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[extract] Chief designer-group interior of VW

Volkswagen has introduced the European edition of the new Jetta model. "Never before has a Jetta had this much sports appeal, this much fuel efficiency or this large a size," Volkswagen says in the press release. Personally, I don

Based on the Volkswagen NCC seen at the NAIAS in January, the new Jetta is much longer than the fifth-gen car. The latest sedan has a wheelbase that is seven centimeters longer, and a body that is nine centimeters longer than the outgoing model. As such, the car measures 4.64-meters long by 1.78-meters wide by 1.45-meters high and has a 2650-mm long wheelbase. Compared to the NCC, the new Jetta appears to have a shorter rear end, with a steeper rear windscreen. Although the car was developed to be more cost effective, the new Jetta will not share body parts with the VW Golf as it had in the past. In the States, customers will be able to choose from four different engines, including a brand new 138-horsepower 2.0-liter common rail TDI that produces a robust 320Nm of torque. Also new is the 114-horsepower entry level petrol engine. The other two petrol engines available in the US are the 2.5-liter unit producing 168 hp and a 2.0-liter TSI that generates 197 horsepower. Each of the two turbocharged units are available with a six-speed DSG transmission, though a manual transmission comes standard. Six engines will be available on the Euro-spec Jetta, four of which are new to the model. Two of the new engines are common rail turbodiesels, including the 1.6-liter TDI BlueMotion 103 hp and 138-hp 2.0-liter TDI . Also new are the 103-hp 1.2 TSI and 158-hp 1.4 TSI engines. All four of these will not be sold until 2011. Until then, the car will only be available with two TSI units: a 1.4-liter model kicking out 121 horsepower, and a 2.0-liter 197-hp model. Both 1.4-liter models will be mated to a seven-speed DSG transmission, while the 1.6- and 2.0-liter TDI, and 2.0-liter TSI can be hooked up to a six-speed DSG. Expect the Singapore spec'ed models to be similar to the existing Jetta sold here. My guess is that the new Jetta will reach our shore some time in 2011.

Just as Volkswagen released a revised DSG equipped Jetta 1.6 in Singapore, news of an all new 2011 Jetta has been floating around on the internet. The above video shows the development of VW's next generation bread-and-butter model in Death Valley, California. The camouflaged prototype model seen in the spy video suggests that the new Jetta will boast all-new sheetmetal with a pinch of Audi A4 styling cues in the profile and rear-end. From the video, I observed that the new model has a more muscular side profile as compared to the existing model. Nice!. However, the dashboard of the prototype looks rather conservative. I hope that the dashboard will look better in actual production. Underneath the skin, the German firm's new compact-size sedan will most likely share bits and pieces from the Golf VI. In the States, the 2011 Jetta will be offered with VW's latest 2.0 TSI petrol and TDI diesel engines. In other parts of the world, power for the new Jetta will come from VW's lively yet fuel efficient 1.4-liter TSI four-cylinder petrol with outputs ranging from 122HP to 170HP. I would expect the excellent 7 Speed DSG gearbox to be carried over from the current model as well. Its rumored that VW's Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla challenger could make its auto show debut as early as this month's gathering in Detroit, but this has yet to be confirmed by Volkswagen. Although the current Jetta is set to go into the history book soon, VW still gave it a minor interior upgrade, which sports the Mark 6 Golf's steering wheel and instrumental dials layout. This is truly the spirit of continual improvement.