The Best Country Music Songs: 30 Days Of Ram 1500
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The initial impression is that you're driving a GTI, which is no great insult when you consider all the praise that's been heaped upon that hot little hatch. However, while similar, the two are not one. I think the steering's more vague and the ride seems harsher, though the Beetle feels slightly more nimble and tossable.
Although we appreciate the DSG’s immediate upshifts and rev-matched downshifts, the takeup of this transmission at part throttle is still frustratingly slow, making for some unnecessarily anxious moments when darting into traffic. It is eager to upshift in urban commuting, although the seamless shifts mean the driver notices the change in engine note far more than he feels the gear swap.
Our blown Bug scoots along nicely, pulling strongly from corner to corner and even boiling the tires a bit when goosing it from rest.
getting to 60 mph in under 7.5 seconds won't be any trouble
The 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder easily scoots the 3089-pound coupe to autobahn speeds, where the car is solid and planted. Boost is nicely integrated and throttle response is linear, and the XDS front differential from the GTI is on hand in the Turbo to better put the power to the ground.
PERFORMANCE | 7 out of 10
Expert Quotes:
The initial impression is that you're driving a GTI, which is no great insult when you consider all the praise that's been heaped upon that hot little hatch. However, while similar, the two are not one. I think the steering's more vague and the ride seems harsher, though the Beetle feels slightly more nimble and tossable.
Motor Trend
Although we appreciate the DSG’s immediate upshifts and rev-matched downshifts, the takeup of this transmission at part throttle is still frustratingly slow, making for some unnecessarily anxious moments when darting into traffic. It is eager to upshift in urban commuting, although the seamless shifts mean the driver notices the change in engine note far more than he feels the gear swap.
Car and Driver
Our blown Bug scoots along nicely, pulling strongly from corner to corner and even boiling the tires a bit when goosing it from rest.
Inside Line
getting to 60 mph in under 7.5 seconds won't be any trouble
Autoblog
The 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder easily scoots the 3089-pound coupe to autobahn speeds, where the car is solid and planted. Boost is nicely integrated and throttle response is linear, and the XDS front differential from the GTI is on hand in the Turbo to better put the power to the ground.
Automobile
To know how the 2012 VW Beetle performs, you have to think of it as two vehicles wearing the same nameplate. One's essentially a coupe version of VW's swift, spunky GTI.
The other Beetle? It's duller around the edges, more comfortably sprung--a little more true to the Pillsbury softness of its sheetmetal. The base Beetle has much in common with the VW Jetta: they're built alongside each other, share a 170-horsepower five-cylinder engine and a choice of manual or automatic transmissions, and use a less-expensive torsion-beam suspension to cut cost without cutting into the VW performance image too much.
The result is gentle acceleration and middling fuel economy, a combo platter that tastes wan next to the likes of the MINI Cooper, and even Ford's base Mustang. The Beetle fires up with the offbeat, blatty rap all five-cylinders share, and pushing it through the responsive automatic's paces doesn't create much excitement. It's capable of generic 8-second 0-60 mph times, accompanied by the usual five vibrations. Steering feel is light, but hydraulically actuated, so it's predictable and hooks progressively as the Bug bobbles on its base suspension, with a fair amount of body roll.
The Beetle Turbo--ah, now that's more like it. If you've driven a GTI, the flat blast of torque from VW's 2.0-liter turbocharged four is as welcome as it is familiar, and its three bonus gauges for boost, timing and oil pressure are the perfect semi-kitsch addition. With most of the 207 pound-feet of torque on offer from 2500 rpm, the Beetle Turbo drops the 0-60 mph times to well under 8 seconds. It's more vocal than ever, but the noises seem endearing here, more viscerally happy than the euthanized five. The rear suspension gets an upgrade to multiple links, which flattens out the handling and beefs up the Beetle's grip, through 18-inch wheels and tires. There's still an appreciable amount of body roll, and the electric steering is good but not transparent, but the turbo Bug's ride is drawn tight enough to boost your interest in running it on boost as often as possible.
Turbo Beetles also come equipped with XDS, an electronic system that tries to simulate a locking differential. It's touted to minimize understeer, which the Beetle still has in warehouse-store quantities. If you're interested, bring a lot of that boost into a fast, tightly drawn corner.
The manual-shift Beetle was unavailable on our first drive; VW's paddle-shifted dual-clutch automatic nailed passing-speed shifts with its typical precision, but there's mild shift shock here that we've never felt in previous DSGs, and more of a tendency to catch the drivetrain off turbo boil when pulling into intersections and away from low-speed corners. The brakes give a bit too much travel but seemed to bite deeply enough around West Virginia switchbacks to make this Beetle more engaging and more serious than the bubbly old New Beetle ever was, even after you got it to stop giggling.
Conclusion
For enthusiasts, the 2012 VW Beetle Turbo is the only choice--and even everyday drivers might agree with its crisper handling and sweeter speed over the bland base car.
