NTHSA Awards 2014 Volkswagen Jetta 5-Star Safety Rating

The 2014 Volkswagen Jetta has earned a five-star safety rating from the U.S. government’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), which is part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Jetta joins the Passat and Beetle coupe as VW’s 2014 model year vehicles with an overall five-star rating — the best rating available.

The five-star score follows a mid-cycle enhancement Volkswagen made to the 2014 Jetta sedan, which included the adoption of a new, 1.8-liter TSI turbo-charged and direct-injected EA888 engine (for most models in the range), as well as standard independent rear suspension in place of the previous torsion beam arrangement.

The results for the 2014 model mark a slight improvement compared to the 2013 Jetta sedan, with the frontal crash receiving the largest improvement (from four to five stars). Interestingly, VW hasn’t announced any changes to the Jetta that involved its crash safety — so the 2014 model’s improvement is rather puzzling.