It’s 2025, and it’s a funny time to look at the Volkswagen lineup. Mainstays like the Golf are barely hanging on, while SUVs and electric vehicles have taken the reigns amidst a changing technological landscape. Still, one classic nameplate persists, as the German marque continues to find American buyers for its compact, efficient sedan. I speak, of course, of the Volkswagen Jetta.
Today, we’re going to take a look at two major points in the Jetta’s history—when it was born, and where it stands today. We’ll be looking all the way back to 1980, a time of great change when the Malaise was raging and the compacts rose to glory.
Specifically, we’re going to pore over the numbers to compare what you got for your money today versus yesteryear. We’ll examine whether the Jetta is still good value, and whether it stays true to the original concept from so many decades ago. My calculator is humming, so let’s dive in.
DIMENSIONS: 2025 Jetta v. 1980 Jetta
The 1980 Volkswagen Jetta landed in America as a sedan available in both two-door and four-door formats. The German automaker had noted that the hatchback Golf was popular, but that some buyers still preferred a traditional three-box body style. It had the same wheelbase as its hatchback progenitor of 94.4 inches, though overall length was increased to 168 inches thanks to the trunk at the rear. Overall width was 63 inches. As for seating, whether two-door or four-door, the Jetta was a four-passenger vehicle.
Today, the Jetta still serves largely the same role as the original from four decades ago. It’s a three-box commuter sedan that shares its MQB platform with the Volkswagen Golf. Where the hatchback has all but left American shores, barring performance models, the sedan lives on. These days, though, it’s solely available in a four-door, five-passenger configuration. It’s swollen in size somewhat over the years, though not as much as some other vehicles. It boasts a 105.7 inch wheelbase and a length of 185.1 inches—10.3 and 17.1 inches longer, respectively, compared to the 1980 model. Chinese long-wheel-base models are a further 2 inches longer again. At 70.8 inches wide, it’s also a full 7.8 inches wider than the original.
PRICE: 2025 Jetta v. 1980 Jetta
On its 1980 debut, the Volkswagen Jetta sold for a manufacturer-suggested retail price of $7,650. That’s roughly $29,680 in 2025 dollars, which would put the Jetta at a bit of a premium compared to other modern compact sedans. Meanwhile, the median family income was $21,020 in 1980, equivalent to $81,579 today.
The 2025 Volkswagen Jetta starts at $23,220 for the base model by comparison. That’s a full $6,400 cheaper than the 1980 model, accounting for inflation. Median family income in the US was $80,610 in 2023, according to available data, which is approximately $84,603 in 2025 dollars.
Basically, the Volkswagen Jetta used to be a bit more expensive back in the day. Indeed, it launched at a price roughly 25% higher than the Golf it was based on (then called the Rabbit in the US). Volkswagen offset this at the time by giving the original Jetta somewhat more premium appointments than the popular humble hatchback. There were contemplations of producing the vehicle in US plants in the early 1980s, which might have brought down prices, but Volkswagen abandoned this idea by 1982.
POWER & WEIGHT: 2025 Jetta v. 1980 Jetta
Okay, now back to the cars! The 1980 Jetta ran a 1.6-liter inline four driving the front wheels. Complete with fuel injection, it was good for 76 horsepower and 83 pound-feet of torque. Those were healthy numbers, and the 2,100-pound weight didn’t hurt a bit, either. You could get it with a five-speed manual as standard, or you could choose the three-speed automatic if you were so inclined to a two-pedal driving experience. Contemporary tests put the EPA fuel economy at 25 mpg.
In 2025, Volkswagen offers the Jetta with a range of engines in different world markets. In the US, there are two primary variants. The basic Jetta comes with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder turbo offering 158 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. It’s paired with an eight-speed automatic, driving the front wheels. Alternatively, you can upgrade to the Jetta GLI, which comes with a 2.0-liter turbo four good for 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. It can be had with a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox or a classic six-speed manual.
