Got a VW Jetta Wagon on our recent trip to Seattle via Hertz. Had enough seat time to get a good feel for the car. The ride was typical German, which is to say it had a solid feel to it. Did not really get a chance to do a lot of highway speed driving, but when driving over 60, road noise was very noticeable. I am not sure if this was because of the condition of the roads, the car’s tires, or both. Acceleration was never an issue and brakes were linear and grippy when needed, which was appreciated because of all the in city and stop and go driving we did because of Seattle’s horrendous traffic. Steering was spot on with the right amount of boost at low speeds , which was appreciated because we had to park the car in some tight spaces at the hotel garage.
Seats were supportive and appropriate for longer distance driving, although it might be too firm for some. Was easy to find a good driving position, even for a taller guy like me. A curious design choice with this car. The seat’s tilt control was power, but you had to pull a lever under the seat to adjust how far back the seat went. Why power for one and manual for the other? Storage space was ample and easily fit 2 roll-aboard bags under the cover with plenty of room to spare.
Bottom line, the Jetta was a competent transport that fit our needs and much better than the normal “fleet” cars doled out by car rental agencies.