VW Launches Mazda6 Fighter

(News Today) - Bigger, all-new Jetta looms as European threat to leading Japanese cars in the medium car segment. German car maker Volkswagen will take a more focused tilt at Australia's Japanese-dominated medium-car segment in 2011 with an enlarged Jetta sedan.

The current Jetta is essentially a Golf hatchback with a boot and straddles the line between small and midsize categories, but VW launched a bigger, all-new model in San Francisco over the weekend that will compete as more of a stand-alone model against the likes of the Mazda6 and Honda Accord Euro.

The new Jetta is an important part of VW's plan to increase sales in the US, though Australia will receive the European version of the sedan. It's expected to debut at September's Paris motor show and will abandon a number of the American Jetta's cheaper parts – such as beam-axle rear suspension and hard plastic dashboard – to retain a more premium approach.

Volkswagen Australia has not revealed pricing details yet, but the Jetta isn't expected to stray far from its current range of $29,000 to $39,000. The new Jetta is not expected to arrive until the second half of next year but Volkswagen engineers revealed what to expect.

The line-up will mirror the Golf range with 90TSI, 118TSI and 147TSI petrol engines as well as the 77TDI and 103TDI turbo diesels. All engines will be mated to a six-speed manual gearbox with optional double-clutch transmissions (DSG) available. The 103TDI and 147TSI will be matched with a six-speed DSG while the rest will have seven-speed DSG as the option.

The 125TDI in the current Jetta line-up will be dropped. VW is also working on a hybrid version of the Jetta but it's unlikely to join the Australian line-up; being primarily focused on the US market.

The company also confirmed that the Jetta Coupe – previewed at the Detroit motor show as a concept – is still under consideration. Also on the agenda for Jetta is a performance version carrying the R badge. Technical project panager Michael Grobe indicated the Jetta would likely use the same turbocharged four-cylinder, all-wheel-drive drivetrain as the Golf R.

"We are thinking about it," Grobe told Drive at the Jetta launch. "Nothing's been decided yet. I'd like to drive one."

He also hinted that with the Jetta's growth, the next-generation Passat - due to be unveiled at the Paris motor show in September alongside the Australia-bound European version of the Jetta - will also increase in size, in order to distance the two cars.

"Every generation gets bigger," Grobe says. "So it might not be the wrong assumption to make."

Source : kompas

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