Despite having 35 more horsepower than the old 2.0-litre engine, the 1.4TSI offers better fuel economy: 8.3 city/5.9 hwy vs 9.5 city/6.9 hwy (manual) and 8.5 city/6.0 hwy and 10.4 city/7.0 hwy (automatic). I averaged as low as 6.2 L/100 km in mixed driving according to the car’s onboard fuel consumption display.

As you might expect, the 1.4TSI gets better fuel economy than the 1.8TSI (which only comes with an automatic transmission). To the 1.4TSI’s 8.5 city/6.0 hwy the 1.8TSI offers 9.3 city/6.3 hwy (NRCan figures). Both 1.4 and 1.8 engines use Regular unleaded gas, saving you money at the pump.

While the powertrain is quite sporty, the Jetta Trendline’s steering and suspension are tuned more for comfort than precise steering and sharp handling. In our Trendline+ test car, the Jetta’s fully independent suspension provided a very comfortable ride and nicely balanced cornering, but its softer shocks and standard 195/65R15-inch tires limited its handling prowess and allowed some body lean when cornering. Still, the Jetta Trendline is a much more pleasurable vehicle to drive on less-than-perfect roads (translation: everyday roads) than the stiffer sprung Jetta GLI, for example. When it comes to ride comfort and ease of drivability, you can’t get much better than this compact sedan. For the record, our test car’s Continental WinterContact 195/65R15-inch winter tires performed very well on rain-soaked ‘Wet Coast’ highways. Beefier 16-inch tires with alloy wheels are available as an option in the Appearance Package ($1,015).

Adding to the mellow driving character of the Jetta Trendline+ is its easy but rather vague-feeling electro-mechanical power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering (no longer speed-sensitive on Trendline+) and soft initial brake pedal feel. Still, it stops smartly and four-wheel disc brakes with ABS are standard.

It could use better headlights, though. At night, the Jetta’s standard halogen headlights cast a rather weak array in both low beam and high beam modes.

Standard equipment in the base 2016 Jetta Trendline ($15,995) is quite comprehensive: black fabric seats with front height adjusters, tilt/telescoping steering wheel with audio and cruise buttons, all power windows with automatic up/down, power heated mirrors, AM/FM/CD audio system with 5-inch touchscreen and SD card slot, hands-free Bluetooth smartphone connectivity, rearview camera, trip computer, cruise control, six airbags, and 60/40 folding rear seatbacks.

The 2016 Jetta Trendline+ ($18,795) adds remote keyless door unlocking, alarm system, heated front seats, ‘checkered chrome’ dash trim, USB port, sliding centre armrest, heated washer nozzles, power heated mirrors with turn signals. Our test car had the optional six-speed automatic transmission ($1,400) and optional Connectivity Package ($400) which includes a larger 6.33-inch touchscreen, CD player, SD card slot, six speakers and satellite radio. It also includes Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink connectivity for smartphones. With a Freight and PDI charge of $1,605 and A/C tax of $100, our Trendline+ Jetta came to $22,300 before sales taxes. Base cars feature a new-for-2016 5-inch touchscreen with a single CD player and SD card slot replacing the previous Premium 8 audio system that included a six-disc CD changer, Sirius/XM satellite radio and iPod connector.

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