2012 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo: Driven
Add to circle
2012 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo
Unfortunately, that kind of intense, universal nostalgia only lasted a couple of years. After that—no matter what, it seemed—the New Beetle was a chick car. And the flower vase and soft contouring inside probably didn't help.
Now for 2012, the Beetle is back, completely redesigned, and while it's still very much a niche car, it's one that a typical American male won't be embarrassed to drive. In fact, it's one that's quite enjoyable to drive.
No more cute and cuddly, no more flower power
You might chuckle, but it takes only a passing glance to see that designers have tamped down the Beetle's feel-good, cute-and-cuddly side, instead focusing back to the original air-cooled Beetles and then bringing out the brawnier side of the Bug. It's roughly the same size, but all the lines are redrawn and the proportions are completely different. At first look, the new car looks a lot lower than the previous version. But the roofline is only a half-inch lower; it's the product of six inches of additional length and about three and a half inches more width.
In short, this is not a tweaked version of the previous New Beetle. Volkswagen has gone back to the original air-cooled Beetle and penned a new New Beetle—only this time they're only calling it the Beetle.
And it really does look a bit more like a sports car than before; we see just a little bit of Porsche 356 Speedster from some angles, and it definitely bears some likeness to the Audi TT Coupe.
Related Articles
-
Fiat Ups Stake In Chrysler, Volkswagen Buys Rest Of Porsche
-
Chrysler, Ford, Toyota Score 100% On LGBT Workplace Equality (Updated)
-
Signs Of Improvement: Volkswagen Signs Up For Super Bowl XLVI
-
China Halfheartedly Clamps Down On Government Car Perks
-
Follow Us
More From High Gear Media
Have an opinion?
Do they offer the turbo with a manual transmission for less? It is hard to pay $30k for this car, but $25k seems reasonable.
Oh, sorry to say but you may wish to proofread your last two paragraphs. "Is still that a bargain... ", and "The gist of it is that, ...". The first mistake is obvious but the last one is more about comma placement.
Okay, back to the car. I would love to see an AWD version of this car with a more powerful engine (V6?) and a sport suspension.
Have an opinion?Join the conversation!