from this wayward set of Continental ExtremeWinterContacts. From previous experience with its stock all-seasons the Jetta is more than up to the task, although the chosen rubber was plenty comfortable over all sorts of roads.

As were the seats, front and back. Firm in that austere yet somehow cosseting Teutonic way, those in back were just as comfy and accommodating. The Jetta offers plenty of head and legroom, not to mention reasonable hip and shoulder room

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for three abreast. Its trunk is cavernous at 440 litres (15.5 cubic feet) and it included the same 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks as the base model, plus the additional convenience of a centre pass-through for loading long items like skis down the middle when both rear outboard seats are occupied, but rear seat heaters aren’t available in any trim level so those outboard rear riders will just have to be happy with the greater comfort and better view of a window seat.

Yes, despite this 2015 update and the many new features it brings to the table, Volkswagen’s Jetta isn’t the class leader when it comes to standard and available features, its lack of auto on/off headlights still inexcusable. Over and above items already mentioned, the top-line Highline also receives features pulled up from lesser trims such as variable intermittent wipers and power windows with auto up/down

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all-round, while its glass sunroof is a literal breath of fresh air thanks to powered tilt and slide operation, overhead sunglasses holder handy during the commute, ambient lighting a calming addition when the sun begins to dip under the horizon, and universal garage door opener helpful when returning home after a long day.

Making sure you get home safe are four-wheel discs with ABS, electronic brake-force distribution, hydraulic brake assist, and engine braking assist, plus an electronic differential lock, anti-slip regulation traction control, electronic stability control, forward collision warning, blind spot detection with rear cross traffic alert, and all the usual airbags. Additionally you can add on adaptive HID headlights for better nighttime visibility and those LED signature DRLs I mentioned earlier, but some

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of the gear its competitors offer, like those auto headlamps and heatable rear seats I noted a moment ago, plus air-conditioned front seats and more, can’t be had from this no-nonsense German.

That’s really not its shtick, the Wolfsburg brand leaving such frivolities to rival brands from the US, Japan and especially Korea. Rather, the Jetta winds its way forward as one of the best handling compact sedans in its class, with my personal favourite optional powertrain in the DSG shifted TDI, plus one of the more attractively designed interiors now integrating one of the better infotainment systems in the class. More so, it’s all backed up with one of the segment’s longest comprehensive warranties at four years or 80,000 km, while the powertrain gets the usual five-year, 100,000 km coverage.

When all is said and done, VW’s compact four-door goes about its business in a simpler more understated way than some of its peers, but this and continual year over year improvement is exactly why the sixth-gen Jetta has been able to keep its diehard loyalists enamoured while simultaneously attracting multitudes of new followers to the peoples’ car brand.
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