If it ain't broke, don't fix it goes the popular saying, but Volkswagen has gone ahead and tried that anyway with the Jetta that now, also runs on petrol!

While our rendezvous with the Jetta TSI was limited to night-time driving on Mumbai’s relatively empty streets when you can get from one end of the city’s expanse to the other in just about 40 minutes, we will need to wait for the complete road test to see how it fares in busy rush hour stop-go conditions. ARAI though, claims the efficiency to be about 14.7 kmpl which is pretty respectable and comes about as the silver lining when the whole country is up-in-arms over the price of petrol.

The smaller TSI engine also means a reduction in weight on the Jetta – especially from the front end. Now ideally, a lower kerb weight generally translates into multiple advantages but it doesn’t work exactly like that on tarmac. When compared to the TDI, the TSI feels a little ‘loose’ on the front so there’s not much steering feedback, the suspension doesn’t seem to have been adjusted either and handling isn’t as rewarding as on the car’s diesel version. When the Jetta TSI launches it will be available only in the Trendline and Comfortline variants, which means that if you want this frugal petrol car you will have to sacrifice on certain luxuries of life. So forget about the electrically adjustable driver’s seat, climate control, Bluetooth and other things of this sort.

That brilliant touchscreen audio system has also been replaced with the normal buttoned one but you do get a card slot with it. In a nutshell then, the Jetta TSI has sacrificed on cubic capacity as well as gadgets to score on the efficiency front as well as on the price front, hopefully. The prices aren’t out yet but we reckon the Jetta TSI could be cheaper than its TDI cousin by about Rs 2 lakh. That should put it at around Rs 14.5 lakh ex-showroom in Delhi which would sound just about right for Volkswagen – if you don’t consider the competition it is up against.