NEW CAR REVIEW: The Volkswagen Beetle: A missed opportunity?

The Beetle. A missed opportunity?

I firstly would like to apologise to Marc Lichte for my sincere opinion. I've always been a big fan of retro looking cars such as the New Beetle, the Fiat 500 and the Mini. However, having seen the latest edition of the Beetle in the flesh, I'm somewhat disappointed. I must remind everyone that Marc Lichte is the person behind the designing of new Scirocco, one of the sexiest cars out there by far! There are a few details of the Beetle which, in my honest opinion are a bit of an oversight. Outside, the front bumper looks anonymous, something drawn in a rush with no reminder of any of the previous Beetles. On the other hand, I quite like the chrome plate on the side sills, stretching across the full wheelbase. Yet again the outdoor handles should be chrome as standard same as Mini and Fiat 500, instead of looking like the ones on a mk4 Golf. Same goes to the wing mirrors, a recycled VW part which should be chrome and rounder in shape to match the rest of the car. The profile is heavy with the shoulder line going upwards towards the back, a bit hot rod. I would have preferred an horizontal, flat shoulder line like the previous generations, after all it worked well on Porsche 911s for 50 years. To compensate the heavy profile, the Beetle looks its best on big rims although the 'dinner plate' wheels look fantastic! I like the beefy back with modern light clusters which mould perfectly with the rear wheelarches. Inside, the cheesy flower vase is gone and it won't be missed. The steering wheel looks like the one found inside an eight thousand pound VW Up, the side vents are too similar to a Vauxhall Corsa and the central instruments are copied from a Focus ST. So far nothing original nor retro apart from the dashboard painted in the same colour of the car. The glovebox which opens upwards is a nice touch. Again, a recycled radio and various switches imported from other VWs. I could go on for a while at the missed opportunity this Beetle has had. Jeremy Clarkson quotes Volkswagen to be "duller than James May explaining torque". Hence the Beetle should have been more funky and interesting like the Up and Scirocco instead of falling into the stale territory of the Passat and Polo. MG