JETTA MK4

About the Jetta Mk4

Same platform as the Golf Mk4, and that was the whole pitch. The Jetta Mk4 got VW's PQ35 bones, the 1.8T engine making 180 hp with a tune waiting to unlock 220, and an interior that felt like an Audi A3 wearing different badges. The VR6 was the halo, 174 hp from a narrow-angle six that sounded like nothing else in the segment. Build quality was German in the way people wanted it to be in 2000. Tight panel gaps, soft-touch materials, a steering feel that communicated. The TDI models got 50 mpg before diesel was a dirty word. Rust was the enemy, especially in northern climates. But if you kept it dry, the Mk4 Jetta aged better than most mid-2000s cars twice its price.