Thankfully, in designing this generation of Beetle, VW started with the right priority: Reshape the car so that it will appeal to more than just people who can get away with wearing skirts in public (Scots excluded). Gone is the syrupy-cute, large-bubble-eating-a-smaller-bubble look, replaced by a design with a flatter, lower roof, a flatter, longer hood, and tauter sheetmetal that looks like someone popped a pressure-relief valve and bled off a couple dozen psi.
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That Was it for the Poop Jokes
There are important practical implications for the new shape in addition to the obvious aesthetic ones. While no longer boasting a top-hat-friendly front row ready for Abe Lincoln and Mr. Peanut’s Sunday drive, the Beetle’s interior still offers a spacious front seat. Even in a car with a sunroof—his mortal enemy—this six-foot, seven-inch scribe fits comfortably behind the wheel. The standard telescoping column’s generous reach is a tremendous aid. The Beetle’s sunroof is huge, but the hole it creates when open is small. Early in their ownership, we expect that many drivers will fiddle with its switch, thinking the roof should open farther. It does, however, slide back far enough to get in the way when the rear hatch is opened, which is why it automatically slides forward three inches when the rear portal’s latch releases.
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Soap Bars and German Cars
Structurally, if you think of the Beetle as a Jetta that has graduated from Soap Bars Anonymous, you won’t be far off. It shares much of that car’s platform, including the U.S.-market version’s torsion-beam rear suspension, although Beetles powered by the optional turbo four use a multilink rear setup like that on the recently announced Jetta GLI. On this early drive, the turbo was the only car available to us. The base engine is VW’s unique 2.5-liter inline-five; both it and the four have the same output in the Beetle as they do in its boxier brethren. The five chalks up 170 hp and 177 lb-ft, while the four squeezes out 200 and 207. Transmission choices with the five are a five-speed manual and a six-speed automatic, while the turbo gets a six-speed manual or six-speed DSG. A Beetle TDI, with VW’s 140-hp, 236-lb-ft turbo-diesel, will arrive next summer, as will a Beetle convertible. The Beetle R, with a higher-output turbo four making at least 240 hp, will bow sometime later.
Despite being such a familiar engine, the turbo four-cylinder sounds very different in the Beetle than in other Volkswagens, almost five-cylinder-esque. Its familiar surge of power, though, is just as addicting here as in the GTI. Although we appreciate the DSG transmission’s immediate upshifts and rev-matched downshifts, its takeup at part throttle is still frustratingly slow, making for some unnecessarily anxious moments when darting into traffic. It is very eager to upshift in urban commuting, although the seamless shifts mean the driver notices the change in engine note far more than he feels the gear swap.
The base car comes with 17-inch wheels and can be fitted with 18s, while the Turbo includes 18s and offers 19s. The 18-inchers feel about as big as we’d want on this car, with larger impacts bordering on harsh. But the ride is otherwise smooth, with restrained body motions. All Beetles have a strut front suspension with an anti-roll bar, but the Turbo’s bar is 1 mm larger, at 23 mm. In addition, it gets an 18-mm rear anti-roll bar and an optional sportier tune; the base car does without either of these. Regardless, the Beetle is a resolute understeerer. The XDS brake-based “limited-slip” differential is standard on turbo cars.
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Beetle Hierarchy
What will matter to buyers here is the Beetle’s value. The very cheapest Beetle starts at $19,765 and includes the 170-horse inline-five, the five-speed stick, disc brakes all around, one-touch power windows, cruise control, very attractive cloth seats that fold 50/50 in the rear, and an eight-speaker stereo with an auxiliary input. If you want an automatic, you’ll have to step up to the Beetle 2.5 trim, which starts at $21,665, or $20,565 with the manual. In addition to unlocking the automatic, the 2.5 adds leatherette seats—heated up front—Bluetooth, and a USB input. For $23,065 ($24,165 with an automatic), the Beetle with sunroof adds a glass-covered hole in the roof, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, keyless entry and starting, and a touch-screen radio. The priciest among the lower-powered Beetles adds 18-inch wheels, nav, and a Fender-branded audio system for $24,865 ($25,965 with the auto).
Equipment groupings for the Beetle Turbo vary only slightly, with the basic Turbo starting at $24,165 and including 18-inch wheels, fog lights, gloss-black mirror housings, a rear spoiler, supportive sport seats with unique upholstery, and a leather-wrapped shift knob and handbrake lever, and aluminum pedals. (The DSG transmission adds $1100 to the price of any Turbo.) For another $3000, you’ll get the sunroof, audio controls and leather on the steering wheel, keyless entry and starting, the touch-screen radio, and the Fender audio. If you want to spend premium-German-brand money on your people’s car, the top-of-the-line car demands $28,765 to add nav and leather seats, as well as dash and door trim wrapped in dead cowskin.
Source : Caranddriver.com
