Rearview mirror: Volkswagen Jetta (Mk V) - 2005 to 2011

A year after the Mk III Golf was launched, Volkswagen debut the Mk III Jetta, dubbed the Vento in most markets including Singapore. The name ‚'Vento' means wind in both Portuguese and Italian and was used to appeal to a younger audience. In the US, the Vento was called the Jetta 3 due to the success of the previous generation Jetta there.

With Volkswagen now having a Golf based coupe model in the form of the Corrado, the two-door Jetta was discontinued with the third generation model. The styling was very much a mix of the previous model's and the Mk III Golf's. Underneath the skin, the suspension was an evolution of the previous model's. The interior was well laid out and relatively well built but the Vento did have the reputation of being one of Volkswagen's less well screwed together models, as it had the tendency to suffer from build quality issues and electrical gremlins.

Singapore was offered two variants of the Vento when it was introduced back in late 1992 - a base 1.6-litre model and a wolf in sheep's clothing 2.8-litre VR6. The Vento VR6 was one of the ultimate Q-cars of its time as its relatively standard looks, with only VR6 badges front and rear, 15-inch cross spoke BBS alloys and black plastic wheel arch extensions hiding a fiery 2.8-litre narrow angle V6 lump with 174bhp on tap. Coupled with a five-speed manual transmission, the Vento VR6 can accelerate to 100km/h from rest in about 7 seconds, which made it a genuine rival to the likes of the more expensive E36 BMW 325i of that era. The Vento VR6 was also available with a four-speed automatic transmission.

In 1999, Volkswagen launched the Bora, the model that basically replaced the previous Vento. While the fourth generation Golf saloon was called the Bora in most markets around the world, some markets stuck to the Jetta nameplate, most notably the USA. Just like Scirocco and Vento, the moniker ‘Bora' was once again the name of a wind. In the case of the Bora, it is a winter wind which blows intermittently over the coast of the Adriatic Sea.

The Bora was styled quite differently from the Mk IV Golf, its styling cues inspired by the then recently launched B5 Passat. The Bora had different front and rear end treatments from the Golf, a more curvaceous roof and different rear doors from the Golf. For the Singapore market, the main model was the base 1.6 with just over 100bhp and a four-speed automatic transmission. With just over a hundred horses shifting the mid-sized Bora, performance was certainly wanting fort he base model.

For those who wanted a better performing Bora, Volkswagen also offered the then Golf GTI's 1.8-litre 20-valve turbocharged unit with 150bhp. Also available in Singapore were the charismatic VR5 and V5 models. The VR5 featured a 2.3-litre in-line five 10-valve unit with 150bhp while the V5 was the replacement for the VR5 with a 20-valve 170bhp version oft he same engine. On the outside, the 1.8T, V5 and VR5 only had different alloy wheels and badges on the grille and boot lid to differentiate themselves from the base 1.6 variant.

Liket he Mk IV it is based on, the Bora was somewhat a mediocre drive with little to excite your senses. It was more loved for its stunning build quality, especially for such a mass market model. The interior, based on the Golf's, offered high levels of build quality and perceived luxury thanks tot he use of expensive looking switchgear and soft touch surfaces.

Strangely, Volkswagen offered both Bora and Golf estate models in Europe even though both cars were basically similar bar different front end styling. The Bora estate was never offered in Singapore, with only the Golf estate available here.

With the Mk V going further upmarket, the Bora continues to be sold in South American markets as well as China. Like its second generation predecessor, the Mk IV continues to be manufactured and marketed in China by Volkswagen Group's joint venture partner FAW-Volkswagen China. Today, the Mk IV Jetta/Bora lives on in South America as the Classico and in China, the Bora is available alongside the Livida. The latter is a heavily tweaked version oft he Bora with modified styling.

Credits: Story by Raymond Lai Photos by Volkswagen and Raymond Lai