Indtrykket af den nye metode var bedre end jeg forventede.

Here indtrykket means the impression or the overall impression.

It does not mean a literal printed mark. In this sentence, it refers to the speaker’s overall opinion or feeling about the new method after encountering it.

So the sentence is about evaluation: the method gave a better impression than expected.

Because indtrykket is the definite singular form: the impression.

Danish often puts the definite article at the end of the noun as a suffix.

For this noun:

• et indtryk = an impression
• indtrykket = the impression

So the ending -et is functioning like English the.

Because indtryk commonly goes with af when you mean impression of something.

So:

• et indtryk af noget = an impression of something
• indtrykket af den nye metode = the impression of the new method

This is just the normal Danish pattern. English speakers often want to test other prepositions, but af is the standard one here.

Because metode is a common-gender noun, not a neuter noun.

Its basic form is:

• en metode = a method

Since it is an en-word, the definite determiner is den, not det.

So:

• den nye metode = the new method

If the noun were a neuter noun, then you would use det instead.

Because Danish normally uses this pattern for a definite noun with an adjective:

• den/det/de + adjective + noun

So you get:

• den nye metode = the new method

The noun itself stays in its basic singular form after den plus an adjective.

Compare:

• metoden = the method
• den nye metode = the new method

So once you have den and an adjective, you do not also add the definite ending to metode in this structure.

Because adjectives usually take the -e form when they are used in a definite phrase like this.

So:

• en ny metode = a new method
• den nye metode = the new method

This -e form is very common after den, det, de.

Var is the past tense of være and means was.

So:

• var bedre = was better

This sentence describes the impression as having a certain quality. It is stating a result or evaluation.

That is why var is natural here.

Because var and blev do different things.

• var bedre = was better
• blev bedre = became better / got better

In this sentence, the speaker is not really describing a change over time. They are simply comparing the impression with their expectation. So var bedre is the natural choice.

If you said blev bedre, it would suggest that the impression changed and improved.

Because bedre is the comparative form of god.

The pattern is irregular:

• god = good
• bedre = better
• bedst = best

So:

• var bedre = was better

Danish does not use something like mere god here. The normal comparative is bedre.

Because end means than in comparisons.

So:

• bedre end jeg forventede = better than I expected

This is the standard way to build a comparison clause in Danish.

Because end itself already introduces the comparison clause.

So Danish says:

• bedre end jeg forventede

not

• bedre end at jeg forventede

English speakers sometimes expect an extra word like that, but Danish does not use at here.

Because the missing idea is understood from context.

Literally, jeg forventede means I expected, but Danish often leaves out the object or the rest of the idea when it is obvious.

Here the fuller meaning is something like:

• than I expected it to be
• than I had expected

But Danish does not need to say all of that explicitly. The listener understands what was expected.

Because after end you have a comparison clause, and the normal order here is subject + verb:

• jeg forventede

There is no inversion.

A useful thing to notice is that comparison clauses behave like subordinate clauses. For example:

• bedre end jeg forventede
• bedre end jeg ikke forventede

In the second example, you can clearly see the subordinate pattern, because ikke comes before the finite verb.

Yes. That would also be correct.

• end jeg forventede = than I expected
• end jeg havde forventet = than I had expected

The version with havde forventet puts more emphasis on the fact that the expectation came earlier. It is a bit more explicit about the timeline.

The original sentence with forventede is still perfectly normal and natural.

Yes, it is natural and grammatical.

It sounds like a fairly neutral written or spoken statement evaluating a method. Depending on context, a Dane might also say something like:

• Mit indtryk af den nye metode var bedre end forventet
• Den nye metode gav et bedre indtryk, end jeg forventede
• Den nye metode var bedre, end jeg havde regnet med

But the original sentence is absolutely fine.