The Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid combines two entities hated most by car fans – the new Volkswagen Jetta, and hybrids – on to which auto enthusiasts can project their deep-seated anger issues.
Volkswagen says that fuel economy should be at 45 mpg combined while 0-60 will come up in 9 seconds. This may not be “…fun out on the highway…” as another blogger termed it, but we were intrigued to see that Volkswagen is using a 1.4L turbocharged engine making 150 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque as the gasoline side of the equation. A 7-speed DSG gearbox is used to put the power to the ground. Why can’t we just get this motor in place of the 2.0L 4-cylinder and 2.5L 5-cylinder engines?
The hybrid system it self seems underwhelming with a tiny 1.1kWh battery allowing the car to move gas free for a mere 1.2 miles at speeds of up to 44 mph. Minor styling changes, weird looking alloy wheels and hybrid badging round out the visual changes. VW made no pricing announcements for the Jetta Hybrid