The 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Hybrid is the beginning of a new era in performance hybrids. In the past hybrids had numerous negative associations including poor acceleration, a lag between the switch from electric to gas power and touchy brakes used to charge the battery. The 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Hybrid overcomes the first two of these obstacles with flying colours, while offering a new solution to the latter.
If it weren’t for the super quiet engine, the hybrid-like tachometer or the slightly touchier brakes, you wouldn’t know that you were driving a hybrid. The 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Hybrid performs much better than any other hybrid I’ve driven – especially among the comparables.
ENGINE & PERFORMANCE
For me, the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Hybrid shows that hybrids can be both a performance car while at the same time providing the fuel consumption levels associated with hybrids. The engine consists of a 1.4L, 4 cylinder turbo charged gas engine outputting 150 horsepower, coupled with a 27 horsepower electric engine with a Lithium-ion battery. This hybrid engine is paired with a 7 speed automatic transmission with tiptronic (instead of the typical CVT transmissions on other hybrids), providing smooth gear shifting, better consumption and more thrilling performance.
Even though the 0-60 times might seem high at around 9 seconds, the feel of the acceleration when stepping on the pedal at speeds between 0 to 100 km/h is definitely thrilling. From a stopped position, in no time at all you reach 60 km/h on city streets. Although the majority of the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Hybrid performance needs to be attributed to the turbo charged gas engine, fuel efficiencies definitely don’t suffer as the hybrid attains 4.5 L/100km of consumption in the city and 4.2 L/100km of consumption on the highway. To save more gas (at the sacrifice of performance), you can even pop the car into E-Mode before starting it up, which will use the electric engine as much as possible before the gas engine kicks in.
INTERIOR & TRIM LEVELS
Three levels of trim are offered on the standard VW Jetta and the same is true for the turbo hybrid. The 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Hybrid entry level is the Trendline, priced at about $28,000. You can opt for more features with the next level called the Comfortline, priced at about $30,000. The comfortline features Bluetooth connectivity, keyless entry with push button start and many more features. The top of the line Highline starts at about $34,000 and includes all the features you would need including a fully functional touchscreen display with SD memory card slot, a premium Fender audio system, navigation and much more.
The 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Hybrid offers both a thrilling drive as far as acceleration and performance goes, while at the same time providing the fuel efficiency of a hybrid. Some of the drawbacks associated with hybrids (and therefore also the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Hybrid) include touchy brakes, reduced trunk space (for the battery storage) and the stop/start of the gas engine. However, because of the amazing fuel economy and the thrilling performance offered by the turbo engine, these few negatives should be treated as negligible when considering the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Hybrid as your next car.
