2 Days in a VW Jetta 2.5L 5 cyl non TDI, non hybrid

Got a paid for 2013 Jetta SE 2.5 with the 5 cylinder gas engine (replaced by 1.8L turbo this year) for 2 days.

Said a few times - there's a lot to like about this car.

The road feel / ride quality of these cars is solid, solid, solid. They soak up bumps like mad cakes and are pretty darn quiet. Steering and feel is great. Car feels substantial for its size.

Engine was a little pokey at first hit of throttle, but it had nice low-mid end torque when accelerating

There were some nice touches I liked about the car -

Multi adjustable center armrest - slide forward or back, and adjust it up to desired position. Sure, it leaves the space under armrest a bit open, but I don't care, I use armrests.

height-adjustable front passenger seat. Try finding that in a Japanese non-luxury car

Driver's seat kicked nice person. Great size, contour, power seatback adjust, even in leatherette, it was fab. Not far off a Recaro touring seat.

Trunk lid was balanced to open by itself. Roomy trunk too.

Great car for well-over 6 ft drivers. Can really stretch out in this car.

Nice back seat room.

Downsides? Yes.

It seemed MPGs are not so good. I'd guess mid 20s

Base sound system was weak.

Key folded into keyfob, but raised release button seemed to get pushed in pants pocket making key pop out.