Boston.com's view

It was an instantaneous send-up of that modern phrase so telling of our need for instant gratification: What have you done for me lately?

Of course, when Volkswagen’s New Beetle brought the old Bug back to life more than three years ago, that wasn’t exactly the phrase that was used. But before the first New Beetle ever left the assembly line, someone, somewhere, wailed in anticipation: Where’s the convertible?

It is not that Volkswagen did not anticipate the plaint. No, they just wanted to see how the hardtop sold (a solid 80,000 or so per year for the first two years before a recent dropoff) before moving on to variants. Volkswagen will do the same with its reborn Microbus (coming in late 2005) and Mini Cooper will do likewise with its hot selling Mini.

But now comes the New Beetle convertible and, like its risen stablemate, it has to it a wonderful duality: the aura of the old Beetle to appeal to the older and sentimental, the zip of a modern car with retro roots to appeal to younger drivers. Add to that, in the case of the convertible, its very appearance with the top down.

Older cognoscenti of the drop top tub will look at the wing that is the folded top rising above the back seat and realize it looks just like the old VW.

A young admirer, however, could well see that wing in the back and think: Cool, a rear air foil.

The Beetle convertible also has another dual function: besides fulfilling that early wish, it also offers a replacement for VW’s only extant convertible, the Golf-based Cabriolet, which is going away.

For now, the convertible Bug is available in two models, the GL and a GLS (as tested). Both versions come equipped with a basic 2.0-liter engine that produces a serviceable 115 horsepower — this for those for whom what you drive far outweighs how you drive. The GLS with 5-speed manual (as tested) has a base price of $21,850, while the 6-speed automatic (with Tiptronic manual option) sells for $23,025. That Tiptronic, by the way, is the only one of its sort found at this price level, and its roots can be traced directly back to the man to whom it is registered: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Ag.

Next summer a 1.8-liter turbo-charged engine will be available in the GLS and a sporty GLX. That power plant will deliver a snappier 150 horsepower.

The convertible stays true to the round tub design of the New Beetle, and the top has a great round rise that looks much like the hardtop. A chrome strip separating upper greenhouse/tent from lower body is a nice defining touch.

Safety features include front passenger and driver air bags, side impact air bags, a collapsible steering column, ABS, and automatic, popup roll bars behind the rear headrests.

Inside, front legroom is ample and so is headroom all around. The rear seats are a bit short on legroom, and I wonder if a couple of inches could not be shaved off a dash that seems to stretch into infinity to ga in some rear space. The long center control stack, which houses vents, audio controls, climate controls, and a low row of stability and traction control buttons as well as seat heat controls, has one annoying feature: it hangs so low that my right knee was in near constant contact with it. And I’m not a tall guy.

Also a bit of a pain was the fact that in order to push buttons to open the fuel filler door or the trunk, it was necessary to open the driver’s side door.

The look of the interior is much the same with the three-layered upholstery of the convertible top looking much like a hardtop from within. The "shelves" that sit inboard of the C-pillars at the passengers’ shoulders give the back seat a bit of a roomier feeling, though the broad C-pillars do cut the driver’s views. Dimpled caps for the axis of the fuel gauge needle, speedometer needle, and tachometer needle are matched by dimples on the door grabs in a subtle but neat interior touch.

Inte ior amenities include two cupholders for the center console, a single cupholder in the rear, a glove box strangely divided so as to provide a wafer thin shelf at the top and a small storage space below, slit bins for storage in the front door panels and rear side panels, front seatback pockets, and a small storage space inside the front center armrest.

The rear seat does not fold down, though it does have a through-box.

The semiautomatic roof in the GLS is easy to use: a handle at front center roofline is pushed, pulled, and twisted before a button on the center console is pushed and an automatic system does the rest in fewer than 15 seconds.

With the top down, the ride features a good bit of wind rush with all windows down. An optional rear wind deflector helps cut that rush but, because it is installed behind the front seats, separates rear seat passengers from the front.

The ride is smooth, the five-speed transmission is fairly tight though hardly challenged by 115 horses, so there is little danger of jerky upshifts or halting downshifts. Torque steer, a threat in high-powered front-wheel-drive cars, is obviously absent here.

At 115 horsepower, this is a fine get-about-town, or cruise quietly on vacation car for a single person or even a couple. Add kids and vacation gear, however, and you’ll want the 150-horsepower turbo.

Suspension includes struts, coil springs, telescoping shock absorbers and stabilizer bar up front and, in the rear, independent torsion beam axle, telescoping shocks, and stabilizer bar.

Standard GL components include filtered air-conditioning, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, power adjustable heated outside mirrors, cruise control, a 10-speaker sound system, heated glass rear window, and power locks and windows.

With the GLS you also get fog lights, the semiautomatic roof (it’s manual on the GL), leather seats, steering wheel wrap, shift knob cover, and brake handle cover, rain sensing windshield wipers, slip and skid control systems, heated front seats and heated windshield washer nozzles, and an upgraded sound system.

And back to the duality of appeal again, you can go retro or modern in your choice of colors: For those of you who remember the ’60s and early ’70s you can choose Harvest Moon, Mellow Yellow, or Aquarius Blue.

For you young whippersnappers, there’s a choice of Sundown Orange, Galactic Blue, or Reflex Silver and Black. Black is the standard top color with gray and cream to come later.

Nice Touch: Floor mats are standard. No gouging for dollars at the last minute! And the instrument cluster features a warning when your brakes have worn too much. People tend to pay attention to their brakes the way they pay attention to their tire inflation (which is not at all) and their first indication of brake wear is when they yell, after the fact, "Whoa! That didn’t work."

Annoyance: OK, the little vase on the dash wa s nostalgic when the New Beetle first came out. Now it’s gotten too cute. VW figures that the majority of buyers of the convertible will be women. I hope that’s not why they’re sticking with the vase. Good women I know would look at that vase and figure it would hold four fingers of Jack at party with designated driver on the side — not a passel of cute daisies.