Volkswagen BEETLE 1.4 range
As The Entry-Level Point To The Beetle Range, The 1.4-Litre Engined Versions Look Set To Mop Up Plenty Of New Customers. Andy Enright Reports
Now that the Beetles fickle veneer of novelty has worn off,
Volkswagen has had to revert to more traditional methods of marketing in order to move metal. The range was extended downwards with the 1.6-litre cars and stretched upward with the 1.8T and V5-engined models.
A Cabriolet version revitalised interest and now 1.4-litre versions of both hard and soft-top Beetles lower the barriers to entry still further.
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When the Beetle was first launched there were plenty of naysayers who grumbled that it was merely an overpriced Golf with pretty clothes on. This was perhaps a little harsh, ignoring as it did the Beetles unique personality and charisma and later versions of the Beetle were often priced less than their Golf equivalents. The Cabriolet version is priced at £14,610, which is competitive in its market, but the £3,000 premium over the hard top car for the benefit of a folding roof seems quite a hefty surcharge. Bear in mind that unlike the 1.
6-litre Cabriolet, this one does without the electric power roof,
Volkswagen reliving you of £640 should manually operating the roof prove beyond the pale. The 1390cc 16-valve 75bhp engine is a staple of the Volkswagen range and at one time or another has been found plumbed beneath the bonnets of the Lupo, Polo and Golf as well as the Beetle and is a perfectly serviceable little engine, not excelling in any one area but offering a well rounded blend of abilities. Fitted to the Beetle hatch it will accelerate the car to 60mph in 14.4 seconds and carry on to a top speed of 100mph.
A combined fuel economy figure of 39.8mpg is surprisingly good for a small engine powering a relatively heavy car. The slightly weightier Cabriolet takes a second longer for the benchmark sprint, posts an identical top speed and will return a fractionally thirstier 39.2mpg.
The fact that a brand new Beetle can be yours for under £12,000 will make a whole new breed of competitors peer rather nervously over their shoulders. For little more than a
Ford Fiesta 1.4, you could instead put a Beetle on your driveway and despite the fact that the shapes now a few years old, it still makes more of a style statement. Specify one in a bright primary colour and it will still attract the odd admiring glance.
The Cabriolet model is a guaranteed head-swiveller, although these cars look better in neutral silvers and blacks.
"The fact that a brand new Beetle can be yours for under £12,000 will make a whole new breed of competitors peer rather nervously over their shoulders"
Even without the power hood, the 1.4-litre Beetle Cabriolet still feels a good deal more car than £14,610 will buy. The hood itself is a cloth-lined three-layer construction that does a surprisingly good job of cutting down on wind noise when in the upright position and includes a proper heated glass rear window. You do lose a little of the hard top cars geometric perfection with the hood in place, but drop it back and your Beetle Cabriolet will look a million dollars a fair return, we think youll agree given the asking price.
Although the hood doesnt disappear neatly into a cranny in the bodywork when in the down position, the overall effect isnt unpleasant, being vaguely reminiscent of the original. Neither the hardtop or the Cabriolet is overly burdened with standard equipment but you get most of the essentials. Expect to find electric front windows, powered heated and adjustable mirrors, remote central locking, an alarm and 16" wheels. Air conditioning costs extra. The Beetle does have its sensible side too, with anti-lock brakes and twin front and side airbags, ESP stability control with Electronic Differential Lock and traction control. Volkswagen expect the 1.
4-litre model to account for 30% of all Cabriolet sales and 25% of all Beetle hatchback buys. Given that Volkswagen expect to sell twice as many hatches as Cabriolets its little wonder that the majority of their marketing push has been aimed at the hatchbacks £11,610 price tag. Reacquaint yourself with the car and youre instantly surprised at quite what a strange environment the cabin is. The view out of the windscreen is rather like sitting back in a comfy chair and watching proceedings on a wide-screen plasma screen television.
Drive at night and the interior is illuminated by the spooky indigo glow of the clocks, the base of the windscreen a good four feet away from your face. Of course, there are plenty of telltale Volkswagen signs; the switches, the firm seats, the positive gearbox but you dont really notice them. What you do notice are all the natty stylish touches. The big central circular instrument cluster with its huge numbers and cute little built-in rev counter.
Plus of course, the vase (yes, you read that right), ready for you to fill with flower power. More macho buyers can pretend its a penholder or something. As youd expect from the bubble-like shape, theres enough room inside to wear a top hat should the mood take you. More practically, that high roofline does make travelling in the rear reasonably palatable though legroom is at a bit of a premium.
Unlike many open-top conversions, the Beetle Cabriolet doesnt flex like a wobbleboard when the road is anything less than billiard table smooth. Theres a lot to be said for the Beetle 1.4-litre models. Few people buy a Beetle for the performance on offer and the inescapable result of this thread of logic dictates that cheapest is best.
And so it proves. Spend any more than you would on a 1.4-litre car and youll probably end up observing the law of diminishing returns. This probably wasnt what Volkswagen had in mind when offering an affordable Beetle, but there it is.
Cheap works for us.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Volkswagen Beetle 1.4 range
PRICE: £11,610 - £14,610 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 8
CO2 EMISSIONS: 170-173g/km
PERFORMANCE: [hatch] Max Speed 100mph / 0-60mph 14.4s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [hatch] (combined) 39.8mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags / ABS / ESP
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4081/1836/1498
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