Power is the big difference compared to the Jetta of old. The base model has more than double the horsepower of the original, while the GLI is three times more powerful. With that said, those new modern engines do have to haul a little more weight. The new Jetta weighs between 3,012 pounds for the base S model and up to 3,241 pounds in GLI spec. On average, it’s around 1.5 times as heavy as the original! Still, the greater power pays off. The new Jetta and Jetta GLI will do zero to 60 mph in 7.1 seconds and 6 seconds, respectively. Meanwhile, the classic 1980 Jetta takes around 11.8 seconds to do the same sprint.
Options: 2025 Jetta v. 1980 Jetta
The Jetta had a few interesting items on the options list in 1980. Volkswagen positioned it as more of a premium car compared to the Golf, and you could upgrade with a sunroof ($240), metallic paint ($95), tinted glass ($65), or leatherette upholstery ($60). Alloy wheels could be had as well, and the automatic transmission was an optional upgrade over the manual.
Standard equipment was pretty good for the era, too. You got an AM/FM cassette radio as standard, with speakers in the doors. A remote-controlled passenger side mirror was also standard on all models. The Jetta had rack-and-pinion steering, fully-independent suspension front and rear, and front disc brakes with rear drums in a dual circuit setup—something Volkswagen still felt the need to mention in the brochure in 1980.
The march of technology is unrelenting, and the new Jetta has a much longer list of equipment with a ton of stuff that didn’t even exist in 1980. You get the usual touch-screen infotainment system with Bluetooth, as well as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto built-in for a start, and there’s an 8-inch display for the instrument cluster, too. You also get steering wheel controls, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, power windows, and power locking—all of which is the norm these days.
If you’ve got the cash, you can throw a bunch of extra gear at your Jetta, too. SiriusXM satellite radio is an option, as are power seats, heated seats, and nicer CloudTex or leather interior trim to boot. Other options include a sunroof, ambient interior lighting, and larger 10.25″ digital instrument cluster. Those looking for a handling upgrade might also consider the XDS Cross Differential System fitted to the upper trims—an electronic diff lock to help you better put the power down to the road.
A Proud Sequel
Some popular nameplates have changed drastically over the years. The Honda Civic has doubled in size, power, and weight, while the Mitsubishi Eclipse morphed from a powerful turbo coupe into an unappealing slab of SUV slop. Automakers have played fast and loose with badges, slapping the names they think fit best onto whatever vehicle best suits the moment.
Not so the Jetta. Volkswagen has seen fit to stay the course, by and large keeping the sedan true to its origins over time. That’s been fairly straightforward, of course, as the German automaker has always found a market for well-presented commuter sedans. There are few places you can’t show up in a Jetta—it somehow manages to have a hint of style and class that other commodity sedans don’t, without needing to outright jump into the more expensive luxury space.
The Jetta isn’t a standout by any means in the modern market. It doesn’t shout about performance or get around in flashy colors; it exists as capable transport for those who need it. The current generation has been on sale since 2018, undergoing a couple of refreshes over that time to keep up with the Joneses. Fundamentally, though, it’s been a steady performer, making strong sales in the mid-five-figure range year after year. It’s not quite like the halcyon days of past generations, where Volkswagen could sell almost 200,000 units Stateside in a single year, but times have changed and sedans are not as popular as they once were. And yet, the Jetta perseveres, and the Jetta prevails.
There are few cars that stand still as time moves on. The Jetta has remained stable in concept, while steadily making the necessary changes to stay relevant in a rapidly advancing world. The call might have gone out that three-box sedans are dead, but the Germans never got the call. In 2025, as in 1980, the Jetta still finds its fans with aplomb.
Image credits: Volkswagen
Last summer I did back-to-back weeks in Dallas for work. The first week, I had a Volvo S60. The second week, a mid-spec Jetta. I preferred the Jetta, by rather a lot. Unlike the Volvo, nothing about it annoyed me. It just did what I wanted it to do, quietly, smoothly, and efficiently, for about half the price.
