Makeover Mania

The engine has a neat, sporty sound as it revs up. Presumably, a stick shift would perk up performance, but  those seeking more potent alternatives might ask when the sportier GLI—with an impressive new Audi 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with direct injection and turbocharging—will arrive. Another alternative might be the Jetta TDI with a 1.9-liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel that gets well over forty miles per gallon.

All Jettas for the world will be built in the newly renovated Puebla, Mexico, plant, which employs 13,000 workers and is located sixty miles southeast of Mexico City. The plant has undergone a costly transformation to modernize its engine assembly line and robotic devices to assure maximum efficiency in building the Jetta.

Bargain hunters may do well to seek out the last of the old Jettas at dealerships—it won’t be long before the 2005 Jettas completely take over and carry VW loyalists into a whole ’nother world. Or at least a whole new Jetta generation.