Owners can’t get enough of this heritage car
Bug’s refreshed reboot returned with taut lines and a drop-top model
When the cute-as-a-bug Volkswagen New Beetle hit the streets in 1998, children pointed, drivers swooned and old-timers wiped away joyful tears of nostalgia.
Public response to the artful Concept One design, which galvanized the reputation of American stylist J Mays, had compelled Volkswagen to put it into production. The New Beetle coasted on its interminably adorable looks for 13 model years, selling 1.2 million examples worldwide.
To appeal to a broader audience, the second-generation 2012 Beetle (no longer New) was reshaped to give it a more muscular, hunkereddown profile. It was cast 18 cm longer and 8 cm wider, with a lower roof, longer hood and crisper sheetmetal. For some, it looked like it had been left in a panini press a little too long.
Gone was the fourth-generation Golf chassis, replaced by the contemporary front-drive Jetta platform, complete with its strut front suspension and simple twist-beam rear suspension (the Beetle Turbo got a sophisticated multi-link setup instead).
Although no longer boasting tophat-friendly front seats — thanks to the squashed roof — the Beetle’s interior still offered plenty of space up front, less so in the back. It was a three-door hatchback with seating for four people, not five.
Designers brought the retro look inside by painting the flat-faced dashboard the same colour as the body or by applying (optional) faux carbon fibre. Over and under glove boxes were also inspired by the original Beetle.
The base model used VW’s 170 horsepower, 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine tied to either a five-speed manual gearbox or optional sixspeed automatic. The 2.0 came with the GTI’s 200 horsepower, 2.0-litre turbocharged gasoline four-cylinder together with a six-speed manual or optional DSG dual-clutch automatic.
The Beetle TDI arrived for 2013, employing the frugal (and now notorious) 2.0-litre turbodiesel four that churned out 140 horsepower and 236 lb.-ft. of torque.
Also new that year was the convertible with a power-folding soft roof.
Halfway through the 2014 model year, the inefficient 2.5 five-banger was replaced by VW’s new 1.8T turbocharged 1.8-litre four, good for 170 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque. The 2.0T found another 10 horses, for a total of 210. Driving and owning the Beetle Equipped with the base 2.5-litre inline five and six-speed slushbox, the Beetle scurries to 97 km/h in 8.5 seconds (it’s almost a second quicker with the manual gearbox). The TDI turbodiesel is slightly faster at 8.1seconds. The angry Beetle Turbo can do the deed in a respectable 6.3 seconds.
The suspension provides a more comfortable ride than the usual Germanic fare, and the electric steering is accurate and communicative. Beyond that, it travels with all the eagerness displayed by its Jetta and Golf siblings. The Beetle is laudably quiet — even the ragtop version.
Fuel consumption demonstrated by any of the gasoline engines is hardly frugal. “I was told I would get up to 40 mpg (7 L/100 km). The truth is 22 mpg (13 L/100 km) or less. This is not acceptable for a small car,” wrote one driver online.
Owners can’t get enough of the Beetle’s heritage-inspired looks, funky interior, tidy size and refined drive. But this Mexico-sourced bug can be, well, buggy.
By far the biggest reported issue with the Beetle, particularly the inaugural 2012 models, is malfunctioning power windows.
“The windows have a mind of their own. It stops halfway up and then lowers to where you see about an inch of the glass,” starts one online post.
Some early builds exhibited peeling paint on the front bumper, and owners noted the Beetle’s design invited lots of chipped paint on the hood and cracks in the upright windshield.
Other mechanical maladies included faulty door locks, disintegrating seat foam, high-pressure fuel pump failures (turbo engines), underperforming air conditioners and intermittent stalling.