2005 Volkswagen Jetta review from North America

Several problems:

1. It creates a tapping noise from the fuel line. According to the service department of the dealer where I got the car, it is the vacuuming process to get the air out of the tank. But I'm not satisfied with this answer. I mean, this is a pretty high-tech car. So having that tapping noise for the first several minutes of running a car is kind of uncomfortable. It makes it feel like I'm driving a junk car.

2. When I drive over 60 mph, it creates air noise. Again, according to the dealer, it is caused by the air movement inside the side-mirror. But again, it really doesn't make sense if you look at it from a scientific perspective. I have even tested the side-mirror design using my school's aerodynamics lab facility.

3. It creates a diesel-like noise when starting the car (when the engine is cold). It smoothens up after 20 seconds. It gives you the feeling that the car is old-junk.

It is a nice car, without the problems that I mentioned above. Good power, environmentally-friendly (Partial Zero Emission Vehicle), and good handling. But after experiencing all of that, I don't think I am interested in buying VW for my next vehicle. I owned Japanese cars before, and they really gave me almost zero problems. They won't have the prestige and class that German cars have, but they sure do give the comfort and satisfaction while owning and using them.