Jetta is a compact car around here. Its just how it is. Personally speaking, I like the size of American compact cars (ie: what Europeans call mid-size). But everyone around me has a larger car than I do.
It's definitely a cultural difference - I always feel like I'm in a death trap, skimming along on the ground with no visibility, getting into a sedan or compact car.
I also grew up in an area with a high rate of moose collisions, and you do not want to see what happens when you hit one of those in a vehicle that's lower than their center of mass.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7182/6964996815_1f626fdbe5_b.j...
That's a large pickup: F-450
Here's another shot of the F-450:
http://www.tfltruck.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/car_trans...
I see a good number of F350 or larger trucks used to tow a bunch of other cars around.
If you want a big truck while still technically being a pickup, you might as well go for the F750:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/600x315/71/c4/11/71c411...
http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/f-650-750/2016/homepage/c...
That said, I wish the US had a better selection of small cars. They're either absolute bottom of the line crap or extremely expensive sports cars, there's no mid range small coupe anymore.
I'll +1 you to counteract the downvotes.
To serve as some counter-balance to your post, the bigger SUVs (which are more typical in America) feel unbalanced with abnormally high center-of-balance. When taking a corner at any decent speed, I feel like the car is ready to flip over. Also, big cars guzzle more gas and are inefficient.
Also, I live in an area without Moose. Those things are scary, and I'd definitely get a bigger car if I lived around them.
This concern, however, doesn't seem to bother many of the people in said vehicles.
But take my Mom: she needs a larger car because she's tired of other drivers "looking down" on her (physically. Like, if you drive a Jetta around in the USA, well over 60% of cars are taller / bigger than yours and look down on you). She was also worried about getting in a collision: the Jetta's safety record may be good for a compact... but there's only so much that design can do when other cars are typically 1000+ lbs heavier than a Jetta.
Jeep Grand Cherokee is 4600 lbs. Toyota Rav4 is 3600 lbs. My boss drives a GMC Suburban at 5,586 lbs. Ford F150 (Pickup truck, which is a surprisingly common commuter vehicle) is 4000lbs curb weight.
The Jetta's 2900lbs curb weight will be a severe disadvantage against the "typical" car around here. There's a legitimate safety reason to go for a bigger car in America. Even if you're into "smaller cars", you typically choose like a Ford Fusion (3400lbs) which has the weight to keep up with everyone else on the road in the case of a collision.
I bet our parking lots and roadways are larger than yours to compensate for the difference in culture. But cars really are just bigger in America.