VW Jetta gets a refresh for the U.S. market

Volkswagen has updated its Jetta offering for North America. Sales will begin in the third quarter of the year, so let’s take a closer look in the meantime.

The front end of the car looks like everything the company had recently produced for Europe. There is a new bumper, revised grille and headlights with a light bar linking them in the top trims. Buyers also get new 17-inch and 18-inch wheel options to choose from.

The interior does without any major modifications, although the infotainment display now stands separate from the dashboard and looks different. The base trim features have been considerably extended with an 8-inch display now included as standard (up from 6.5-inch). New trimming materials and assists have been added, too.

In its cheapest version, the new Jetta for the USA packs a 1.5-liter engine rated at 160 PS (158 hp / 118 kW). The transmission is eight-speed automatic now that the six-speed manual has been dropped. If you still want a stick shift, take a look at the sported-up Jetta GLI spec. It packs the same 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder as before and sends 231 PS (228 hp / 170 kW) to the wheels along with 349 Nm (257 lb-ft) of torque. The transmission is manual by default, but you can pay extra for a seven-speed DCT.

All prices are pending.