They're porky, but not THAT heavy... 3000 lbs or so. It's obviously designed as a "comfortable" car. I wouldn't go quoting the magazines though, VW under-rates their engine outputs.

VW engines have great torque and a very flat powerband. It translates into fairly quick and fun-to-drive cars, even in stock form. Most stock jetta VR6/1.8T's can consistently tick off mid 15's or so, depending on the setup. Granted, it'll get smoked by a bunch of stock cars, but this is fine enough for me.

I also like the old GTI/rabbits... those things were awesome.