This Bug’s a beauty with the top down
Small package puts a lot of fun on the road
Overview Al fresco motoring made fun Pros Perky performance, nimble handling, feel-good drive Cons Token rear seat, small trunk, minimalist cabin Value for money Good What would I change? More back seat room. At first blush, the 2014 Volkswagen Beetle looks like the model it supersedes. Look a little deeper and the differences are significant, if subtle. It now has a more dignified look with leaner proportions. This is particularly true of the convertible. It, unlike so many droptops, has a smart appearance regardless of whether the roof is up or down — too many convertibles skew the proportions the instant the roof disappears.
Getting topless, Beetlestyle, is a painless venture that sees the canvas top lowered in a mechanical ballet that takes just 11 seconds. When dropped there is a tonneau cover designed to fit over the lot to give it a finished look. Frankly, fighting with the tonneau to get it into place and then messing with all the bits that attach it is such a pain that the tonneau feels like an accessory that is destined to gather dust in the garage. That, by the way, is not such a bad thing, as the top looks neat enough without the attachment.
With the top up, the sightlines are pretty darned tight — the combination of the small rear window (kudos for it being glass and defrosted) and rear seat headrests make for a limited rearward view at best. Lower the top and the blind spots caused by the canvas Cpillars disappear. The headrests remain a minor issue, but it proved to be an easy drive in a congested urban environment.
It was also a delight to boot about town with the wind ruffling my folically challenged noggin. Even when my daughter offered to try the rear seat, she found the buffeting back there minimal. The rear seat itself is token. Yes, it will hold two scrunched-up people in an emergency, but for the most part it is best suited to accommodating a briefcase or purse, as there’s not much storage space elsewhere — both glove boxes are small and the centre console storage rates as basically nothing. Similarly, the trunk is limited to 200 litres, although the 50-50-split folding rear seat backs do add some welcome flexibility.
The rest of the entry-level Comfortline’s cabin is fairly basic — the lack of steeringwheel-mounted controls pretty much says it all. It also arrived with leatherette covering the seats. My first thought was, hmmm, not so good. That was until a friendly bird left a deposit on the passenger seat. The faux leather cleaned up in a snap and without the hassle of scrubbing cloth upholstery or running the risk of staining real leather. As for amenities, there is all one needs, including a height-adjustable driver’s seat and tilt-telescopic steering. It also counts a passable
Getting topless, Beetle-style, is a painless venture
audio package that’s capable of filling the cabin with decent sound when the top is down.
All of the above, and I admit to nitpicking, really matters not as the Beetle convertible is all about communing with fresh air and the fun of the drive. Here, this car succeeds.
The thing that impressed me was the manner in which the Beetle acquitted itself under a variety of driving situations. When tooling around town, the ride was cushioned and comfortable. Amping up the tone of the drive saw the suspension take a quick set as the Bug hauled its way through a corner with surprising aplomb. I was not expecting such a lithe and lively drive. The steering has the right weight and the feedback is all it should be. There was also a lot less understeer than I was expecting. The combina- tion saw the Beetle toe the line through a hard and fast corner with rewarding precision. It may look more boulevardier than sportster, but the Beetle does a very credible impression of the latter.
More impressive is the Beetle’s motivation. It comes from VW’s new 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder. This engine is a sweet mill that delivers 170 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, and it does so across a broad range. Nail the gas from a standstill and there was an immediate response that saw the tires squeal away — as the engine delivers peak torque at 1,500 r.p.m., the turbo-lag effect is basically non-existent. Through the mid-range it continued to pull with authority. This perky work ethic showed up in the acceleration times. The Beetle convertible ran from rest to 100 kilometres an hour in 7.6 seconds and accomplished the more important 80-to-120-km/h dash in 6.1 seconds. The engine’s work is ideally matched to the sixspeed manumatic transmission. It has a low first gear for launching, a leggy highway top gear and it slips between the extremes seamlessly.
I tiptoed into the Beetle convertible test expecting to find a soft ride and modest performance. I strode away impressed by just how much fun it is to drive — it has smile-inducing handling and a rewarding turn of speed, and this is the base engine.
Yes, there were a few nits to pick, but if al fresco motoring is the name of the game, the Beetle convertible works very nicely.