Mrs North and I have concluded that we may need to add a second car to our lives. It goes against our preferences, but where we live/work means that we need to create enough separate travel arrangements.

I don’t mind if Mrs North uses the car we have now, and I get something, but she’s always liked the new shape Beetle (and the old shape – she gre up with her parents having matching ones).

Anyone got experiences of ownership? Are they as unreliable as other VWs? Is it all style over substance? I suspect she’d like a cabrio – any ownership downsides?

Cheers

any ownership downsides?

Everyone will point and laugh at you.
It’s a Golf in a body kit. And not as good as a Golf.

Oh, and did I mention that everyone will laugh at you?

She likes them? So what if the the likes of (boring Volvo driving) flashy will laugh at you – then get one. Who cares what someone else thinks 🙂

I am afraid Flash is right. You can however,get the 1.6i “old” shape ones they made with the old body kit and imported until a couple of years ago fairly cheaply.

it is actually better than the golf it is based on as it is stiffer and handles better.

DD – you’re right: I CGAS what CFH thinks. I’d have an objection if she wants a Golf (tedious and unreliable), but she wants something that she can drive round in and enjoy.

Oh no, I forgot: it if isn’t an Octavia whilst dressed from head to foot in Aldi, then it isn’t acceptable.

Bah.

I want to know whether a s/h one will be a nightmare to own..!

Almost universally reviewed as being WORSE than the Golf it’s based on (also my experience). Only reason for buying one is that you REALLY like the shape and don’t care about all the other parameters you consider when buying a car.

How many bikes can you get into it?

(My method of assessing cars 🙂 )

followed one the other day. stripped out, roll cage, slammed and race seats; looked mean.

If dull people laugh at you, you are the winner.

Come on…….a car with an inbuilt vase on the dashboard. Wrong unless you are a girl! or a hairdresser etc….
Make sure you get it in a pastel colour as well!

Almost universally reviewed as being WORSE than the Golf it’s based on (also my experience).

Elaborate?

Mrs North has always liked them. She likes the shape. So what? But, if they’re unreliable (like Golfs have a rep of being) then I’d rather she didn’t have one.

My parameter for buying cars: reliability and comfort. I’d have a Merc.

They are talking of bringing out an R version.

Look…..

Read:
http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/photos/volkswagen-beetle-r-concept-1316613714-slideshow/beetle-photo-1316610472.html

stumpy – I dare not consider the price. Mrs N would have one of those like a shot..!

a car with an inbuilt vase on the dashboard. Wrong unless you are a girl! or a hairdresser

Or a florist surely?

Do you mean new as in current model? They are bringing a ‘new’ new one next year so residuals will plummet on the current one.

I test drove (my wife was considering one) a current ‘new’ model a few years ago and I didn’t mind it as much as I thought I would, but there is an unreasonable amount of dashboard infront of you which makes it feel like you are driving from the other side of a dining table. I really didn’t like that at all.

mastiles – I mean current model, rather than “classic” (in the language of Apple) Beetle.

I suspect she’d like a roofless model – she loved our MX-5.

In answer to the original question, no. But don’t let that stop you.

Just buy a golf instead a better car in several ways.

Just buy a golf instead a better car in several ways.

Except in looking like a Beetle.

I thought I wouldn’t get any help here….

Get one bought if you want one?

Not bad cars imo, i look after a couple and haven’t seen any major issues with them. Coolant temp sensors, brake pedal switches, front suspension arm bushes, all run of the mill VW faults. Timing belts are slightly more awkward to replace but certainly not the worst vehicle to work on. Some, possibly earlier vehicles sufered from water ingress in to the footwells through the pollen filter housing so watch for wet carpets.

Of the engines available i’d go for the diesel or n/a petrol. Not the 1.8 turbo. Not that it’s a bad engine just not in a bettle.

honkiebikedude – cheers. useful to know. thanks

Try driving one – you’ll soon know.

CFH says you’ll be laughed at.

So you have his judgement and that of strangers to deal with.

The answer is simple.

No – although the brand new ones do look more in proportion.

I would not- no problem with other people owning them, but they look like they came out of a jelly mold. And the view from inside suggests they’re 90% dashboard. The Beetle connection is just the final nail in the coffin but it’d still be hideous even if they weren’t pretending it was a Beetle.

It’s a car, does it meet your expectations of image and cost?
What else is there to think about? It’s not like British roads give you “a driving experience” like the tv adverts suggest exists.

aP – Member

What else is there to think about? It’s not like British roads give you “a driving experience” like the tv adverts suggest exists.

Think you’re driving in the wrong parts of britain.

And even if you don’t believe driving can be enjoyable, there’s still a lot more to it than image and cost. Comfort, reliability, practicality, load carrying ability… Economy and depreciation I guess you can file under cost.

get a bus pass, being a bus wnaker is less humiliating…

A woman I work with loves hers.

Make sure you get one with a flower in the dash darling.

We looked at the modern beetle as one of the options when getting a new car for the wife. It was a beetle or a mini.

She liked it. I thought it was OK. A lot of plastic inside, and as already said, there is a ton of dash that stretches out in front of you. I also felt that you simply couldn’t see the edges of the car for tight spaces. In terms of reliability, its basically a golf, and parts aren’t going to be too hard to get.

We ended up going down the mini route … it was just a more fun car, the interior (although plastic fantastic) was a nicer design and all round we just liked it more.

The mini was a better drive too. The wife still gets in it and says ” I love my wee car ” … i doubt she say it with a beetle.

The ‘new’ one that’s been around for the past decade is based on the Golf from a couple of generations ago, so worse ride/handling, is a bad shape for flowing through the air and a bad shape for carrying people/luggage. Even less of a Beetle than the MINI is a Mini. However as almost all soft-top hatchbacks are awful it’s probably no worse than most and at least it looks coherent!

just came back to me that my exs mum had one.

back seats are weird. for sub 5 footers only. loads of leg room – no head room.

The current one is based on a 2 generations-old (mark 4) Golf. There’s a new one coming out soon

the new new one looks far less comedy that the older new one

chiefgrooveguru – Member

Even less of a Beetle than the MINI is a Mini.

The mini makes up for it by being really pretty nice though. Not sure what the redeeming feature of the Beetle is.

STW Car Wisdom.

Skoda Octavia – Good.
Audi TT – Hairdresser’s car.
VW Beetle – Bad.
Audi A3 – Tailgating junior execs only.

All of them have been based on the MK4 Golf at some point (A3 to 2003, Octavia until 04 etc.). It’s not a bad car, with the exception of soft touch plastics that wear badly (have a look at the interior door pull handles of any MK4 Golf), and window regulators that break occasionally. Mechanically and bodywise, they’re sound.