Volkswagen Beetle
Robert Barry finds the new VW Beetle has a lot more in common with the original people’s car of the 1940s than first thought.
The original Beetle was built for its time. Its simple interior and exterior design, coupled with an air-cooled rear-mounted engine, meant that it met the needs of the handful of Germans who were allocated them when production started in 1938.
Fast forward to 2013, and the new Beetle hatchback is a more complex beast. Not only does it have a Euro NCap five-star safety rating, it has the usual alphabet soup of active and passive safety features required by the market of today.
This includes six airbags, electronic stability control, daytime running lights, automatic activation of the hazard lights when the driver brakes heavily, optimised front head restraints and a warning tone and lamp should you not fasten your seat belt. Achtung baby.
While this new models shares a platform with the new Volkswagen Golf, it has been purposefully designed to have a more sporting and aggressive exterior. It still retains some visual cues from the previous New Beetle, though thankfully the dashboard-mounted flower vase has gone.
Only one variant is available which is the “Design” model with comfort front seats in fabric upholstery, plastic dashboard inserts painted in the same colour as the exterior (which mimics the design of the original Beetle with its painted metal dashboard), and it’s shod with 18 inch Twister alloy wheels from Volkswagen R GmbH.
Under the bonnet there’s a directinjection 1.4-litre, four- cylinder engine that is both turbocharged and supercharged for performance with economy. It also has a seven-speed dual clutch ( DSG) transmission that can function as both a manual and automatic gearbox.
The performance from the Twin Charger engine is just quiet and effortless, possibly a bit too quiet, and it is so easy to break the 50km/h urban speed limit because the car is that responsive from standstill. Again, on the motorway you need to reign yourself in because it will zip past 100km/ h without breaking a sweat.
Hopping into the driver’s seat, you feel both a sense of occasion and history. The dashboard and interior are a modern interpretation of the classic Beetle, but everything works perfectly, and the comfort seats are indeed comfortable, with plenty of adjustment available to suit drivers of all shapes and sizes.
The Bluetooth telephone system is one of the best in the business, and hooks up quickly to an iPhone, while there’s also a cable in the glove box so you can hook your iPhone or iPod directly into the Beetle’s audio system. Additionally there are remote controls on the steering wheel for the audio and telephone functions, which make volume control and music selection a breeze while on the move. Front and rear parking sensors are fitted as standard.
In summary, the 2013 Beetle is far sportier in looks and performance than before, but it retains its practical character, has a comfortable ride but handles well, and offers fleet buyers something a bit more individual than a run- of-the-mill hatchback.