I wonder if back in the day it would’ve been easy to swap a Jetta’s quad headlight front clip onto my ’83 Rabbit GTI — to be unique and confuse people.
Yes, you could have. And swapping Rabbit round headlight front ends onto Jettas was a thing too.
Overall, the best car I ever had was the ’84 Jetta GLI that served me through the latter half of college, law school, and beyond. Well past 350K when the tinworm finally got it. If I could buy a brand new one today, I would.
I had a 1980 Jetta, bought new, and loved it. It served me well for many years.
VW has definitely lost something along the way.
The old Jetta was simple, functional and interesting.
The new Jetta is complex, smoothed off and anonymous.
I own a 2015 Golf Sportwagen TDi (previous gen was the Jetta Wagon) and I couldn’t be happier with it. Yes, it is a reprogrammed diesel cheater. Well sized, great acceleration, right price, outstanding fuel economy. I am a sucker for longroofs, so I could be biased…
I have a 2011 and I love everything about it, except for all the things I hate about it. It’s a great car in so many ways, hapmered heavily by VW VWing the shit out of it (please look me up when your DPF cracks, which it 100% will). I’ve put about 150k miles on it, and am determined to to get another 100, which is will do now that it’s deleted. It honestly is great, and while I’ve had some issues that I love to complain about, I really do love it, abusive relationship that it is. It’s a great size- small enough to fit anywhere, big enough that I can fit anything in it, it drives really well, it’s comfy, it’s really nicer inside than it has any right to be
“It’s as big as [x] was back in the day!” is especially true of the Jetta vs. a B5 Passat. I mentioned in a comment below, the size outside and in are basically the same. From a C/D test the ’98 Passat 1.8T also weighed a little over 3000 lbs and went to 60 in 8 seconds. And the Passat was basically the same price in late 90s dollars as the Jetta is today, $21-22k, or over $40k in today’s dollars.
I bought an ’84 GLI in the fall of ’95 to replace a Craptastic ’88 Subaru GL 4WD that burned more oil than gas. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that GLI would be one of the best cars I ever owned. The seats were magical, it made the right noises, and it was very light and fun to drive. Sure, it had electrical problems, the dash caught fire, and 5th gear left the chat, but it was still a car that was so endearing it remains one of the few that I’m sorry I ever sold.
The new cars might be nicer, but they don’t *feel* the way that one did. I truly miss that car.
I miss my 76 rabbit I sold in 1992. I get it.
I bought an ’84 GLI in ’91, and had it for well more than a decade. Absolutely fantastic cars. Mine never had any particular issues, just normal wear and tear.
I like the current Jetta rather a lot, and my best friend has a current GLI which is just as much of a sports sedan bargain as the old one was, but if I could buy one new, I too would rather have the old one. A car that was far more than the sum of it’s parts.
Some dealers are selling the new Jettas for $20k it seems like one of the best values out there. I’ve had a few VW’s and they are always been ok for me. But I’ve seen others have the strangest things happen to them. My dad had an 81 rabbit diesel I remember it being not great. It seems like they keep getting better. Going from my 03 golf gti to my 13 Jetta TDI felt like a downgrade in some areas but also felt like a much better car overall.
Might be my nostalgia talking, but I think none. It’s not better. It’s boring. Boring is bad. At least be interesting.
Had to reverse-search that steering wheel badge on the old model: it’s the coat of arms for Wolfsburg.
They made a Wolfsburg edition, that as I recall was one step below the GLI. My mom had an ’84…sunroof, 5 speed, and the promise that it would be mine when she moved on to her next car. And then she pulled too far forward at a stop sign and had the front end taken off by a truck. Still stings, even 40ish years later…
I consider the only fair way to view the value of something old and compare it to something new is to view them by number of hours at the average hourly wage to pay for it. Things like average household income don’t account for the fact that to make average income, many households are dual income. It doesn’t account for real differences between inflation rates and wage growth. The only true comparable is time it takes to pay for the thing, then and now. If it takes more hours, its more expensive, if it takes less hours, its cheaper.
