Volkswagen is about to debut a redesigned version of its bestseller in the United States, the Jetta sedan, for 2019. We’re already driven a preproduction prototype, and now VW let us crawl all over an uncamouflaged car at a private event in New York City. We can only show you these sketches?they’ll pull the drape off the real car in January at the Detroit auto show?but we do have more information to share about the new Jetta.
The Jetta has some catching up to do. It finally moves to VW’s MQB platform, following the Golf and its SportWagen/Alltrack variants, as well as the Tiguan and the Atlas SUVs. The seventh-generation Jetta grows nearly two inches longer and about an inch wider, although in person it appears even larger. As these sketches indicate, the grille has become wider and is pushed forward of the headlights. Those headlights are outlined with C-shaped LEDs, and the taillights also have LED elements. In the profile view, the C-pillars now incorporate quarter-windows like on the Passat, while the rear door glass is a single pane. A long, body-side crease starts on the front fender and extends rearward through the door handles, along the rear quarter-panels, and into the taillights. The rear styling treatment also echoes the Passat, with the upper half of the trunklid extending beyond the lower section. All these elements help make the car look wider and longer.
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