Volkswagen BEETLE (1999 - TO DATE)
MODELS COVERED: (3dr hatch 1.4 1.6, 1.8T, 2.
0, 2.3 petrol 1.9 diesel 2dr Convertible, 1.4, 1.
6, 2.0,petrol 1.9 diesel))
BY ANDY ENRIGHT
Youll either love or hate the new
Volkswagen Beetle. Some will celebrate it as an icon brought up to date, whilst others will feel its a sad pastiche of a best-forgotten relic and a Golf in drag. Whatever way you look at it, the Beetle is here, its sold rather well and its great fun to own. It might not attract the crowds or cause the slack jawed stupefaction it did when it was launched, but a Beetle will still put a smile on many drivers faces.
| Build |
 |
| Comfort |
 |
| Depreciation |
|
| Economy |
|
| Equipment |
|
| Handling |
|
| Insurance |
 |
| Performance |
|
| Styling |
 |
| Value |
 |
Is the bug back? Most think it never really went away.
A lot of attention. Paranoia. A strange compunction to make sure you look respectable before you get in, as you know people will stare at you. The Beetle provokes all of these reactions, which is remarkable when you consider the fact that its basically a re-skinned Golf.
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 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 plenty of headroom up front. The base of the windscreen is a long way distant across a vast shelf of dashboard.
Its almost like sitting back in your favourite armchair and watching a widescreen television. At night the view is beguiling, with spooky blue instruments filling the cabin with a diffuse glow. Rear
seat occupants will be less enamoured however, with the sharply sloping roofline severely cutting headroom. No room in here for love, free or otherwise! Luggage space is rather tight, despite the hatchback arrangement.
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 probably the safest thing 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, and a four-speed automatic transmission.
Despite demand that is still fairly strong, Beetles were perceived to be overpriced new, and this, combined with the inconvenience of left-hand drive, has seen early models used values take a resolute clobbering. A 1999 T-registered Beetle was similarly priced to the Golf GTi with which it shared its 2.0-litre engine, £15,575 for the Beetle vs. £15,175 for the Golf.
Take a look at the valuations now and your Beetle will be worth around £5,000 whilst the smug Golf owners wheels stand him or her in for at least £6,000. Volkswagen responded in part to the accusation of overpricing by reducing the new price of the Beetle by over £700 when right-hand drive production began. This prompted howls of anguish from owners of early cars who paid more for cars that were now worth significantly less. This means that the left-hand drive models are great value as a used buy as long as you dont mind sitting on the wrong side.
The 1.6-litre models are good value used, with £6,400 netting you a 2000 W plated car. The more powerful 1.8T and V5 versions have been slow sellers, the public proving resistant to the concept of a quick Bug.
A 1.8T on a 2001 Y plate opens at £8,300. Insurance for the Beetle ranges between Group 8 and Group 15 depending on how many bhp your Bug is packing.
The Beetle mechanicals have been proven over the years in Golfs, Boras and Passats, so there are no great surprises here. Due to some initial grouses about build quality, the Mexican plant at Puebla instigated better quality control procedures which right-hand drive cars benefit from. The earlier cars have a lower grade of plastics used in such fittings as the cup holders and these can be broken fairly easily. One feature which bugs Beetle owners no end is the headlamp switch mounted between the drivers door and the steering wheel.
Anyone with longer legs will soon smash this dial into the fascia with their knee, and it doesnt come back out easily. If possible, avoid the cream cloth trim, as jeans can easily leach their dye into the seat material, making it look pretty secondhand in short order. Finally, with automatic models check the automatic boxes. Many of the early cars feature a four-speed box which allows Drive to be selected and then lets the revs build for a second before lurching forward unceremoniously.
Check that you can get along with this feature on your test drive. Youll want to check on the history of your prospective purchase. Many cars were imported from Europe or the USA, and these had inferior specifications to UK cars, especially in the area of security. This could result in potentially calamitous repercussions if not disclosed to insurers.
Ignition coils on the Volkswagen 1.8-litre engines have been a notable weak link. Check that the car has a decent service history and is free from parking knocks and scrapes. Finally, make sure you get in the correct seat when you go to drive away!
(approx based on a 1999 2.0 manual) Despite its more individual appeal, parts prices for the Beetle are standard Volkswagen fare. A clutch assembly is around £170, while an exhaust system with new catalyst is just under £700, while front brake pads retail at just under £100. Rear pads are £27 a pair and a new radiator is £140.
A replacement headlamp unit sells for around £115, or you can buy just the lens section for about £40.
For a car so closely based on the Volkswagen Golf, it would perhaps be surprising if the Beetle were to feel significantly different to drive. But it does. The enormous windscreen pillars restrict visibility and the car feels a lot bigger than any Golf. Performance isnt startling on the 2.
0-litre cars, with a rest to sixty figure of 11.5 seconds before its catastrophic aerodynamics limit it to a 112mph top speed. The driving experience is, on the whole, favourable though. Stability feels better than a car of this shape has any right to, and refinement is a plus point.
Youll get some reflections in the big windscreen, and the mirrors need to be bigger, but the big glass area gives the car a bright interior. Handling is surprisingly good, with little body roll and a fair degree of grip generated by the modest tyres before the front end gently lets go. The manual gearboxes are a much nicer proposition than the automatic, helping to wring the available performance from that venerable 8v 2.0-litre engine.
With an EC average fuel consumption figure of 30mpg, the Beetle isnt going to cause any long faces at the pumps. The diesel TDI averages over 53mpg and brings back that evocative Beetle chunter, but those who want a few more driving thrills will probably want to seek out either the V5 or the 1.8T versions, both of which will sprint to 60 in a tad under 9 seconds. Should these prove insufficiently flashy, try a Cabriolet.
Try to justify a reason for buying a Beetle over a Golf on purely rational grounds and youll find yourself batting on an extremely sticky wicket. It does few things better and a lot of things a good deal worse. Where the Beetle does score as a used buy is as a cheap and cheerful fun car, shamelessly revelling in the attention whilst still offering reliable, modern motoring. An early left-hand drive manual car best fits this bill, although residual values will be better with a more conventional (albeit newer) right-hand drive model.
Worthy successor or sad pastiche? Dump the historical baggage, forget the sixties ever existed and the new Beetle suddenly seems worth it for the fun car that it is.
<< Back to Volkswagen car reviews
<< Back to car reviews homepage
Find New & Used Cars in the UK |
New & Used Volkswagen Cars For Sale UK
