2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, Part Three

Why you should buy the 2009 Jetta SportWagen: You want a Euro wagon and don't have the stash for an Audi S4 Avant or the desire to stuff your friends in an A3. The question of how you're going to get all of this stuff back to your loft from Trader Joe's is a common one. Subaru? Nothanku. You are a keeper of the greatest of automotive secrets: wagons make the best cars. More »

2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, Part Two

Exterior Design:** More »

2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, Part One

The affluent neighborhood of Glencoe, Illinois is home to a curving street of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed houses reached by a single-access bridge also designed by Wright. The black 2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen parked on said bridge couldn't be more incongruous to the surrounding Prairie School architecture, which is recognizable by the strong horizontal lines, flat roofs, horizontal bands of windows and lack of excess ornamentation. But whereas the previous generation of Volkswagen Jetta is a faithful execution of those principles, this latest version eschews those concepts for curvaceous "me too" styling that's more Toyota Corolla than Francis C. Sullivan and an unmistakable chrome grille that's more Paul Wall than Alfred Caldwell. And not for the better. More »