German Car Zone

"Un-pimp ze auto." Volkswagen belabored the motto with a wrecking ball and a trebuchet. Peter Stormare taught the lesson as an eccentric German engineer. Dressed in white, Stormare and his supermodel female assistant would mercilessly destroy flamboyant sport-compact disasters while touting the subtlety of the new GTI. "German engineering in da house," Stormare would say, posing while making a "VW" sign with his hands. Remember the ads? Good. Volkswagen's apparently forgotten

Take the Jetta SportWagen SEL pictured here. To the topline model, Volkswagen's fitted a few options from its accessory list, including a Motorsports aero package, a painted hood spoiler, and black, 18-inch Karthoum wheels. On enthusiast forums, the body kit is known as the Thunderbunny -- a term you should be careful about Googling at work. It replicates the styling of VW's TDI Cup race cars. And while it looks appropriate on a dozen or so sponsor-coated race cars flying along mid-Ohio raceway at ten-tenths, its decency on public streets, especially when equipped to a wagon, comes into question. Suffice to say, this SportWagen is pimped. But more on that in a bit.

Hidden behind the gratuitous accessory platter is quite a good car. The SportWagen simply adds space to the Jetta sedan's formula of a pleasant ride, good interior materials and packaging. Can't take your eyes off the Thunderbunny duds? Let's look inside. The dash presents cleanly organized gauges illuminated with cool blue light. To the right is one of the three options our tester came with: a touch-screen navigation infotainment system ($1990), which adds a connector for your iPod in the compartment beneath the arm rest. Look up and you'll see and unhindered sky; at 4.5 feet, the panoramic sunroof ($1300) provides an impressive view. The down sides: The glass only opens halfway, and it steals a significant amount of space normally reserved for the heads of taller occupants.……

2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen SEL First Drive and Review - Motor Trend