Topic: Test Drive: 2015 Volkswagen Beetle 1.8T

[Autos_Editor]

Shell game.
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[JohnnyMac]

No real mention of how the upgraded stereo performed.  I too would choose the new Golf over this, just overall better car.  I'm pretty sure VW is going to ax this Beetle and focus on other pruducts they sell more of.  I can see only good things come out of this, they'll have more money to spend on vehicles we all love like the Golf, GTI, CC, Tiguan, and Passat.

[OliverD]

Does no one proofread these things? 

VW’s 1.8L turbocharged engine is found throughout their range, and here makes 170 hp at 6,200 rpm and 184 hp from 1,500–4,750 rpm.

[Ontariodriver]

Much as I like the beetle. You can't trust them over the long term.

http://tradeinqualityindex.com/reports/Volkswagen.html

[mixmanmash]

Does no one proofread these things? 

VW’s 1.8L turbocharged engine is found throughout their range, and here makes 170 hp at 6,200 rpm and 184 hp from 1,500–4,750 rpm.

Beat me to it.

[mlin32]

This thing's outlived its sell-by-date. Then again, given that it is essentially a Golf PQ35 platform, it didn't cost much for VW to tweak the things and sell it as the Beetle so they're probably just milking whatever remaining money they can out of it.

[Brendan McAleer]

Does no one proofread these things? 

VW’s 1.8L turbocharged engine is found throughout their range, and here makes 170 hp at 6,200 rpm and 184 hp from 1,500–4,750 rpm.

Beat me to it.

Oh facepalm. Sorry guys, meant to type 184lb/ft and then my eye just glided over the error on backcheck. Should be fixed in a jiff.

[jyarkony]

Does no one proofread these things? 

VW’s 1.8L turbocharged engine is found throughout their range, and here makes 170 hp at 6,200 rpm and 184 hp from 1,500–4,750 rpm.

Fixed... Does a correction have to come with an insulting comment? We read everything as carefully as we can, but like everyone else in the world, we make mistakes. Attributing an honest mistake to our lack of effort is a little unfair when I check in on my vacation and proofread some of these articles...

that is my oversensitive editor rant of the day. carry on.

I still hate this car. Just a less practical ugly Golf.

[OliverD]

It's just annoying that these very basic errors are so frequent. It's sloppy. I realize mistakes are made but sometimes it feels as if no one proofreads the articles aside from the original author.

[pcsp]

Does no one proofread these things? 

VW’s 1.8L turbocharged engine is found throughout their range, and here makes 170 hp at 6,200 rpm and 184 hp from 1,500–4,750 rpm.

Fixed... Does a correction have to come with an insulting comment? We read everything as carefully as we can, but like everyone else in the world, we make mistakes. Attributing an honest mistake to our lack of effort is a little unfair when I check in on my vacation and proofread some of these articles...

that is my oversensitive editor rant of the day. carry on.

I still hate this car. Just a less practical ugly Golf.

Totally agree with jyarkony. A simple "hp" substituted in place of "tq". You are not being oversensitive. Let's all pretend we're talking face to face with those we are addressing, instead of autonomous comments. That should solve the problem.

Love this vehicle. Like the Fiat 500, not for everybody, but it offers that special uniqueness and some heritage that make it special. It's compromises are few and, I personally could easily live with them. Wouldn't be on my radar if I needed a wagon or an all-out performance machine. The re-styling works well and takes it to a place that combines its roots with the demands of aerodynamics, etc. Looks somewhat like a TT.

[SaskSpecV]

This thing's outlived its sell-by-date. Then again, given that it is essentially a Golf PQ35 platform, it didn't cost much for VW to tweak the things and sell it as the Beetle so they're probably just milking whatever remaining money they can out of it.

So it is a fair assessment to say the Beetle is to the Golf, as the X6 is to the X5?

i.e., similar mechanical bits, but less practical.  And yet costs more!  Though maybe more stylish - so an easy way to wring some extra money out of an already utilized platform?

[redman]

I barely see new Beetles on the road. Sales can't be the good to keep on justifying production ! Golf just makes more sense.
VW Group should just re-badge an old gen 911 as a Beetle and now I'd be interested.

[Nuttygent]

  There's definitely a niche market for these cars as well as the Fiat 500 and the like. I would never buy either one,  but I admire people that buy them as we need a little diversity on the roads. There is too many Camry's,Corolla's, Civic's etc on the road.

[Nuttygent]

  I like that redone 911 idea, maybe rip the back seats out, big rear fender flares and drop the 3.6 V-6 or V-8 from the R8.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I like it for the same reason as Nuttygent, it's not just another anonymous generic design. If I ever got one, it'd have to have the dog dish wheels:

[pcsp]

  There's definitely a niche market for these cars as well as the Fiat 500 and the like. I would never buy either one,  but I admire people that buy them as we need a little diversity on the roads. There is too many Camry's,Corolla's, Civic's etc on the road.

Totally agree. Without "niche market" options for the enthusiast, I say bring on the autonomous driving vehicles!

[HeliDriver]

This thing's outlived its sell-by-date. Then again, given that it is essentially a Golf PQ35 platform, it didn't cost much for VW to tweak the things and sell it as the Beetle so they're probably just milking whatever remaining money they can out of it.

So it is a fair assessment to say the Beetle is to the Golf, as the X6 is to the X5?

i.e., similar mechanical bits, but less practical.  And yet costs more!  Though maybe more stylish - so an easy way to wring some extra money out of an already utilized platform?

I wouldn't say so. The Golf is on a brand new platform, while the Beetle carries on with the old one. So basically two totally different cars now. Don't think the X5/X6 situation is the same.

[Harry]

Also, there’s no back-up camera, and as this car didn’t have one of VW’s proprietary iPod/iPhone connectors installed, I couldn’t connect and listen to The White Album. Or any album.

What about the Bluetooth? 
I, too, don't like this RNS-310 interface. Maybe the updated version (with Android Auto/carPlay) will solve some of the issues.

As the owner of a 500, I can easily see myself driving a Beetle. I had a dealership borrow me a 2.0T DSG and it was a blast.

[johngenx]

I love the look.  Nice to see non-cookie-cutter designs.

[Noto]

that is my oversensitive editor rant of the day. carry on.

Not oversensitive.  I always stand up for you guys for a reason - you provide free entertainment (well, unless you consider advertising to be an 'actual' cost to readers).  You're entitled to miss some minor things, and I, for one, enjoy suggesting changes when necessary - maybe one day I can be junior editor

No snarkyness from me!

why not have a little softness and cutesy whimsy in a car?

...that's why.