Well, the guys at TFL have done it! They’ve found a car that’s slower than a Beetle. It’s an impressive feat.

To be fair, the Suzuki Samurai isn’t much slower than the Beetle, but its 1.3-liter engine struggles at altitude to utilize all of the 60 hp it made when new. We’d say the shape also hurts the Samurai, but are these cars really going fast enough for aerodynamics to matter much? 


Who knows, what we do know is the Beetle gets stomped on in the braking test, thanks to its four-wheel drums. The Suzuki’s front discs help it stop in less than half the distance of the Beetle.

Passenger space also goes to the Samurai, but cargo space is won by the Beetle. Really, these cars, despite looking different, are remarkably similar. Both are good off-beat off-roaders, both make similar power, and both have two-doors. The Beetle’s designers were truly ahead of their time.