Volkswagen BEETLE RANGE
In Its Current Form, Volkswagens Beetle Meets A Very Different Need To Its Famous Predecessor. Jonathan Crouch Reports
On paper, at least, the current incarnation of Volkswagens Beetle has little in common with Hitlers original air-cooled peoples car, being a Golf in everything but name and shape.
Not that this matters, of course. Volkswagens crude, noisy and comfortless rear engined, air-cooled original is the last thing that those buyers currently queuing for delivery would want. For them, the new Beetle must be anything but the basic, functional transport envisioned by the originals creator, Dr Ferdinand
Porsche, back in 1945. Modern Beetles are bought as fashion accessories, as second or third cars for the weekend jaunt or the trip to the squash club.
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Early US buyers included Beverley Hills celebrities, a presidents daughter and exclusive car rental establishments. In the UK you see them zipping about with advertising agencies names on the doors. Or parked outside fashionable restaurants and nightclubs. And in the parking slots of exclusive gated residential estates.
To therefore complain about the lack of bootspace, the missed opportunity for extra doors in the rear, or even the price (pitched at £14,480 for the 2.0-litre version most people buy) is meaningless. Theres also an entry-level 1.4-litre car pitched at £11,610, a 1.
6-litre variant and a 100bhp turbo diesel model, plus sporty 1.8T and V5 models. The range topping V5 Sport Edition retails at £18,725.
"Park it and everyone stares. Drive it and everyone drools"
What matters is that this car has style and plenty of it. Dont buy one if youve a tendency towards the shy and retiring. Park it and everyone stares. Drive it and everyone drools.
Dont go expecting a tarmac rocket, mind you. Go for the 2.0-litre and power comes from the same eight-valve engine used in Volkswagens Golf and Bora models, as well as in the larger Passat torquey, rather than terrifically quick. Here, sixty is quickly dispatched in 10.
9s on the way to 115mph. If you want even more style, try the Beetle Cabriolet. Theres a choice of five engines, the 75bhp 1.4-litre, the 102bhp 1.
6-litre, the peppier 2.0-litre 115bhp unit, the 150bhp 1.8-litre Turbo or the 1.9TDI diesel.
Theres also an option of a six-speed automatic gearbox with the 2.0-litre petrol engine. The first 800 or so
Volkswagen-imported Beetles were left-hand drive. There was also a stream of private imports, some with US-market specifications.
Now that output from Volkswagens Mexican factory is finally catching up with world-wide demand, right-hand-drive production is well under way and the annual UK allocation has been boosted from 5000 to 8000 cars. If anything, the Beetle interior is even more of a shock than the outside; full marks to the design team for doing the job properly, rather than filling it with Golf and Polo dials from the Volkswagen parts bin. Of course, there are plenty of tell-tale 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 pen holder 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. Like all modern Volkswagens, the Beetle feels like its hewn from stone, with the kind of build quality youd expect from something twice as expensive. The little touches help too; the lovely blue instrument lighting which illuminates only the figures on the speedometer; the beautifully designed unique-fit stereo. Even the Cabriolet feels solid.
Unlike many open-top conversions, it oesnt flex like a wobbleboard when the road is anything less than billiard table smooth. The Golf-based chassis is renowned as one of the stiffest around and the decapitation process has retained much of that torsional rigidity. The rear view mirror doesnt get an attack of the DTs when you pass over an expansion joint nor are there the sort of creaks associated with the final moments of a Bond villains lair when you negotiate a speed hump. On the road, the ride is Germanically firm and the handling competent but generally uninspiring.
Theres the basis here, however, for a fine performance car; it will be interesting to see what happens when something really potent is installed under the bonnet. Already, the 1.8T manages the rest to sixty sprint in 9.0s (compared to 10.
9s for the 2.0) on the way to 126mph (115mph for the 2.0). Opt for the V5 and that sprint will tumble to 8.
7 seconds and the top speed creeps up to 131mph. Equipment levels include most things on the average wish list; the 2.0-litre version includes alloy wheels, air conditioning, central locking, electric front windows, ABS, power steering, tinted glass, a decent stereo and power/heated mirrors. On the safety front, theres twin side and front airbags built around a platform thats still one of the safest things this side of £30,000.
Nice touches include folding rear
seat that increases boot space, the height adjustable seats and the three 12V power sockets installed around the car. Options include a CD changer, leather upholstery, a sunroof, a winter pack with heated front seats and headlight washers and, for easy city driving, a four-speed automatic transmission. Hard top or cabriolet, the Beetle is an unashamed indulgence, both on the part of its makers and those who will buy it. Theres no rational reason for shelling out up to £19,065 on one, just as there was no rational reason for designing it in the first place.
But then, if we did everything for rational reasons, the world would be very dull indeed. The arrival of this car made the automotive landscape just that little bit brighter.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Volkswagen Beetle range
PRICE: £11,610 -£19,065 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 8-15
CO2 EMISSIONS: 170-214g/km
PERFORMANCE: [2.0] Max Speed 115mph / 0-60mph 10.9s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [2.0] (urban) 23.9mpg / (extra urban) 40.9mpg / (combined) 32.5mpg
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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