We drove a $23,000 Volkswagen Jetta to see if it's ready to challenge Honda and Toyota. Here's the verdict.

The Volkswagen Jetta is all-new for the 2019 model year.The new seventh generation Jetta is built on VW's highly-touted MQB platform that also underpins the Audi A3 along with the Volkswagen Tiguan and Atlas SUVs. All US-bound Jettas are powered by a 147-horsepower, 1.4-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine mated to either an eight-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmission. We were impressed by the Mexican-built Jetta's perky performance, strong driving dynamics, and well-sorted infotainment system, but less than enthused by the somewhat cheap feeling interior. The base Jetta S starts at $18,545, but our mid-grade SE test car carried an as-tested price of $23,005.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.The compact sedan was once the go-to for young car buyers. In recent years, the market has shifted to crossovers and SUVs.According to data from Kelley Blue Book, compact car sales in the US fell 13.8% in 2018. During the same period, compact SUV sales are up 11.9%. The compact car market may be shrinking, but it's still substantial in size with more than 1.79 million cars sold last year, accounting for 10.3% of the total US auto sales.Read more: Here are the 15 cars people love to keep for a long time.This brings us to the new seventh-generation Volkswagen Jetta that's all-new for the 2019 model year. It's the latest in a long line of successful Jetta sedans from VW. By successful, I mean 17.5 million sold worldwide since 1979 successful. In case you're wondering, US consumers accounted for 3.2 million of that tally. Recently, Business Insider had the chance to spend a few days behind the wheel a 2019 Jetta 1.4T SE on the roads in and around Atlanta, GA. The base Jetta S starts at $18,545. The mid-grade SE and sporty R-Line trims start at $22,155 and $22,995 respectively. The luxury-focused SEL and SEL Premium trims start at $24,415 and $26,945 respectively. The high-performance Jetta GLI starts at $25,995.Our SE test car, clad in an eye-catching Silk Blue Metallic paint job, carried an as-tested price of $23,005 because of an $850 destination charge. Here's a closer look at the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta.