What's the news?
Volkswagen will use the Detroit Auto Show this week to give a world debut to the all-new Jetta saloon, which for the first time will be based on the latest MQB architecture (the outgoing Jetta was running on a Golf MkVI platform).
Sadly, either way, it won't be coming to Ireland. In spite of the Jetta being one of VW's best-selling cars (it actually outsold the Golf, globally, last year) there just isn't a sufficient presence for it in the Irish market anymore. We're all too keen on our SUVs now...
The Detroit presentation is part of a long-running tradition for VW. The US has long been the Jetta's biggest market, so the 2010 model debuted in San Francisco, while the 2014 update was given a New York premiere.
It'll be the most technically advanced Jetta yet, with the option of items such as the all-digital 10.2-inch Active Info Display, autonomous emergency braking, a blind spot monitor and, on the entertainment front, a Beats by Dre audio system. Buyers can also have active cruise control, lane keeping assistant, rear view camera and auto high-beam headlights. Top-spec models come with LED headlights, while the interior ambient lighting has ten colour options. There's also VW's online and smartphone-based Car-Net system that allows some remote control of the car's functions from a phone, as well as easy access to vehicle status and info, and servicing bookings.
In style terms, the cabin seems to lift equal amounts from the Golf and T-Roc, with a big central touchscreen (up to nine inches across, depending on the spec), while the exterior is a deal more swoopy than before. VW says it has 'coupe like styling' and while we wouldn't go that far, it's certainly pretty smart looking.
It's also slick, aerodynamically speaking with a 0.27 coefficient of drag figure, part of a package of economy improvements. The engine range kicks off with the familiar 1.4-litre TSI turbo petrol with 150hp (oddly, not the latest-tech 1.5-litre engine), which can be had with either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic transmission. That's the only engine option for now, and is likely to be the only engine for some time - after all, the US-model Jetta was the car that kicked off the diesel scandal, so VW is keeping the engine line-up simple, and all-petrol, for now.
Anything else?
The new Jetta about as big as a Euro-market Passat - 4.7 metres long, with a 2,686mm wheelbase (that's 35mm longer than the old Jetta's). It's also a little taller and 21mm wider than before.
It's a shame we're not getting it - it looks like an especially smart saloon - but given the market position of the Passat, and the dominance in the market of SUVs, perhaps it's not that surprising that the new Jetta won't be coming here.