VW Beetle information: everything you need to know if you own it, are thinking of buying one or just want to find out more about this retro-flavoured VeeDub. Click on the links below for all of CAR magazine’s news, reviews, videos, scoops and spy photos of the Volkswagen Beetle car range.
Background
VW’s second stab at a reimagined Beetle, it offers a bigger boot, more interior space and a more assured drive this time around. Much of the car’s hardware is shared with the pre-MQB Mk6 Golf.
60sec road test
Engine range includes 1.6 diesel and a spread of petrols culminating in the surprisingly racy 2.0 TSI, dipping under eight seconds to 62mph with an Audi-style pre-programmed crackle on upshifts. While there is more space inside than the previous ‘new’ Beetle, tall rear passengers might still feel a bit cramped. Convertible version makes a good fist of things, with better refinement than the Golf drop-top, but you can’t see much out the back when the roof’s up. An improbable hot version was launched in 2014 called the Beetle GSR, limited to 100 examples in the UK.
The one we’d buy
1.4 TSI, or 2.0 TSI if you want to pose at pace
The one we’d avoid like the plague
The GSR. What is the point?
Rivals to consider
Citroen DS3, Mini
For
Stands out from the crowd
Against
Definition of a Marmite car. You’ll like it a lot, or not at all