2000 Volkswagen Jetta/Golf: Overview

Vehicle Highlights

Midyear availability of a turbocharged 4-cylinder gas engine makes news for VW's small sedans and hatchbacks. The Jetta 4-door sedan far outsells the Golf and comes in GL, GLS, and GLX models. Golf offers 2-door hatchback GL and GTI models and the 4-door hatchback GLS.
GL and GLS versions of both share a 115-horsepower 4-cylinder gas engine. Newly available on GLS models and standard on the Golf GTI is the 150-hp turbo four also found in VW's New Beetle. Jettas and Golfs with the new engine wear a 1.8T badge. GL TDI and GLS TDI share a 90-hp turbocharged diesel four, but are not sold in California or New York. A 174-hp V6 is available in the Jetta GLS and is standard in the Golf GTI VR6 and Jetta GLX. All come with manual transmission, and all but the Golf GTI VR6 offer optional automatic.
Front side airbags, tilt/telescope steering column, and antilock 4-wheel-disc brakes are standard on every Jetta and Golf. For 2000, they also gain anti-theft coded ignition keys and a dashboard light that illuminates when the brakes might need to be serviced. Newly standard on GLX models and optional on other Golfs and Jettas is an 8-speaker Monsoon audio system.

COMPETITION

This crowded segment is best represented by two exceptional cars--one a Best Buy and the other a Recommended. Our Best Buy is the Honda Civic, which offers a wide range of bodystyles, engines, and equipment levels. Civic is a solid car that has good performance, a nice ride, and is very civilized.
Topping the Recommended list are the Volkswagen Golf and Jetta. They easily could be Best Buys as they are better than the Civic in many ways. However, they are also the most expensive cars in this segment. Other Recommended choices include the no-frills Chevrolet Cavalier and Dodge Neon, the slightly-upscale Chevy Prizm and clone Toyota Corolla, and the roomy Mazda Protege.
If you are looking for a Budget Buy we recommend you stay away from the Hyundai or Daewoo models and take a look at the Ford Escort.