The proven Honda Civic? Or the new VW Jetta? We solve your dilemma.
If there’s a hill, there’s a way. And if the road going up the hill is an empty stretch, you better have a darn good car to get your pulse racing. If you have two, even better.
Behind the wheel of the Jetta, Volkswagen’s new executive saloon contender, I was working hard with the gearbox — the 1.6-litre engine running out of breath, necessitating taking some second corner gears in first. Behind me was a fast charging Srini, ever so happy to give me a workout in his Honda Civic.
Then came a long, flat stretch and despite my best attempts, I couldn’t keep Srini in my rear view mirror, who whizzed past me like I was standing. And he was in the automatic, for crying out loud. Were he in the manual Civic, it would have felt like Chuck Yeager buzzing past me in his X1 rocket-powered jet.
Almost.
You might scream sacrilege, because instead of the manual Civic, we brought along the automatic for the test — since if this were an apples-to-apples case, the Civic manual tranny would be battling with the Jetta petrol.
However, the question was simple. Would you spend Rs 13.49 lakh, ex-showroom, Mumbai on the Civic V AT — the fully loaded and most expensive Civic — or does it make sense to save 30 grand, exercise your left foot and buy the Volkswagen 1.6 Jetta Trendline?
It’s amazing how in a city like Mumbai, you can see more Civics than Maruti Altos. Yes, ideally people should have bought more of the small car given space constraints, but that hasn’t stopped the futuristic looking Civic from causing small voids in the bank accounts of middle class Mumbaiites.
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The Honda’s appeal lies in the fact that it looks very different from anything sold in its segment, and by virtue of being a Honda, it has sold so well that in the last two years, its competition has just withered away. That’s exactly why Volkswagen didn’t want to miss the opportunity of having a dig at a bestseller, but is the 1.6 really up to the task?
Design & interiors
The Jetta, based on the Golf Mark V platform (and like the Skoda Laura), is a fine looking automobile if being sober is your idea of finesse.
Yes, the TV commercial is right about the fact that the car appears large, because when put out of Germany’s autobahns, where the average saloon is the size of the BMW 5 Series, the Jetta shows off its proportions on Indian roads.
It looks substantial, and the dollops of chrome help its cause. In fact, it appears a tad more interesting than the Passat, with its bold grille, large-ish headlamps and swell-looking tail-lamps.
Though if you stare too hard at the profile, you would get bored by its slab-sided plain-ness. You can’t say the same about the Civic, because there isn’t a single panel that looks conventional. Despite being a familiar sight on the road, the Civic hasn’t shown any signs of ageing, and that gets it a lot of brownie points.
It looks like an Olympic swimmer in one of those new controversial Speedo suits, and in this day and age where everyone is trying to play ‘safe’ with their designs, Honda has been bold enough to take such a radical step, even at the cost of losing some customers.
For such customers, the safe confines of the Jetta would be as good a homecoming as it gets. There are eight airbags — six more than the Civic — to keep you cocooned.
There’s also an electronic safety programme to prevent you from getting all tied up, though that isn’t easy with the Jetta. Add a fairly comprehensive features list and it makes sense. But the Jetta won’t make you feel special. Not in the Civic way of doing things. You just get into this heightened state of emotion once you are behind the wheel of the Civic.
Nearly two years after its launch, I could feel the special feeling radiate behind the wheel of the Civic. It makes you feel one with the car — the dials, steering, gear lever, handbrake, everything! The digital speedo might now feel more like a gimmick, but it’s so useful that I realised its importance after we drove a BMW X5 with the new heads-up display. You just don’t need to take your eye off the road!
Engine & performance
You know what 101 bhp feels like. You will know it especially if you’ve driven the Maruti Suzuki SX4, which feels fairly sprightly in the way it moves. You would think that the Jetta, with 101 bhp pulling some 1,300 kg of mass, will be as willing as a donkey pulling a tonne of cotton bales. You are partially correct.
