Volkswagen Beetle TDI Car Review

Overview

Driving the car will remind you of driving the Polo TDI because they have the exact same 1.9 Liter engine. The car does not handle well in tricky driving situations-it has a bad body roll for a car of its size. If you are a guy, you might end up riding with someone else or riding solo if you are driving a feminine colored Beetle. Are you looking for a car that is pleasant to drive, has adequate space, and has lots of new and cool features? Then steer clear of the Beetle.

Details

Sitting down in the inside is like going back in time. Many of the features of the VW Beetle TDI have been kept from the original Beetle, and while that can be a very good thing, it can also be very bad. The car does have a CD-player, power windows and locks, and air conditioning, but does not have cruise control. It also has quite a few airbags. And don't forget the vase, with flower, which is what all guys are looking for when they buy a car, of course. Unfortunately, the CD player is just okay and the temperature system is also just average. All of the controls are very reminiscent of cars that were made quite some time ago, before everything in vehicles became modernized and centered around new technologies and electronics. In addition, the door moldings match the exterior paint color. That could've been extended to the dashboard or control/gadget area. Besides that, the inside was very bland and boring, and did not set itself apart from any other vehicle other than being like a time warp. One updated feature that is available is the sunroof option, which can be pleasant, but can also make you feel like a tornado has spun into the inside of the vehicle. Whatever the case, it is obvious that the outside of the Beetle is definitely what sets it apart from other vehicles and makes it different.

So, if there is one thing that can be said about the VW Beetle, it could be that it is for the most part a female's car, especially if you get it in the more feminine colors-like yellow. One of the first signs that this is the case is the fact that there is a flower mounted on the dash of all VW Beetles. I often saw this and thought it was just the person that drove the Beetle that put the flower in there, but that is not the case.

Driving the car will remind you of driving the Polo TDI because they have the exact same 1.9 Liter engine. For a car that weighs so little, having this engine complete with the turbo-Diesel feature means a good amount of acceleration at the start for the car. In addition, the car has a 5-speed manual transmission, which provides for smoother and faster shifting. Unfortunately, driving around curves is not so easy to do. The car does not handle well in tricky driving situations-it has a bad body roll for a car of its size. Luckily, the car does have ESP, which corrects some of the understeering problems that it does have through turns. The brakes are also not the best-they take far too much pressure to be activated, and even with a full forced push, it is a little scary. It takes a little longer than desired to stop. For these reasons, it is better to leave the off-road and intense driving situations to those cars that are better suited for this type of driving, because the Beetle absolutely is not. Although it may not have the most space inside and is rather small, it gets fantastic fuel efficiency-on average, 6L/100KM, which is outstanding! It has been reported that this could drop to 5.5/L/100KM over time. And despite the fact that it looks tiny from the outside, there is enough room to carry around your friends, especially if you are a girl. If you are a guy, you might end up riding with someone else or riding solo if you are driving a feminine colored Beetle. If you do have a car full of passengers, the seat easily moves up by pulling a lever. It might be best to stick to short trips and leave the long vacation driving to people with other vehicles-leg room in the back seat is really only adequate for short drives.

So it really boils down to what you are looking to get out of a $28,490 vehicle. Are you looking for a car that is pleasant to drive, has adequate space, and has lots of new and cool features? Are you looking for a masculine vehicle or a vehicle that can easily be shared by a man and wife? Then steer clear of the Beetle. For the price that is being charged, there just is not enough that is special about it to make it worth the price tag. Though it brings back many memories of the past and is hard not to like, it targets a specific group of buyers, predominantly women, the horrific handling and lack of impressive interior features make it not one of the top runners in its area. The only real and understandable reason that anyone would actually choose a Beetle over other cars in the same class is that they want to be seen and known as owning a Volkswagen Beetle. Other than that, there are plenty of other much better options out there.