Updated:: Love that Beetle!
Written: Jun 13 '04 (Updated Jun 15 '04)
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Pros: Styling, performance, humor, quality.
Cons: Better choices on audio.
The Bottom Line: Excellent vehicle that will bring joy to anyone that chooses to buy one.
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| shbaker's Full Review: 2004 Volkswagen New Beetle |
We recently purchased a new 2004 Beetle. We went for the GLS with the Turbo engine/hard top. We toyed with the TurboS model but it came with too many other things that drove the price up.
We opted for the 5-speed, and let me tell you this car is a blast to drive! Far different from the slug bugs that we all probably owned in high school and college (and are still on the road mind you!). The engine is nothing short of explosive, and pulls great in all gears. It really is a joy to drive, even with the air conditioning on. Some smaller cars seem to bog down with the A/C on, but not this one. Again, this is the turbo engine so I expect this kind of performance. I'm not sure what the standard engine is like. If you are going to test drive one, make sure to run it with the A/C on. Then you'll get a fair comparison of torque, etc...
The handling is smooth, expected for German engineering. Cornering is tight, and the steering is responsive without slippage. The car tracks straight at low or high speeds, and does well in windy conditions.
Interior room is incredible for a Beetle. I've driven friends around that are over 6' tall and they have no problem getting in and out of the car. The rear compartment has more room than you'd expect. If you fold down the rear seat, you can fit more in the space created than I can in a Honda Accord. You'll find yourself staring at the interior wondering why there's so much room in there. It's almost like watching a magician, trying to find the 'trick'.
I liked the color combinations and other options for personalization. There was just enough to give me the feeling that this car is optimized for me, but not too many options to create a dizzying array of choices that one can't possibly figure out (Ford take note here!).
The one thing that troubles me though are the audio options. Our bug came with a cassette in dash, where some others come with a single CD in dash. The dealers all tell me that they have no control over what comes media comes with the Monsoon sound system. There's an option for a CD jukebox that slips in the armrest cavity, but I am thinking about opting for the PhatNoise offering. Seems to have a lot of options, but is a bit pricey.
The body lines (seams, etc...) are tight and well within expectations. You can roll a small BB across some of the joints and it won't fall in. Worksmanship is what you expect from classic German engineering.
We are very happy with the car and plan to keep it for quite a while. We couldn't be happier (as you can tell).
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 19400
Condition: New
Model Year: 2004
Model and Options: GLS with Turbo
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Epinions.com ID:
shbaker
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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