What's New: 2019 Volkswagen Jetta

Exterior
The 2019 Jetta’s styling is evolutionary, not revolutionary, and very much in VW’s understated design tradition. The new Jetta gets an Audi-like horizontal character line and rear taillights, with a toned-down version of the VW Arteon-style four-door coupe roofline. It’s a little bigger in each direction than the outgoing model on a wheelbase 1.3 inches longer at 105.7 inches. Shorter overhangs and the strongly horizontal theme give the 2019 model the sleeker, more upscale look it will need in a compact-sedan category veering that way.

Interior
The Jetta interior is a brand-new design with more soft-touch materials and additional practicality, including a center storage bin enlarged to nearly a gallon and a half, enough to hide your tablet or a small purse. A new dashboard design looks like a stylish takeoff on the driver-centric Golf arrangement but with the screen moved high in the center from its lower spot — thankfully, without banishing actual physical controls for the most common functions. Newly standard is a 6.5-inch multimedia screen, and an 8-inch unit is optional; those are big upgrades over last year’s 5- and 6.3-inch screens, respectively. What’s more, the outgoing Jetta didn’t get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto until you upgraded to the 6.3-inch unit; they’re now standard. And a new premium sound option is a 400-watt Beats Audio system.

Compact sedans also have been getting nicer inside, and we’ll be waiting to see how the volume trim level materials shape up. But there’s no question you can option up the 2019 Jetta interior with near-premium features: Among the offerings are the Volkswagen Digital Cockpit configurable instrument cluster, 10-color ambient lighting, a panoramic sunroof, a power driver’s seat with memory, heated and ventilated leather seats, and dual-zone climate control.

Standard on all 2019 Jettas is a personalization feature that stores settings for up to four drivers. Depending on the trim level and the options on the car, those settings could include the driver’s seat memory, driver assistance technology preferences, temperature, Digital Cockpit configuration, ambient lighting color, radio presets and navigation view.

Under the Hood
The base engine is a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder that puts out 147 horsepower and 184 pounds-feet of torque, and it’s paired with a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission that is optional on the base S and included on the other trim levels. The automatic also works with an engine stop-start system to improve gas mileage. No optional engines have been announced as of publication.

Safety
A backup camera is standard, and forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking is optional on the base S but is included starting with the SE trim, VW says; that signals much wider availability than in the outgoing generation. Automatic braking is an important safety feature that’s fast proliferating among popular cars, though few Jetta rivals outside the Toyota Corolla offer it standard.

A full suite of additional driver assistance and safety technology is available, including a blind spot monitor, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, high-beam assist, lane departure warning and lane keep assist. The Jetta also offers an automatic post-collision braking system to help prevent more collisions after an initial crash.

Warranty
As with all model-year 2018 and newer VWs (except the e-Golf), the 2019 Jetta comes with Volkswagen’s new six-year, 72,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty that can be transferred to a subsequent buyer.