2010 Volkswagen Jetta

The upscale Volkswagen Jetta five-passenger sedan compares favorably with economy-class leaders like the 2010 Honda Civic (Base MSRP: $15,455 to $25,340) and 2010 Mazda3 (Base MSRP $15,295 to $22,000), reviewers say. Only lackluster fuel economy and a slightly inflated price tag keep it from being a top pick. The 2010 Jetta carries over largely unchanged from 2009; see our detailed report on the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta (*Est. $17,515 to $21,345).

The 2010 Jetta S, SE and SEL sedans are powered by a 2.5-liter, five-cylinder engine. Fuel-economy ratings are 22 mpg city/30 mpg highway/25 mpg combined with the five-speed manual transmission (23 mpg city with the optional six-speed automatic with shift control). The Jetta Wolfsburg Edition gets a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that delivers 21 mpg city/31 mpg highway/25 mpg combined with the six-speed manual transmission, improving to 24 mpg city/32 mpg highway/27 mpg combined with an optional dual-clutch DSG automatic. A clean-diesel Volkswagen Jetta TDI version is also available, as is a Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen variant (covered in our report on station wagons).

The Jetta includes a comprehensive suite of standard safety features, including front, side and curtain airbags, antilock brakes and electronic stability control. Rear side airbags are optional, but even without them all 2010 Volkswagen Jettas qualify as Top Safety Picks at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, earning the top rating of "good" in front-, side-, rear- and rollover-crash tests. In government crash tests, 2010 Jettas earn the highest 5-star ratings in side-crash tests and 4 stars in frontal-crash and rollover-avoidance tests.