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2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen SE
2009-volkswagon-jetta-sportwagon-se


Base price: $21,999
As tested: $26,899

170 horsepower
2.5L 5-cylinder 6-speed
Tiptronic automatic transmission

21 city / 29 highway

More info:
www.vwusa.com



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Station wagons are great when you need to schlep your futon, TV, PS3 and other worldly stuff to college. But as far as sexy and cool vehicles go, they rank right around the Segway. VW breaks the mold with the SportWagen, which as the name suggests is a sporty, hot ride that doesn't require castration to turn the ignition. Our SE tester had 17-inch alloy wheels, a sleek chrome grill and dual exhaust tips that had us dying to hit the supermarket parking lot—to do donuts.

The Jetta SportWagen had surprisingly good cargo space— plenty of room for all your weekend camping gear. But VW's swanky fit and finish will have you cringing when your tent companion hops in with muddy hiking clothes. Our SE tester upped the luxury with a user-friendly optional navigation system ($1,800), power panoramic sunroof ($1,300) and Tiptronic automatic transmission ($1,100), and the sticker still dipped below $27K.

With a firm suspension and solid braking, the SportWagen handled great. Our SE tester came with a 2.5-liter 170-horsepower in-line 5 cylinder engine that felt a little underpowered. When we punched it, we felt like there were 20 bags full of canned tomatoes in the trunk. We’ve got a hunch the SEL’s 2.0-liter turbocharged engines 200 horses would make this ride truly live up to the ‘sport’ in SportWagen.

—by Sam Jemielity

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