2012 Volkswagen Jetta sedan

The all new 2012 Volkswagen Jetta sedan that was launched last year is selling reasonably well, especially when compared to the older variant which struggled to move out of showroom floors. The new car looks much more better or say, even contemporary, when compared to the older version, although it is still as inspiring as a refrigerator when it comes to the design on the outside. Design apart, the car is a well put together classic German sedan with all the solidity that one has come to expect of German cars. On the inside, the car reeks of top notch quality with the touch and feel of materials exuding a distinctly premium feel.

All New 2012 Volkswagen Jetta Sedan

Now, this premium-ness is precisely what has made Volkswagen price the Jetta much higher than the Skoda Laura sedan. The 2012 Jetta being sold in the country is currently  available with a single 2 Liter TDI, 140 Bhp-320 Nm turbo diesel engine option and consequently is quite limited when it comes to choice amongst the variants. Oh, and Indians love their diesels, especially in the premium segments, so much so that 9 out of every 10 premium cars sold in Indian sip the sticky stuff. So, Volkswagen must be patting themselves for a job well done by launching the Jetta in diesel only guise, considering that the tilt towards diesels has only sharpened over the past few months, given the massive difference between petrol and diesel prices.

Well, the bright bunch that ze Germans are, they also happen to be quite an ambitious lot. In case, you haven’t been filled in about it yet, the Volkswagen group wants to dominate the blue planet’s roads when it comes to selling the maximum number of vehicles across the world, trucks included, by 2018. So, someone at Volkswagen India has had the bright spark of launching the Jetta with a petrol engine under the hood, at a sh0ckingly good value-for-money price tag. Though diesels brings in the volumes, a well priced petrol engined premium sedan can be the entry level variant performing two duties; 1. Bringing in more footfalls to showrooms due to an attractive price tag that could translate into incremental purchases 2. Bringing in the extra volumes as there are many who’d still want a fuel efficient petrol sedan to suit their limited usage patterns.

All New 2012 Volkswagen Jetta Sedan

Time then, to say howdy to the Jetta Petrol 1.4 TSI. You read right, a reasonably powerful 1.4 Liter turbo petrol engine is what will propel the Jetta petrol sedan to respectable speeds while also delivering a smile or two at the fuel station. Oh, and the petrol heart will also allow Volkswagen to price the Jetta very competitively, perhaps even as low as the Skoda Laura petrol. Now, to get the price “damn competitive”, the 1.4 TSI turbo petrol engine outputting 122 Bhp-200 Nm will be mated to a six speed manual gearbox. Now, to give you an inkling of where we expect Volkswagen to price the Jetta petrol, lets begin with the Skoda Laura’s pricing.

The entry level Skoda Laura petrol powered by the much more powerful 1.8 TSI, 160 Bhp-250 Nm petrol engine is priced at about 13 lakhs. On the other hand, the entry level Volkswagen Jetta Trendline diesel begins at INR 15 lakhs. So, a yawning 2 lakh rupee price gap remains for the taking by Volkswagen if ze Germans decide to still thumb their premium noses at the Czechs. If ze Germans can eat humble pie (which is highly unlikely given the traditional premium Volkswagen has always commanded over VW group owned Skoda) and decide to undercut the Laura, we could then even have the 2012 Jetta petrol being launched at a sub 13 lakh rupee price tag.