Officially Official: 2011 Volkswagen

The sixth-generation 2011 Jetta is a pretty big deal for Volkswagen. The automaker has developed a completely new platform for the new model (instead of simply relying on Golf architecture), and the end result is a car that is 3.5 inches longer than its predecessor. This should mean that much more passenger room will be on deck, enabling the Jetta to really compete within the midsize sedan segment (as well as the compact class). As for the design, it’s admittedly a bit predictable, but we’re glad to see the Jetta no longer being styled as a Golf sedan. What’s more, we can see hints of the NCC concept car from this year’s Detroit Auto Show, and while it’s not overly sexy, it still looks clean and crisp.

One place where there isn’t much news, however, is under the hood. The 2.5-liter inline-five and 2.0-liter turbo-diesel four are carried over from the current car, and we’ll see a return of the 2.0-liter turbocharged four for the Jetta GLI. Both manual and automatic transmissions will be on hand, including Volkswagen’s well-liked DSG on TDI and 2.0T models.

An all-new interior is similar to what Volkswagen has done with the Golf and CC cabins. We’re sure that cloth and leather will be available, as well as a host of interior upgrades like navigation, Bluetooth connectivity and so on.