The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta and Other Surprises

Take a look

By Elaine Silver
Special to The Auto Channel

San Francisco, CA March 11, 2011; Volkswagen has been tantalizing consumers by promoting its 2011 Jetta with the “surprising” price of $15,995. We, at theautochannel.com, thought we would help out car buyers and take a peek at the Jetta to see how it compared to similar sedans in price. We also looked at how the Jetta holds up by some other fun comparisons. To get this data, I used trhe Rank by Spec tool on the most robust automotive site I could find…New Car Buyer’s Guide Rank by Spec tool to see just how “surprising” Jetta’s price really is. What we found was quite instructive:

It turns out that there are 25 2011 Sedans in the Jetta price range. The parameters we set were to find sedans that have a sticker price of between $12,295 to $16,095. The Volkswagen Jetta Sedan S is at the top of this price range with just the Kia Rio SX a hair more expensive at $100 more than the Jetta. You could scoop up the Kia Rio’s lower rent cousin, the Kia Rio Base for a mere $12,295, or take home a 2011 Ford Fiesta Sedan for $13,320. Take a look at the list of all 25 cars in this range:

25 2011 Sedans With MSRP of $12,295 to $16,095—Ranked by Price

Okay, now that you have the price picture, what about some other important features? How do you know what is important to you? It’s simple. How you will be using the car helps you to determine the features that will predict if this purchase will be a happy one.

Are you transporting a bunch of kids to and from soccer practice—if so, let’s look at back seat room for those growing like weeds legs and trunk space for all the equipment.

Of our 25 sedans, the Jetta gets the prize for most back seat room with 38.1 inches, although, almost equally as roomy are the Nissan Versa Sedan 1.8 with 38 inches, the Mazda A3 i SV-4 Door with 36.2 inches and the Mitsubishi Lancer DE with 36.1 inches. And in case you were considering the Ford Fiesta, it has a potential knee squishing 31.2 inches of back seat leg room—6.9 inches less than the Jetta.

25 2011 Sedans With MSRP of $12,295 to $16,095—Ranked by Room in the Back Seat

And speaking of knees, where will all those knee pads go? In trunk capacity of our 25 cars, the Honda Fit models win for most trunk space with 20.6 cubit feet. But, we could say that it’s not quite a fair comparison since the Honda Fit is a hatchback. The next biggest boot is the Hyundai Accent SE 3 door with 15.9 cubit feet and then the Jetta and the Suzuki SX4 Sedans with 15.5 cubit feet of space to put your stuff.

25 2011 Sedans With MSRP of $12,295 to $16,095—Room in the Trunk

Are you driving to and from work everyday and wanting to make every drop of hard-earned gas money go a long way? Well, the Hyundai Elantra GLS M/T will give you the most extra money to buy a latte when you get to the office with its 40 miles per gallon (MPG) rating. The Jetta is smack in the middle of the range of these 25 cars with 34 MPG of highway driving and it has lots of company there with the Kia Rios, the Hyundai Accents and the Honda Civic. Nissan’s Sentra and Versa are stopping for gas on this list with 31 MPG.

25 2011 Sedans With MSRP of $12,295 to $16,095--Miles Per Gallon on the Highway

And what if you need all the oomph you can get because you regularly have to pass the lumbering semis while driving uphill? Choosing a car with the necessary horsepower can save you lots of time and save your car horn lots of wear and tear. The Kia Fort zooms past the others with 156 drivetrain horsepower. The Suzuki SX4 models have 150 drivetrain horsepower and the Mazada MAZD A3 I SV 4 door, the Hyundai Elantra GLS M/T and the Mitsubishi Lancer DE all are racing up those hills with 148 horsepower. The Jetta models are towards the back of the pack with 115 horsepower and the pokey Toyota Yaris brings up the rear with 106.

25 2011 Sedans With MSRP of $12,295 to $16,095—Horsepower

So, many cars, so many features. The Rank By Spec tool, a fun feature of The Auto Channel.Com, lets you easily create your own lists to find the perfect car in the perfect price range for your needs. Before you go car shopping, give it a whirl. . New Car Buyer’s Guide: Rank Car Spec