A German C-class sedan for less than 2 million rubles is hard to find today — even if it's a Chinese version. A Volkswagen Golf hatchback starts at around 2,100,000 rubles. This sedan of the same class cost 1,570,000 rubles.
The Jetta VS5 crossover costs exactly the same. But upon closer inspection, it reveals many debatable points. Here, the price is the same, and there are practically no obvious catches.
For comfort in this segment, people usually turn to the Hyundai Elantra, but the Korean sedan is more expensive. There's also the proven Toyota Corolla, which is hard to fault for reliability, but in terms of convenience, it's inferior to this car.
What does a sedan for 1.57 million rubles offer?
The car's dimensions are as follows:
- length — 4678 mm;
- width — 1806 mm;
- height — 1474 mm.
The main disappointment is the ground clearance. When unloaded, it's only 138 mm. The car's underside is covered with plastic, and the body itself is quite low.
However, the anti-corrosion protection looks much more interesting. The fenders, doors, pillars, and roof are galvanized, and the trunk lid is also metal. A paint thickness gauge shows black metal with a zinc coating.
This is the third generation of the car after a facelift. The front part looks good; in profile, the sedan resembles a stretched Polo Sedan. At the rear, the black bumper, almost identical to the Golf's, and the spoiler significantly liven up the appearance.
Overall, the design is quite simple and in some places even resembles a taxi. At the same time, the air intake in the front bumper is real, not a decorative imitation.
The trunk has a capacity of 510 liters, but the loading convenience leaves much to be desired. The sill is high, the platform itself is low, the opening is quite narrow, and there are no nets or hooks inside.
The rear bench can be folded, but a perfectly flat floor won't be achieved. Moreover, the backrests cannot be lowered from the trunk. However, there's a feature that the crossover lacks: instead of a regular plastic shelf, a metal partition is used here, completely separating the trunk from the cabin and effectively isolating it from extraneous noises.
What engines are available
Buyers are offered three powertrain options:
- 1.2-liter turbo engine;
- 1.4-liter turbo engine;
- 1.5-liter naturally aspirated engine paired with an automatic transmission.
At first glance, the choice seems simple: either take a reliable naturally aspirated engine or risk a turbo engine for dynamics. However, in practice, the 1.5-liter engine with 110 hp proved too weak for this car. When driving, it feels as if the car is faulty, although technically everything is fine with it.
The version with the 1.4-liter turbo engine and robotic gearbox is perceived quite differently. This combination is noticeably more pleasant to operate, and the pairing itself has been refined many times. Shifts occur so smoothly that they are practically unnoticeable.
The engine has the designation DSB, which differs from the European designation and may unnecessarily scare some owners. However, the family remains the same — EA211. The next generation, EA211 EVO, is a different story: it is subject to a recycling fee, and such an engine is less suitable for Russian conditions. The regular EA211 is structurally simpler, well-known to service centers, and has long been mastered in repair.
In the EVO, cylinder deactivation and variable geometry turbochargers are common. Owners of cars with such engines that have made it to Russia complain about the reliability of these solutions.
The gearbox is a DQ-200. This is a seven-speed robot with a dry dual clutch. The clutch itself is the main potential source of problems. An additional risk factor is the car's weight: it is about 200 kg heavier than the Golf, while Volkswagen has long used the DQ-381 on heavier models. Here, they decided to keep the lighter DQ-200.
Dynamics turned out better than expected
The engine is the same as used in the Golf, but the sedan's weight is 1546 kg. Despite this, the claimed 8.3 seconds to 100 km/h feels quite real. The turbo engine easily handles the car's weight and provides good traction. However, when actively cornering, a peculiarity of the chassis behavior becomes apparent: the rear noticeably catches up with the front.
However, the suspension has been thoroughly re-tuned. It turned out surprisingly soft. Before this, the Corolla was considered the benchmark for softness among C-class cars, but this sedan proved even more comfortable. Only the Volkswagen Tayron was softer — a higher-class crossover, which also costs significantly more.
Fuel consumption also seems quite reasonable:
- in the city — up to 8.5 liters per 100 km;
- on the highway at 100–110 km/h — about 5 liters;
- average — approximately 7–7.5 liters;
- in winter, consumption increases by about 1.5 liters.
Sound insulation also turned out well. Even in strong winds, the engine remains practically the only noticeable source of noise in the cabin.
What problems might arise
The list of potential malfunctions is relatively small. The main weak points are as follows:
- deformation of the water pump housing;
- leaks from the plastic thermostat housing;
- carbon buildup on valves due to direct injection.
According to available data, such problems begin to manifest after about 100,000 km of mileage. Before that, serious troubles usually do not occur.
The attachments are marked "Made in China," and spare parts will also have to be sought primarily from there. However, there are no problems with the availability of parts: the engine is well-known and widely distributed.
What's inside
The interior uses soft plastic in almost all places where the hand reaches. The seats are combined: leather is on the sides, and fabric is where leather upholstery usually creases and cracks over time. The seats themselves are wider and softer than in the Golf, although the lateral support here is slightly more modest. The digital instrument panel is noticeably easier to read than in the Jetta VS5.
A touch control panel, familiar from the Golf and Tayron, could have appeared on the steering wheel. It is frankly inconvenient, but in this car, ordinary analog buttons are always used.
The climate control unit, judging by some details, was clearly retrofitted. This is indicated by a gap along the contour of the unit. At the same time, the heaters are factory-installed: normal buttons are installed, without traces of artisanal intervention. The climate control itself is dual-zone.
The multimedia system doesn't look very modern due to the huge bezels around the screen, but it supports CarPlay. Consequently, there are no navigation problems, and the sound quality is quite decent.
Some minor details were most affected by the savings. For example, the glove compartment and door cards lack the usual Volkswagen flocking. There is enough space in the second row. About a fist's distance remains to the back of the front seat. The seat is heavily reclined and provides good leg support. The bench has lateral support, which Japanese cars often lack, as well as two charging ports and vents on both sides. For a person 190 cm tall, if you sit behind yourself, your head only touches the ceiling if you lean back strongly on the headrest.
Why the Corolla loses here
In terms of price, this car is roughly on par with the Corolla. For this money, the Japanese sedan can be had either with a naturally aspirated 1.5-liter engine, which is not known for its dynamics, or with a 1.2-liter turbo engine and a CVT. The Corolla is definitely stronger in reliability. But if you remove resource from the equation, the German sedan looks more preferable in other parameters.
The claimed resource of its engine exceeds 300,000 km. The transmission, with careful operation, can last up to 250,000 km, although the clutch usually requires attention earlier. The gearbox can be completely disabled primarily by aggressive operation.
The main controversial unit is still the DQ-200. Here it works with a heavier car than in many other Volkswagens, and this is not the most favorable factor. But if the owner understands the peculiarities of DSG, this gearbox itself should not be a reason to refuse the car. Such units have long been studied, and there are enough specialists for their repair throughout Russia.
Body parts remain an open question, but such a problem is characteristic of many new foreign-brand cars today.
There are still few full-fledged reviews of the model, and it remains practically unknown in the market. This probably largely explains its price: demand is low simply because potential buyers know little about the car.
This sedan violates no laws of physics. Its main advantage is the combination of characteristics with price. That is why, for 1,570,000 rubles, it looks like a very strong offer in its class: more comfortable than the Corolla, more dynamic than the naturally aspirated version of the Japanese sedan, cheaper than the Golf, and without an obvious set of serious design flaws.