You are definitely on the right track. Another way is to compare the minimum wage at a given time with now, looking at what minimum wage workers would buy: a gallon of gas, a Snickers bar, a pair of sneakers, a gallon of milk, a month’s rent on a room in a shared apartment.
That first Jetta was quite the looker, despite the boxiness. Reminds me of a 7/8th sized 5-series.
The first Jetta GLI was looked upon as a budget 3 Series by the reviewers of the day.
Having owned both an ’84 GLI and a couple of e30 3-series, they were 80% as good for half the price (new or used). I’d love to buy new today.
I also owned an A2 GLI with the 2.0L 16V – it was rather faster than the ’84, and a good car as well, but it wasn’t quite as magical.
The current-day Jetta’s value-for-money proposition probably deserves most of the credit for keeping it going today. If you just look at it devoid of any significant personal experience with the brand, it seems almost like a budget Audi, somewhat Americanized for our (supposed) tastes. I mean: who wouldn’t want actual (well, maybe) “German Engineering” for a mid-20K price tag? It even looks alright: maybe just a tad bit dated even with mid-cycle refreshes, but very few would call it downright ugly.
I mostly see them being driven by younger (twentysomething) employed folks: people perhaps on their first new car, who couldn’t resist the value and perceived cache of European motoring (well, at least relative to the more Johnny-come-lately South Korean one). The Jetta even comes in some actual colors, which is genuinely delightful.
However, having watched more than a few Youtube car reviewers dig into and under the Jetta (the excellent CarCareNut https://www.youtube.com/@TheCarCareNut and Sarah -n- Tuned https://www.youtube.com/@SarahnTuned both come to mind, though my memory being what it is, I can’t swear that either of them did videos on the Jetta) and more importantly, having owned several water-cooled VWs myself, I’d be loathe to own one.
I just wouldn’t want to own it when it’s about seven or more years old, that’s all. Though if I were the kind of guy who leased his cars, or who just sold them off and moved on to a new one after 3-4 years, I’d probably consider a Jetta.
I considered a Jetta wagon 8 or 10 years ago, was told no go by the wife.
I still think ‘well, maybe…’ when I see a clean TDI Jetta wagon (AllTrack or SportTrack, or whatever they called it) but then I suddenly recall my 23 years of ownership of a Golf TDI and come to my senses.
Your wife must be a sensible woman, perhaps with personal VW ownership experience. Congratulations to you on a fine choice! 😉
Neither of us has owned one, I was brought up in a Ford household and she leaned Japanese. The WJ Grand Cherokee I owned was still reliable, it has been replaced by an older Acura MDX.
My brother had one up until last year, a 2010 I think. While he got a lot of years out of it, it was a pile and didn’t really hold up well despite having barely 120K on it when he got rid of it. My Volvo that was 3 years older and had almost 2X the mileage held up much better.
I had a1981 diesel Jetta, OMG worst car I ever bought, swear it was built during the Octoberfest binge party.
I don’t know about your Jetta specifically, but I had an ’84 Rabbit GTI, and it was built in VW’s Westmoreland, PA factory which was one of the earlier attempts by a foreign manufacturer to build cars in/for the US market.
It’s quality left an awful lot to be desired. Fun car to drive though, as long as you didn’t pay attention to the rattling interior plastics.
Fun Fact; Chrysler originally built the New Stanton plant, then abandoned it prior to startup during the bankruptcy. VW swooped in and bought it in 1979 or so for Rabbit production. After VW it has been subdivided and used by numerous corporations as production and warehousing.
My 1977 white Rabbit (named Thumper) was the last year produced in Germany and it was very well built.
