A Car for Joy and Inspiration: New Beetle

There are cars you admire, there are cars you turn to look at, there are cars made for everyday use and functionality that go unnoticed yet make up the main flow along the arteries of city life - but this model by the German company Volkswagen will always raise a smile and lift the spirits.

The New Beetle has been conspicuous among many other cars since 1998. It stands out with its original shape and usually with a bright and vivid body colour. It certainly attracts attention. The New Beetle differs from its ancestors - the Beetles of the 1960s - both in its more glamorous exterior and in the fact that the engine is at the front while the boot is at the rear. It is based on the Volkswagen Golf Mk4.

The first New Beetle was produced in America and its design was developed by two designers, J Mays and Freeman Thomas, at a California design studio. Since then, the little car has undergone several modifications that have made it more glamorous (I find myself rather taken with that word in the context of the New Beetle).

Between 2003 and 2005 the New Beetle Cabriolet - the beetle with a convertible roof - entered production. Models with a sunroof also appeared. The American Inline-4 base model has a 2.0-litre engine, the TDI a 1.9 and the Turbo Inline-4 a 1.8. The advertising slogan is an inspiring "All you need is new beetle".

The 2006–2007 Beetle received larger bumpers and was fitted with sturdier tyres. Nowadays the New Beetle is manufactured in Mexico in the city of Puebla, and models are accordingly named after that city. Below is a photograph from this factory.

In terms of safety, the car has received 4 stars, scoring 25 out of 33 points in the Euro NCAP test (presumably a good score). In some variants such as the Dune, Beetle RSi and Ragster, the Beetle's appearance is altered quite radically, with sporty car-type details added.

Looking through Latvian classifieds, one can find mainly used Beetles from 1999 and 2000 (practically first-generation models). The small wing mirrors, positioned higher than on average cars, are a source of puzzlement. True, from 2001 onwards this was corrected and "standard" mirrors were fitted. The current price range for used Beetles on the market runs from LVL 2,000 to LVL 11,000. A slight inconvenience is that the CD changer is in the boot rather than there being a slot to insert a CD next to the radio inside the cabin. An automatic, easy to drive, with spacious front seats and an unusually generous headroom, though somewhat less comfortable for rear passengers. Quite a proper ladies' car.

I have only test-driven the older and yellower variant, so it would be interesting to hear someone's thoughts on the quirks and charms of this car. Hey, Beetle owners, fans and any other knowledgeable folk - do chime in!

More about the New Beetle:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_New_Beetle
http://newbeetlehome.blogspot.com/2008/06/new-beetle-history.html
http://www.auto-ile.lv/new-beetle-cabrio/