I drove a 2010 Jetta 2.5 5-speed, and it was...

[Matt]

excruciatingly underwhelming. It had 60k miles and they wanted $6500. Decent car, well kept, handsome gauge cluster and dials.

But man, that 2.5 five-cylinder engine was lethargic. It sounded bad, and there was nobody home when I called up the final half of the throttle. Nobody. Home.

Coming from a modded Volvo 850 turbo, also 5-cylinders, this VW felt like it was on a beach vacation in the South Pacific, reachable only by telegram on Tuesday mornings, delivered by a local who also runs the town bodega.

The clutch was nice, and the gearbox was happy running up and down the gears. It reminded me how much I miss manuals.

Car & Driver spoke about the weakness of this 2.5 years ago, but I wasn't prepared for the lethargy. It had the enthusiasm of a sulking 14-year-old boy asked to mow the lawn.

Ok, enough beating up on the poor Jetta. It was otherwise a fine car, and I would have bought it had the engine held a little more spice.