Volkswagen Beetle Convertible

When the new Volkswagen Beetle Convertible first made its appearance five years ago, everyone went bananas.
Sold in their hundreds of thousands in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, the Beetle was an icon. Two decades later, Volkswagen saw fit to go down the retro road and bring back the Bug.
The water-cooled, front-engined, front-drive new Volkswagen Beetle Convertible shared almost nothing but its shape with the old air-cooled, rear-engined, rear-drive model. But who cared?
Dealers were inundated with orders and you couldn’t help but smile when you first saw one.
Under the skin, the Golf-based hatchback wasn’t all that special. Performance wasn’t part of its personality and, as the first buzz of nostalgia wore off, some folks started to make noises for a convertible version.

Although built in Mexico, the new car just about retains its links with the Osnabruck-built cars turned out by Wilhelm Karmann in the late 40s. The remaining link is the pram-like hood which is assembled by Karmann-Ghia and shipped out to Mexico to be mated to the otherwise completed car. Then it’s shipped back again.

Unfortunately, the weather I experienced during my week with the new Cabriolet was nothing like the heat of Mexico – more like the monsoons of the Indian sub-continent.
Topless I did not go, but the rain did allow me to thoroughly check out the hood’s qualities as a surrogate roof. It passed with flying colours. Even at speed the roof remains taut with no billowing, and noise levels are hardly any different to the tin top.
Unlike the hand-cranked roof of the original, the 21st-century model has an electro-hydraulic roof which, at the push of a button, takes 13 seconds to open or close. Unlike many of its rivals, it doesn’t stow away out of sight – a feature Volkswagen says harks back to the 1949 original.
Two models are available – a lead-in 1.6-litre and a two-litre which was the test model.
Developing 115PS, it has a top speed of 115mph. Acceleration from 0-62mph takes 11.7 seconds which is adequate but underlines the fact the Volkswagen Beetle Convertible is more about lifestyle than performance. The engine is fairly flexible with peak power of 127lb/ft peaking at 3200rpm, but to make decent progress, full use has to be made of the five-speed gearbox.
Aware that open-topped cars are a security risk, Volkswagen has put a lockable storage box between the front seats, large enough to house an optional CD autochanger.

Facts and figures

Make: Volkswagen
Model: Beetle Convertible 2.0
Price: pounds 17,520
Mechanical: 115bhp, 1,984cc 4 cyl petrol engine driving front wheels via 5-spd manual gearbox
Max speed: 115mph

0-62mph: 11.7
Combined mpg: 32.1
Insurance group: 12
CO2 emissions: 211g/km
BiK rating: 26%
Warranty: 3 years/ 60,000 miles; 12 years anti-rust; 6 years paint