I’m not surprised (that the German built one was good). I don’t know exactly what year and which cars switched to Westmoreland (A1 Rabbit/Golf, Jetta, Scirocco, and Pickup… I still dig all those old/early water-cooled VWs).
Last week I had an Uber ride in what I can only assume was the base spec of the Jetta. Acres of hard plastic and absolutely zero style or personality of any kind. I remember how much of a premium car our base ’99 Golf felt like compared to the competition…this had none of that. Maybe I’m just used to driving older (but nicer) cars, but it honestly made me sad about modern VWs.
Many makes have decontented over time. TBH my ’14 Camry SE lacks features my ’06 Camry LE had. It handles better, gets better mileage and the braking is a HUGE improvement, but it lacks the adjustable rear headrests of my ’06 and the rear door cards are ALL hard plastic. On my ’06 they were a mix of plastic and leatherette and a step or two up in feel. Honestly, the door cards in our ’07 Corolla are nicer and it also has better rear headrests. The ’14 Camry is comfy for the driver but very cheap feeling overall in comparison. It is comfortable and durable, not luxurious.
Saw this on my WJ, I had an early build ’99 Laredo that had better interior appointments than later model years.
The A4 (’99 to about ’04 I think) VWs had particularly classy (not fancy) materials with soft touch points everywhere. Unfortunately, VW was one of the manufacturers who used that spray-on rubber stuff all over the dash to lend it a matte finish and lovely touch/feel underhand, just like Apple Newtons and some Nikon SLR cameras. That stuff degrades over time, rendering whatever it’s been sprayed on sticky AF, and it’s then permanently covered in dust and fingerprints.
That stuff only degrades if it is not treated correctly. Hand cremes (especially) and Armor All type crap is the death of it.
I still have my 01 Passat, and a 98 before that (and a 95 Golf before that!). The entire Piech Era was about making the cars feel nicer than they had any right to be, and that extended down to the Jetta and Golf. They had an unofficial goal of making people in entry-level cars feel like they were getting most of the same experience of the fancy ones (in the hopes that they’ll stick with the brand).
It was a refreshing approach because a lot of brands (GM, especially) would decontent their base models to the point of annoyance, in the hopes that you would trade up for a nicer model. It was a very old-fashioned attitude that went back to the days when cars were priced with drastic gaps between them (eg Chevy, Olds, Buick, Cadillac) and I found VW’s approach really refreshing. Unfortunately, it feels like decontenting is the norm again — for everyone. I don’t think I’ve been “surprised and delighted” by almost anything on a modern car in the last few years.
Agreed. The interior impression of that generation of VW’s is what sold us on that car (and the poor reliability after was what made us sell it, but that’s a whole other story…). They were a class or two above everything else.
Everything today just feels more plasticky, even in the higher end cars. The only time I’ve been “surprised and delighted” by a modern interior recently was with the Lexus LC. Obviously a totally different price point than any VW, but man did that car feel special.
I think I have to stick with my theory that anything German with a Turbo is suspect and therefore not likely to be something I would purchase. I think the last Jetta I would have considered. and I have to say I doubt I would consider a Jetta for actual use, but should I have been so inclined the Jetta with the 2.5 – 5 cylinder would have been the one. I think it was 2014 though and at the time the Passat could also be had with one and the prices were not all that far off.
I think maybe only old Swedish-built turbos can be trusted. Well, only Volvos (not Saabs). But I’m probably wrong. 😉
233K miles and counting on my 07 Volvo with the 2.5L 5cyl turbo. The engine is the most trouble-free part of the car; other than a failed cam phaser ($400 repair at an indy shop) it’s been flawless.
$400 for that! I swapped it in the driveway on both my ’01s (A 2.4T and a T5). You just remove the charge pipe, the plastic cover, and it’s right there. I’m sure it’s more costly now, but the part was like $75.
The engines were great. The AW55-50 was garbage. And they ate front ends.
