One has to admire the original Volkswagen Beetle car. The car name was cute and the car was so counter culture, going against any other styling cues of other car manufacturers in the 1960s, that it was a hit for VW and the people.

The design and manufacturing of it was started before WW2 and basically stayed the same until the Environmental Protection Agency pollution requirements killed the car. It was too small, slow and unsafe to drive. It was not over-chromed, did not have any creature comforts like air conditioning, automatic transmission, power windows, cruise control, AM/FM radio, power steering or power brakes. The noisy engine sipped gas when other cars on the road guzzled. . The manual shifter was rubbery, clunky and lousy. The interior was drab and primitive. Other cars fell apart during the daily commute but the Beetle was sturdy. The price of the car was inexpensive and always was.

VW sold lots of cars. There were lots of happy owners and repeat owners. People loved their Beetles and I must admit I liked the car too. I think I had a bit of jealousy because I wanted one too. What a legend of a car.

Fast-forward a couple of decades. What is that funny looking egg-shaped car driving on the road? It is a Beetle? No, it is a VW NEW Beetle. The Beetles name and the cars retro-styling has returned with a thoroughly modern design. This car show was would happen if you took a 1930s utilitarian design and added modern upgrading on the well-designed Jetta/Golf chassis.

It has the magic to turn people’s heads on the road, make people wonder “what the hell is that thing?” and spark a little jealousy.

The New Beetle looks like Beetle until they are parked next to each other. The New Beetle is an all together a bigger, wider and rounder car compared to the original Beetle. The first Beetle had a terribly little, noisy 4-cylinder 1000cc, 22hp engine and the most popular Beetle in the 1960s had the 1300cc 50hp engine. The Volkswagen New Beetle GL has an all-together different design, quiet and vibration free, high revving and responsive 4-cylinder 2.0 (2000cc), 115-HP 4-cylinder engine.

Front and side airbags, ABS, 16-inch steel wheels, air conditioning, a 6-speaker cassette stereo, and power mirrors and locks are all standard. The car has front and side airbags for great all around protection. It has four wheel disc brakes with an anti-lock braking system for excellent stopping power.

This car is one of the few that occupants can survive in a 40 MPH impact. Safety was of major importance in the design of the car.

The interior room is generous in size. To steal another car manufacturer phrase it is a “cab forward” design of extending the windshield over the engine compartment and giving the driver of the car the impression of a larger car. The rounded top gives the interior head room ample ceiling space. The widened sides give lots of shoulder room. The smart engineering and quality feel makes the driver feel like they are in a larger car.

The interior is smart looking. The GL series I drive has many desirable features. Air, cruise, tilt and telescoping steering adjustment, fog lights, cruise control, power windows, locks and mirrors are standard, well placed and easy to reach and adjust. More equipment include tilt and height adjustment seats, overhead console, an alarm on the car and the AM/FM/CD player with ant-theft lights on the radio and the door lock. The part that always impresses passengers is the great looking interior instrument lighting scheme of a black light look with orange-red instruments. The interior of the Beetles retro theme is duplicated on the car’s dashboard. The instrument are located in a pod that resembles the original Beetle’s instrument cluster.

The sound system is quite good for a standard system. It is a six speaker system with satellite tweeters integrated in the windshield rails. The system give a great stereo effect. The bass is very good with a tight, controlled, sound. The system is not a super, high-powered, hyper-blasting unit but if you like jazz and (1960s and 1970s) rock music then you will be pleased with the sounds. The volume of the sound system is more than adequate for freeway cruising. The standard VW radio is very nice sounding, pleasant to listen to but the AM section of the radio sucks major. The AM does not let me get a decent range for distant radio stations. If listening to new radio is important than get a portable radio because the AM range is limiited.

For the Yuppies the car has two power points to fit the cell phone and the notebook computer (oh…I might be a Yuppie).

The New Beetle ride is excellent. Driving it wouldn't make a person feel like they are driving a large car because it does have a small wheel-base. But engineering and design have come a long ways and the car is surprisingly smooth and comfortable on the road. It has a pleasant, controlled ride that might be called a modern “European” feeling drive. Because of exceptional engineering and lightweight of the car it corners with precision and little lean. Part of the nimble steering is because of the oversized 16-inch rims and the larger tread area of the wide tires.

I work for a wholesale car dealer and got to try the standard gas and turbo engine version of the car for extended periods of time before I chose one to buy. One advantage to working for a wholesale car dealer it I get to really test-drive cars before I buy. The second advantage was being able to buy the car cheap. What a great job I have to drive all over California with different cars and trucks everyday.

The standard engine had more torque from the start-off and pulled away from traffic lights quicker than the turbo version of the engine. The turbo engine, on the other hand, had a slight bit more power than the standard engine at 40 MPH on up in speed. But the difference on the highway acceleration was not enough to make a dramatic difference. I chose the standard engine car because most of my driving is in town and I don’t like having a fragile turbo charger that could cost a lot to repair later on.

The gas mileage is great. It is better than the original Beetle. SUVs…my neighbors eat their heart out when I keep going past their favorite gas station! It doesn’t use much gas. When it comes to the gas mileage the New Beetle is like the Energizer bunny…it keeps going and going….

The build of the car is excellent. VW is always great at quality control and this car is no exception. It feels solid and the interior is first-class German quality and functional feel to it. The “switch blade” keys have a built in remote that operates the door locks, trunk and has a panic alarm. All around this is a little car with lots of extras. The glove box has an extra shelf to store cassette tapes.

The seating is very good in the front with lots of leg room and the visibility is excellent. The back seat is for occasional use and is cramped for tall people with long legs.

The car isn’t perfect. The sun visor could be larger. Driving in a beautiful California sunset with the sun in your eyes is not inspiring when you look like you are squinting and scowling at the world.

Because of the overhang on the instrument panel the two front cup holders will not hold anything but the smallest size cups. It is hard to get to the cups if the car’s transmission shifter is in park. I end up using the rear cup holder that is positioned at the tail end of the center console. But then I’d rather have a terrible cup holder than a terrible car.

If this is what aging does for a Beetle then I’m very glad I waited for the New Beetle. VW has the reputation of solid, reliable product and VW continues to show off the quality of its design and manufacturing skills. Their old concept of sturdy reliability it infused with fresh, modern, thinking to make an all together different driving feel. VW always did think a little differently than other car manufacturers and their cars always catered to a more liberal thinking and driving crowd.

Now I let another generation of people get jealous of this ugly but fun car. The retro design shows that an old car design can still turn heads on the road with an expertly done design job. Maybe 70 years in the future VW will have to make a retro New Beetle car!


Amount Paid (US$): 16100
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: GL