Where each one leads
Acura Legend
- Against cars of the same year, the Acura Legend comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 5% less often than average) than the Volkswagen Jetta (fails 21% more often than average).
Volkswagen Jetta
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Volkswagen Jetta uses 7.2 l/100 km, the 1995 Acura Legend 12.5.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Acura Legend | Volkswagen Jetta | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1986–1995 | 1981–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 102,461 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | — | 14,157 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | — | 6,692 |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 8,442 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Acura Legend | Volkswagen Jetta | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 65% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | +2% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.2% | 2.2% |
| … against cars of the same year | −5% | +21% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | — | 5.8% |
| US owner complaints | 382 | 10,008 |
| Most complaints about | Equipment | Electrical system |
| Model year with most complaints | 1991 (117) | 2009 (889) |
| US recall campaigns | 5 | 79 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 53 | 16,883 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 17 | 91 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Acura Legend | Volkswagen Jetta | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2027) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Acura Legend | Volkswagen Jetta | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 12.5 l/100 km (1995) | 7.2 l/100 km (2026) |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 191 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | — | 127 kW (170 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | — | 1,438 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €29,228 |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 222,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).