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VWVortex.com Reviews and Road Tests Don't call the New Beetle "retro." It may be styled in the image of Volkswagen's famous Type I, a fourth-generation Golf in the body of a snub-nosed, high-roof coupé. It may even share its name with the air-cooled käfer and be responsible for re-introducing legions of kids to the game of punchbuggy. But retro it's not.
Not necessarily. For 2006, external changes have been limited to bolt-on items, most of which were previewed on 2005’s New Beetle Ragster concept car, and even then not so as you’d notice. The front and rear wheel arches have been redesigned to be more prominent and squared off, eliminating the little vertical planes that used to frame in the wheelhouses. Up front, the Bambi-eye headlamps are larger and have a slightly more ovoid shape, which are complemented by a new bumper that sports a revised lower valence as well as slimmer, rectangular turn signals. The posterior of the "pod" has new tail lamps which feature small, round turn signals inset on large, red brake lamps, and the rear bumper has been redesigned with an integrated black mesh lower valence that contains the backup lamps The big news for 2006 is not so much what’s available as what is not. It is doubtful that it will pain our readers to learn that the cast-iron 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine has been dropped for the 2006 model year. It may, however, cause a reaction ranging from a mild flushing at the back of your neck to a full-on frothing from all orifices to learn that the 1.8-liter turbo engine has also been dropped from the lineup. The new standard powerplant for the New Beetle is the same 2.5-liter inline five that’s used in the Jetta, which brings only a meager 150 horsepower to the table to propel the New Beetle’s 3,000 pounds. In addition to the standard five-speed manual transmission, there is an available six-speed automatic, so the wide ratio of torque multiplication helps accomplish what can’t be done through power alone. The direct-injection diesel TDI engine, with its five-speed manual or six-speed DSG gearbox, continues on unchanged from the previous year. Upgrades to this year's car are not limited to the drivetrain and body. Upon sitting in the cabin, Beetle enthusiasts will notice a number of modifications to the interior of their ride. Some of the changes, like the redesigned speedometer that uses a new typeface, and the dot-matrix information display that replaces the old LCD odometer, are obvious. Others, like the change from halo-shaped headrests to more traditional units, are less so. That previously mentioned speedometer, as well as the air vents punctuating the dashboard, have been ringed with an Audi-esque, subtle piece of chrome trim. Large, flip-down side sun visors have been added to aid driver visibility in bright conditions. The cup holders in the center console have been revised to accept larger beverages, which guarantees that your bladder will give out before your fuel supply on road trips. These new components are backed up by the usual array of soft-touch materials lining the door panels and center console, and the familiar stippled rubber coating on the dashboard. As you would expect from Volkswagen, the part of the car where owners spend the most time has been given thorough attention.
I spent most of my time in our New Beetle tester - a five-cylinder model with a manual transmission - on the streets of Chicago, where the Beetle slipped into comfortable anonymity. This was not always the case. I was an early adopter of the New Beetle when it was first introduced, and a quick drive to the corner store wasn't possible without being mobbed by hordes of onlookers who wanted to poke, prod, and feel. Mothers asked if they could photograph their kids next to the Beetle and actually went weak in the knees when I suggested that they should snap a picture of them actually sitting in it. Weatherbeaten guys on Harleys would give it a thumbs-up. People would approach me at random and wistfully recall anecdotes about their old air-cooled Bugs. After seven years in production, that glowing nostalgia has all but been scoured from our collective sensibility. Almost in tacit acknowledgement of this, Volkswagen supplied us with a test car that was painted Harvest Moon Beige - a depressing, institutional shade of cream which looked like the color of Bisquick. VW advertised the Beetle with a commercial called Dreamer, which starts with a silver New Beetle weaving its way through congested city traffic. The engine’s prodigious torque, which gets delivered in one large lump from just off idle to 5,100 rpm, makes it easy to drive in those situations without stalling or lugging. Squirting into openings in traffic is downright lively. It’s when the road opens up that the New Beetle feels less brilliant. Power that is described using words like peppy and lively around town translates into a distinct lack of forward motion when attempting a banzai on-ramp run. The bleating of the exhaust note and the laborious yelping of the intake as it gulps down air let you know that the engine is straining. For a "car guy", or even someone used to the acceleration from all manner of current family sedans and station wagons, this is not the stuff that dreams are made of. Once up to speed, there is precious little intrusion from tire or road noise and, considering that the New Beetle is more aerodynamic going backwards, amazingly little wind intrusion. With the cruise set at 70, the neobug achieved 31.4 miles per gallon, which bests the EPA figure of 31 and is impressive for this car and engine combo.
Volkswagen makes no bones about the lack of a performance model in the Beetle lineup. Even with the optional 17" "Oktopus" wheels and tires, the Beetle very plainly rides on the previous-generation Golf platform. Its ride is relaxed and inoffensive, bordering on flabby. The rear suspension is still the outgoing Golf's torsion beam axle, and its clomping and caterwauling over rough pavement would be perfectly acceptable if they paid some dividend in road holding or grip. The suspension tuning on the Beetle is such that it inspires low-speed confidence which continues up to the moment that push comes to shove, when push - as in straight through the corner - wins outright. The New Beetle's popularity has slumped in recent years. From a high of 80,000 annual sales in 1999, just over 17,000 Beetles left showrooms in 2005. While the new model is arguably one of the most refined of the breed, and is still an outstanding car in 1998 terms, in light of its 2006 competition it doesn't bring enough to the table - either in aspects of utility, performance or sportiness - for the trend to reverse itself. Volkswagen must know this, as its recent promotional campaign for the Beetle has reverted to a sappy, secondhand rip-off of gauzy, honey-dipped vintage Saturn ads called "Force of Good", which advertises none of the merits of the car, and admonishes Beetle owners to "smile more often than other drivers ... talk to [your] plants ... wonder why other cars don't have bud vases." Perhaps being thought of as "retro" really does brand a product with an expiration date. The European stag beetle has a lifespan of seven years, before it dies off to make way for a new generation. As Volkswagen's New Beetle enters its eighth year of production, I think there's a lesson to be learned there.
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