Today's ST Ingear review of new Jetta 2.0 TDI Sport by JC is a classic. "Jetta is extremely boring ..... dull as being dead. It is not dull or boring to drive. No. It is absolutely awful ... " He gives it one star out of a possible 5 - the lowest score I've seen for years. Now an ugly thought crosses my mind. To what extent is the Jetta a glorified Octavia, for they are both Golf derivatives. JC opines that because the Jetta is built in Mexico its build quality will be better than if put together in Germany. On the other hand he says "better alternatives include the Golf, the Passat, every other car ever made" Clearly he is not impressed. But, he did say the diesel was quiet and refined, reasonably powerful and clean. I do like reading JC's reviews on Sundays, especially when it's raining and SWMBO wants me to help move furniture about again.

I'm not sure why they persist with the Jetta/Vento/Bora derivative of the Golf when an Octavia does exactly the same.

VW will argue that they need a saloon for the markets that prefer saloons to hatchbacks (esp cold climates to prevent heat loss from the cabin when the boot is opened). In that case, why not just rebadge a saloon-booted Octavia and be done with it. Or apply Twindoor to the Octavia and let the customer decide (and bring marginal unit cost dividends through greater Twindoror component production). Indeed, in many of these markets (e.g. China) Skodas sell at a premium over VWs

If a SEAT Cordoba/Cordoba Vario can be rebadged a VW Polo Saloon/Estate, why can't a Skoda?

I agree with what you say. But to digress - in the round is the Golf a better car than the Octavia. Is the Golf's road handling better, is its build quality better. The build quality of my Octavia is disappointing - the numerous rattles take away any driving pleasure.

Why would you be concerned about Clarkson's opinions ? If the car doesn't have at least 500BHP according to him it's rubbish.