Volkswagen Beetle | Video Review | CarsIreland.ie

Published on 25 May, 2017

Overview

Overview

The Volkswagen Beetle has a strong history here in Ireland. In fact, the first Volkswagen ever built outside of Germany was a Beetle assembled in Ballsbridge back in 1950.

We say assembled because rather than being made from scratch, they came sort of flat-packed with instructions, which were carefully followed to produce one of the most successful cars of all time.

But alas, they don’t make them like that anymore unfortunately and a lot has changed over the last 80 years. We don’t assemble flatpack cars here anymore for a start and the car itself has evolved dramatically.

While the first generation was to this date one of the most successful cars ever made, it was eventually replaced by the more mainstream Golf in most peoples affections – leaving the Beetle to take on a new role as a retro tribute for fans of the original, or people who don’t want something mainstream.

This latest model has been described as more muscular, sporty, and aggressive than before, which we can take to mean that Volkswagen would like very much to sell it to men as well as women.

The cabin is a very pleasant place to sit into with just the right amount of retro styling although this model did see the end of the iconic flower holder.

Depending on perspective, the boot space is relatively generous at 310 litres, which while not as practical as say a Golf, is quite a bit larger than its retro rivals like the Fiat 500 and MINI.

Space in the rear is pretty restricted due to the shape and there is no third seatbelt so it will only seat two. It’s also only available in a two door meaning it’s not going to work as a family wagon.

But that’s not the Beetle’s market anymore and it’s gone from being the ‘people’s car’ to more of a statement car.

There’s three levels of Beetle. The standard one comes pretty well-equipped with air conditioning, cruise control, and a 5 inch colour media system with Bluetooth and USB connectivity.

There’s also enough standard safety equipment to earn it a full five star NCAP safety rating.

Design will upgrade the wheels to 16 inch alloys, add a colour-coded interior, a larger touchscreen display and rain sensing window wipers.

Top of the range R-lines get the full R styling kit, which on the outside includes contrasting mirrors and wheel arches, a spoiler, and even larger 17 inch wheels. Inside you’ll get sports seats, ambient lighting, and on the more functional side, parking sensors and dual-zone climate control.

Despite the stick the Beetle can sometimes get, there was nothing girly whatsover about what was under the hood of our test car - a 2.0l Turbo charged diesel with 150 bhp. Paired with a silky smooth DSG automatic gearbox and in that super slick R-line trim, it sits firmly at the very top of the range, but also the top of the pricelist with a total bill of €36,500 including options.

It is heaps of fun though, with its very quick power uptake and sporty handling, as well as the fun factor you get from driving around in a little yellow retro car.

And there are more pocket-friendly versions available – the 1.2l TSI petrol for example which starts at under €24,000 would be ideal for your typical city driver, as well as a less powerful 110 hp version of the 2.0l diesel. For those after petrol performance there’s a 150 brake 1.4l TSI but like the diesel equivalent is also only available in the R-line trim.

The upshot of the slightly steep initial cost are strong residual values. The Beetle ages well on the used market, and after 80 years, probably won't be going out of fashion any time soon. And also, it's a Volkswagen, so no concerns about reliability there.

Facts & Figures

Sinead McCann

Sinéad is our resident car tester who has the unenviable (-ok, slightly enviable) task of reviewing all the latest new cars to hit the market. You can follow her on Twitter @smcani and on Instagram @whatshedrives