ROAD TEST EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: A manlier Beetle? Deleting the flower vase and giving the exterior a less bubbly, sleeker appearance are good moves by Volkswagen to make the Beetle more appealing to men. But as someone who owned one of those air-cooled, barely heated underpowered go-karts back in the day, I'd prefer this super new Beetle any day. It's a happy medium.įor those still whining that VW lost its way when it didn't bring back a proper rear-engined Beetle, I get it. The chassis is dialed in to keep the body under control and the tires planted, without being overly harsh on the hard bumps. Under it all, at least in the Turbo model, is a screaming powertrain that loves to rev and shifts with authority. And while the Fender audio system rocks, the odd interface seems as if it could take some getting used to. I'd still like VW's interior folks to at least consider adding extenders to the sun visors, however. The new car also eschews the quirky bud vase for a usable upper dash tray, which seems to be a far better use of interior real estate. And even with the lower roof, interior headroom doesn't seem to suffer-likely because of the fact that you could've flown a kite while wearing a 10-gallon hat without touching the headliner with all of the airspace in the older model. This thing looks manly and mean versus its cute and cuddly predecessor. The lowered roofline and the creased sheetmetal make for a much sportier and sleeker appearance compared with the pudgy porker that preceded it. EXECUTIVE EDITOR BOB GRITZINGER: To my eye, this slammed "new new" Beetle Turbo is the car Volkswagen should have created back when the company introduced the New Beetle.
0 kommentar(er)