I’ve got the same engine in my ’04 XC90 w/about 134Kmiles on it. I agree that it’s a solid engine, but of course rubber hoses all get old after 20+ years, and there’s a LOT of plumbing snaking around in there… I’ve had a small evap leak for ages, and the CEL it produces keeps me from getting the car inspected for reg. renewal. Other than that, and the thin leather/weak headliner glue, I kind of love it.
My first car was a 1984 GL Auto, in quartz grey metallic. Absolutely loved it.
My girlfriend’s parents didn’t understand why I paid so much for a 2 year old VW when I could have gotten a brand new Hyundia Excel for the same money….
At least the old one is recognizable as a Jetta, even if it is objectively worse than the new one. You could slap a Ford logo over the VW logo on the grille of the new one and I would believe it was a Ford. Well, if Ford still made cars, but the sentiment stands. In silhouette it could be a Hyundai, etc.
Mexico Beige? Honda had Sahara Beige, and Mitsubishi had Nairobi Beige. Must be an 80s/90s thing.
That Colombian White color was really popular in the 80’s.
I don’t think Chevy was as imaginative with their color names but they did have some desert scenery in an early Corsica commercial to signal the winds of change.
My parents 1983 Volvo (240) DL was “Sand Beige”
They still make the Jetta for the US market? Nice! I thought VW was only selling the GTI and a smattering of crossovers over here.
The current Jetta looks great and is damn compelling at all price points, especially for a 6MT GLI. I prefer my hatches and wagons but if I was in the market for a sedan, the Jetta would be where I would put my money.
So looking at the dimensions cars have gotten a great deal denser over time. 1000 pounds and not that much larger. I was surprised by the % of median income that the new Jetta is cheaper. Now there is a blue and red color choice but I like those old beige and green choices.
I wonder if a new one would take the abuse that an old one would. I beat the stupid out of my 78 rabbit and it was sturdy for a long time.
The interior dimensions have grown a lot: the EPA quotes 78 cubic feet of interior space for the original Jetta, and 94 for the current one.
Another interesting comparison is the B5 98-05 Passat. The Jetta has an inch or two in exterior dimensions but basically the same total space inside – 95 cu. ft. inside and 15 cu. ft. trunk.
Don’t sleep on the GLI — it’s in the sweet spot for a sporty, comfortable, efficient family sedan.
We had an ’81 that was still going strong in 1998 when my dad sold it. The other thing to keep in mind with this analysis is just how much nicer, quieter, and generally more comfortable the modern ones are compared to the Mk1. It’s night and day, and I speak from a lot of experience…the purists can point at the simplicity and light weight of the old one, but reliability was MUCH worse on top of everything you mentioned. The older ones were less complex, sure, but they spent a lot of time in the shop (we had multiple 80s VWs).
The Economist Magazine famously has something called The Big Mac Index to help assess purchasing power parity among different countries and currencies. Very similar to how you used the ratio of Jetta to median household income above, showing that it has gotten nominally cheaper — the only thing that has really changed is our expectation of vehicle replacement cycles, feature demands, and so on. Those things are already changing as people keep cars for longer, on average. That seems reasonable.
I think we need a Jetta Index to help us keep things in perspective from time to time. We may be facing some headwinds in the car market right now, but this too shall pass. Hopefully sooner than later.
This is a lot of it, at 16 my first car was 14 years old with 53,000 miles, heavy rust and one foot in the grave. There was ALWAYS something needing done. 30+ years later, my daily is 11 years old with 248,000 miles, no rust and I would have no hesitation about driving it halfway across the country tomorrow if asked. Yes, I still live in the same metro.
The other cars in the fleet are older, but less miles. None are troublesome.
I sometimes miss my 2019 R line, it was a perfectly fine city car but the seats sucked on long drives and the FWD wasn’t great in midwest winters when I needed to keep a shovel in the trunk.