Volkswagen Jetta vs Honda Civic

The Volkswagen Jetta is a distinctive compact car with a composed ride, excellent fuel economy, and plenty of room in its cabin despite its diminutive size. It's the ideal car for motoring around town, and it offers a wealth of user-friendly controls to make the experience all the more relaxing. So, what happens when you pit the Jetta against rivals like the Honda Civic? We set the stage to compare these two compact cars, and we're eager for you to dive into our overview to see what the Jetta has to offer over the Civic.

Performance

When it comes to efficiency and horsepower, both the Jetta and Civic bring their A-game. However, when the focus shifts to torque, the Jetta has the edge. With a standard turbocharged engine under the hood, the Jetta edges past the Civic with up to 184 pound-feet of torque, delivering more power to its wheels than its rival. The Civic lags with 138 pound-feet of torque, making the Jetta the winner in the performance arena.

The Jetta also features an automatic transmission, while the Civic sports a continuously variable transmission.

Technology

Both sedans offer a healthy array of tech features, but the Jetta has a bit more wow factor thanks to its newly-standard Volkswagen Digital Cockpit instrument cluster. The Civic features a partial digital instrument panel that puts it behind the Jetta.

Safety

The Jetta comes with some useful standard driver-assist features, such as a blind-spot monitor and forward-collision mitigation. The available IQ.Drive package offers an affordable array of extra features for even greater peace of mind. Meanwhile, the Civic only offers a blind-spot monitor on higher trims.