I really wanted the 147 engine but in a manual. I'm 40 and this is the first "auto" I've ever owned and I'm still getting used to the gearbox.

What I WAS going to do was buy a 2nd hand Beemer or similar euro car for $10-15k. But after looking at 2nd hand cars, I thought I'd rather have something shiny and new. After owning an '06 golf for 4 years, I considered a polo (based on price) then realised it would be quite a task fitting the 2 and 4 yr old in the back. Had a look at the golf again but needed something a bit bigger. Considered (very briefly) a Mazda 6 or Liberty but kept getting drawn back to the Jetta. Jetta seemed to be a cut above the rest - although didn't test drive anything else.

So, drove the manual. Liked it very much but it was a bit on the basic side. I wanted a GTI back in '06 but couldn't justify the extra $10k and 6 month wait at the time. So gave the 147 a go this time around. When the dealer said he'd take $36k drive away I thought, hey, it's only money, and did the deal over the phone. Week later, car is mine.

Haven't had a car in over 6 months (gave the ex the 2 yr old CRV in the split so she could drive the kids around) so it's good to have wheels again, rather than just a bus ticket.

Kids love it when I put it into 'S' mode - they go "woooooohoooooo" for 2 seconds until I reach 60 (then stay at the speed limit, of course).