This fairly basic indirect injection engine, with a simple two valves per cylinder format is what Volkswagen could spare for India, for reasons of fuel quality, since the TSI model isn’t ready for adulterated Indian fuel just yet.
I remember this engine very well because on my trip to the Frankfurt Motor Show last year, Volkswagen had given us the opportunity to drive from Dresden to Wolfsburg and I had the Passat 1.6 as my steed. While in the heavier Passat it felt more laborious, it didn’t feel as bad since it ran on much higher RON and better quality unleaded and that made some difference to it performance.
But since we conduct our tests on the more commonly available 87-88 RON in India, the Jetta didn’t spew out exciting numbers. Several standing starts later, the Jetta managed to hit 100 kph in just over 15 seconds.
Top speed wasn’t bad, just a shade below 180 kph, but it took fairly long to get to that goal post. Even in-gear speeds were just okay, with the Civic automatic trouncing it by a good margin. Anywhere above 3500 rpm, the Jetta sounds buzzy and slightly crude.
If you are really looking at a performance entry D-segmenter, just don’t put this car on your list. But if you like wafting around at very legal speeds and will most likely be chauffeured around, the Jetta 1.6 is your kind of car.
It’s a peaceful experience if its driven with a light foot, something not very different from those tai-chi exercises. At low speeds it has the kind of driveability that the Civic just about manages to keep up with. Good for city driving, slightly lacking for highway stints.
You don’t crib about that in the Civic. There is an engine note attached to the 1.8-litre mill, so you rev the nuts off the car, just to listen in to it. It’s a bit like a refined two-stroker, but that’s good enough. What sounds good enough also goes fast.
The double overhead camshaft engine with a zillionth generation VTEC system in place puts the car nearly three seconds ahead of the Jetta in the dash to 100 kph.
With gearshifts in S mode, it hits the redline before it upshifts and if you choose to use the paddleshifts you can stick to the redline in any gear, all day, before you blow a gasket or pop a valve. It too manages a top speed under 180 kph, which isn’t bad at all for a car with a power sapping auto tranny.
Ride & handling
Every Honda saloon on sale in India has some typical traits. Front-end grip is not a problem but a soft rear suspension setup takes away some of the joy. That’s exactly the issue with the Civic. You love to throw it around because of the driving position and the beautifully weighted steering.
It moves in very positively attacking corners, but the rear end tends to feel loose, threatening to let go of the tail if things get a bit messy. You can’t complain much about the Jetta, which holds its line beautifully —you have to be trying hard to get it crossed up even with the ESP off. The McPherson struts with lower arms at the front and compound axle setup at the rear give it a very good relation between front-end grip and cornering balance.
Add the wider 16-inchers to the picture and what you get is masses of grip. It truly behaves like a mini Passat, but is just a bit more agile.
Like the Passat, the Jetta’s ride quality is a strength. Rebound damping is better, and the Civic isn’t even in the picture. For all its soft rear suspension setup, the Civic doesn’t even feel damped.
On a perfect road surface the Jetta will only feel slightly stiff, while the Civic feels comfortable. Less than ideal roads and the Civic will play paint ball with your spine. The Honda rides lower, so where the Jetta will just glide over speed breakers, the Civic will scrape its belly when loaded.
Verdict
It’s not easy for someone making his or her first foray into the D-segment to ignore the Honda Civic. Accepted, it doesn’t have the kind of ride quality or handling dexterity of the Jetta. Nor does it have the kind of comprehensive safety features.
But yes, in terms of overall build quality, both play fairly equal – the Jetta too has its share of scratchy plastics. The Civic though has that awesome engine that will never fail to amaze you. It also makes you feel special when you are behind the wheel.
Forget 100 point scoresheets and Excel sheets, sometimes seat of the pants and feel of the heart are what really matter when you are picking winners. And what’s more, Hondas are not just superbly built cars, but cars that hold their value as well in the long run, something we’ll soon start to see with Volkswagen as well.
So at this point, I have to give the Civic the trophy, but if Volkswagen somehow manage to indigenise that TSI engine, we’ll definitely call for a re-match.
