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This is the North American-special Jetta, designed and built (and cheapened) to double VW sales in North America. I sat in one a year or two ago at the Toronto Autoshow. The interior materials were terrible, and the door hinges were smaller and seemed flimsy; it gave me concern that the doors would literally fall off in 4 or 5 years.
The cabin quality from this current gen Jetta and last gen is night and day. Other than perhaps a more engaging drive than the competition, the cabin was always more nicely appointed than the competiton as well which allowed for more a blind eye on reliability. Now you have the Cruze and Focus derived from Europe with good handling manners and the Mazda3 may be one of the most rewarding to drive of the group. That leaves the Jetta with not many one-ups if any anymore..