2026 Volkswagen Jetta Road Test and Review

2026 Volkswagen Jetta Sport ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The Volkswagen Jetta has been a lot of things during its nearly five-decade lifespan. It has been cheap and basic, and it has been the luxury car of the compact sedan class. It has been one of the roomiest small cars, and it has been one of the least spacious. It has sometimes gotten terrible gas mileage, and sometimes it’s a noted fuel-sipper. 

Even today’s Jetta defies easy classification. It’s a roomy compact sedan with elegant exterior styling, high-end driving manners, and a long list of premium amenities for the money. It also has a lower-end dashboard design and a higher starting price than most rivals. There’s no fuel-sipping hybrid version like the class’s best-sellers. And since the Jetta hasn’t been fully redesigned since 2019, it hasn’t gotten much attention lately. 

For this review, we just tested two 2026 Volkswagen Jetta models – an entry-level Sport and a top-tier GLI Autobahn. Keep reading to learn more about the Jetta’s pros and cons and whether it’s the right affordable small car for you. 

Wide Model Range

The 2026 Volkswagen Jetta starts at $23,995 plus a mandatory $1,275 destination charge. That money buys the base S model. That’s a couple thousand dollars more than a Hyundai Elantra, Kia K4, or Nissan Sentra, but it does include some high-end features like adaptive cruise control, rain-sensing windshield wipers, automatic climate control, blind-spot monitoring, and 16-inch alloy wheels. 

We tested the next-up Sport, priced from $25,305. The extra $1,400 buys a dressier body with blacked-out trim, bigger wheels, and a front lightbar, along with heated front seats. The SE, $26,985, has leatherette upholstery, a power driver’s seat, a panoramic sunroof, and keyless entry with push-button starting. The SEL, $29,995, has genuine leather, ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, a premium sound system, and GPS navigation. Finally, the GLI Autobahn approximately pairs the SEL’s luxury features with a more powerful engine, an upgraded sport suspension, and an available manual transmission. It starts at $33,745. 

Our top choices are the value-focused S and the reasonably priced, amenity-packed SE, but any Jetta has a tempting array of goodies for the money. And the GLI ups the Jetta’s performance ante.  

2026 Volkswagen Jetta GLI Autobahn ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Simple and Classy Body

As we mentioned, the current-generation Jetta debuted as a 2019 model. Its straight, clean lines were already restrained and conservative at that time. These days, it stands out even more from competitors with slashes and angles every which way. And it looks like a bigger, more expensive car from the side. 

We also like how Volkswagen tidied up the original blobby headlights into the slimmer, sleeker lamps it wears today. As we mentioned, a slim lightbar connects the headlamps except on the base model. Another change over the years is a rear lightbar connecting the taillamps. 

As we mentioned before, every Jetta has dressy alloy wheels. They measure 16 inches on the S, 17 inches on the Sport and SE, and 18 inches on the SEL and GLI. Most models also get tasteful chrome trim. And the GLI has red accents on the front bumper for a sportier flavor. 

To some eyes, the Jetta looks old or dull. But to others, it’s a welcome, timeless break from overly flashy modern compact cars.

2026 Volkswagen Jetta Sport ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Low-Dazzle Dashboard

The 2026 Volkswagen Jetta also isn’t built to dazzle you inside. It has a blocky dashboard made of hard plastic, dressed up with some shiny black. Even the door pull is cheaply finished with a sharp edge; VW would have been smarter to cut costs somewhere drivers are less likely to touch. 

The Jetta has a modestly sized 8-inch touchscreen with muted graphics. Most models also have a small customizable 8-inch digital gauge cluster, though the SEL and GLI have a 10.25-inch unit. It has room to render a pair of dials or show the navigation system’s map, among other options. 

Until last year, the Jetta’s simplicity meant its controls were pretty easy to use. No longer. Volkswagen cut costs by replacing most physical buttons and knobs with a touch-sensitive panel. It requires extra attention to tap just right, and it attracts fingerprints. At least the steering wheel has physical buttons, unlike a few VWs that have touch-sensitive controls there as well. The Jetta also supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, letting you use certain mobile apps like Google Maps on the car’s screen.

2026 Volkswagen Jetta Sport ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Roomy and Comfortable

The Jetta is roomy and comfortable for a compact car. You can’t spread out across a wide cabin like in the discontinued VW Passat, but drivers can enjoy generous legroom on comfortable, supportive seats. The rear seat also has enough room for two adults. 

Even at the lowest height setting, the Jetta’s driver sits higher than in most sedans. Some people will love it, but other folks buy sedans purposely for a lower, sportier feel than an SUV. As we noted, all but the base S trim level have heated front seats. And the SEL and GLI even have ventilated leather, which is rare for this class. 

