How does your Jetta drive?

[fish_on]

I have a 2005.5 Jetta 5spd Pkg1 TDI with 4500 miles. We also have a 2005 TDI 5psd Bug with 5500 miles. When I compare how the two cars drive I have to say the big drives much better. My Jetta is hard to shift, you really have to push/pull it into gear. When I am driving down the highway the steering is very light and if you let go of the wheel the car is going somewhere either right or left pretty quick, there is no running straight down the road for very long. The Bug acts like it has more power and is easier to come off the line with. The shifting is smoother in the Bug, the Jetta is the hardest shifting car I have ever been in, and it reminds me of the tractors on the farm.

Is this just my first Jetta and maybe I just don’t know how these cars are supposed to drive, maybe I got a bad one. How should it be, and should the Bug drive better?

 

[lildevildee]

Wow. Sounds like you got a bad one. My Jetta is super-easy to shift. Sometimes reverse is a pain but that's my own fault due to not pushing straight down on the shifter and needing to push the clutch in a little more. I haven't had a problem with tracking, either. Today is an exception; we just installed some H&R Springs and now it needs an alignment.

The Jetta will be slightly slower off the line; it's a heavier vehicle so it'll take longer to get going to speed. It's in no way sluggish though. Can you try driving another at a local dealership to see if it feels the same as yours?

 

[StElmo]

Shouldn't be shifting that hard. We just installed H&R springs on ours and need to get an alignment done, but the vehicle handles great and no body roll. Now I've never diven a New Beetle, so I cannot attest to a handling comparison. There is the possiblity that you can adjust the steering using VAG-COM. There are lots of folks in your area that should be able to assist. My father just moved back to Tacoma from Oregon City, so I won't be down that way for a long time.

 

[WillR]

Your Jetta must need to have the Steering Centering setup (electronic, done by VW computer). One of the neat features with this new electronic steering is it will compensate for the crown in the road and stop pull. It should not pull at all!

Plus the dealer can adjust the steering to be tighter (again, by the computer).

If I drove the 05.5 all the time (its my Wifes car) I would want to have the steering a little tighter, but she loves it!

When I am driving down the highway the steering is very light and if you let go of the wheel the car is going somewhere either right or left pretty quick, there is no running straight down the road for very long.

 

[TornadoRed]

I have a 2005.5 Jetta 5spd Pkg1 TDI with 4500 miles.... My Jetta is hard to shift, you really have to push/pull it into gear. ... The shifting is smoother in the Bug, the Jetta is the hardest shifting car I have ever been in, and it reminds me of the tractors on the farm.

I would have someone look at the linkage. On earlier models this was a very easy adjustment, and it is very likely identical on the Mk5.

 

[PeasantMobile2]

Although our Jetta with 1900 miles is not as light to shift as our 99 Passat with 75K miles it still slots into gear with some precision and does not require a great deal of effort unless you try to force it (Occosionally I miss the 2 -> 3 shift by not letting the natural spring actual guide it )

 

[tdisedanman]

You all should have tried the DSG trans. It is absolutely wonderful.