The Jetta has a well-shaped trunk that measures 14.1 cubic feet, typical for the compact sedan class. You can’t get a Jetta hatchback, but the Golf GTI is a mechanically related five-door equivalent to the Jetta GLI. The GTI has less rear legroom than the Jetta but more cargo flexibility and a more modern dashboard. 

2026 Volkswagen Jetta Sport ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Peppy and Fun to Drive

Most 2026 Jettas have a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine making a healthy 158 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. It delivers quicker, smoother-sounding acceleration than top rivals. Volkswagen pairs this zip with a composed suspension that delivers a firm but comfortable ride and agile handling. 

The GLI gets a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 228 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. It’s about 1 second quicker to 60 mph than the base engine. The GLI is also upgraded with an adaptive sport suspension, which you can adjust along with the steering and powertrain behavior. We didn’t notice a huge advantage versus the standard model in everyday driving, since every Jetta is fun without being an all-out performance car. But if you like shifting your own gears, you’ll welcome the GLI’s six-speed manual. Its shifter isn’t as beautifully precise as a Honda Civic Si or Acura Integra A-Spec, but the VW is faster than those cars. 

2026 Volkswagen Jetta GLI Autobahn ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Great Gas Mileage, Too

Even though the Jetta is quicker than most of its rivals, it gets great gas mileage, too. In EPA testing, most models get 29 mpg in the city, 40 mpg on the highway, and 33 mpg combined (the base S gets slightly better). Our Jetta Sport test vehicle beat the EPA estimate to average an excellent 36 mpg despite cold winter weather.

Unlike key rivals, you can’t get the Jetta with a gas-electric hybrid powertrain. The gas Jetta gets great mileage on the highway – barely worse than you’d get in a typical hybrid while cruising at 70 mph. But in stop-and-go conditions or lower speeds, a Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, or Toyota Corolla hybrid would use much less gasoline. 

The more powerful Jetta GLI gives up a few miles per gallon over the base engine. It averages 29 mpg in mixed driving with either the manual or the automatic transmission. Our manual test vehicle averaged 32 mpg. We appreciate that the GLI can use regular-grade fuel, unlike some compact performance cars, though Volkswagen recommends premium for maximum performance. 

2026 Volkswagen Jetta Sport ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Crash-Test Scores Are a Sign of Age

The 2026 Volkswagen Jetta is a safe sedan. It’s packed with advanced safety features, it earned five out of five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and it earned the top score of Good in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s challenging small-overlap frontal crash tests. 

But some of its newer competitors do even better. The Jetta scored just Acceptable, the second-highest rating, in the IIHS side-impact crash test. It was rated Marginal, the second lowest score, for the performance of its automatic emergency braking system. And the IIHS hasn’t subjected the Jetta to a tough crash test that measures rear-seat safety in frontal impacts. Some newer rivals edge it out when maximum crash safety is a top priority. 

2026 Volkswagen Jetta Sport ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Jetta vs. the Competition

The compact sedan class isn’t as big as it used to be. The Jetta’s competition is the value-priced Hyundai Elantra, Kia K4, and Nissan Sentra; the sporty and upscale Honda Civic and Mazda3; and the simple and comfortable Toyota Corolla. 

The Jetta is roomier than the Mazda3; more economical than the Sentra and Mazda3; less expensive than the Mazda3 or Civic; more agile than all but those two; and more powerful than any of these rivals’ base engines. But it has the smallest digital screens except for a base Civic; the cheapest-feeling interior; and notably harder-to-use controls than the Civic, Elantra, and Corolla. The Jetta also trails those three in crash-test performance, and unlike them, it doesn’t have a hybrid option. 

The Jetta GLI, meanwhile, competes against higher-performance turbocharged versions of the Civic, Elantra, K4, and Mazda3, along with the Acura Integra (an upscale version of the Civic). The GLI drives better than the K4 GT and Elantra N-Line, but it feels cheaper and lower-tech inside than its rivals. The Civic Si is sold only with a manual transmission; the Mazda3 Turbo, Elantra N-Line, and K4 GT offer only automatics; and the Integra offers a choice of manual and automatic, but the latter is a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that’s not as snappy as the Volkswagen’s dual-clutch automatic. 

2026 Nissan Sentra SR ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Final Thoughts

The 2026 Volkswagen Jetta is roomy, economical, and fun to drive at a reasonable price. And it has an understated design inside and out. 

Richer interior materials would make the Jetta into a more compelling “premium compact” like the Mazda3 or a well-equipped Civic. Or a lower price would make it a value leader like the Elantra, K4, and Sentra. 

As it is, the Jetta is a cheap car that drives better than rival cheap cars – but for a little more money and with an older era’s digital experience. Or perhaps it’s a premium compact that saves you money via visible penny-pinching on the interior. 

These are probably small niches, so we’re not astonished that it’s not the class’s best seller. But for the right buyer, the Jetta is a compelling package with a diverse range of talents.  

2026 Volkswagen Jetta Sport ・ Photo by Brady Holt