Orlando Sentinel's view

The problem with creating a hot new product like the Volkswagen New Beetle and the Chrysler PT Cruiser is figuring out how to top them year after year. Keeping a product fresh is tough – after the magazines and newspapers have written about the initial introduction, what do you do to get us to write about the car next year, and the next?

If there is a formula, it seems both Chrysler and Volkswagen hit on it simultaneously. With sales of the PT Cruiser and VW New Beetle sagging a bit – in the Midwest, DaimlerChrysler actually had a $1,000 rebate on the PT Cruiser to keep it moving – new models of both cars are coming to bolster sales. And both companies are going about it in exactly the same way: They’re adding a turbocharger to boost horsepower to create a sporty model, and adding a convertible version. All will arrive within the next two years.

One is already here, though: the 2002 New Beetle Turbo S. VW has long offered a mildly turbocharged engine in the New Beetle, a 1.8-liter four-cylinder with 150 horsepower, but the Turbo S is a genuine high-performance model, with 180 horsepower, a stiffer suspension, and beefy 17-inch tires and wheels.

The Turbo S has pretty much everything you want as standard equipment – indeed, there are no options. For $23,950, which includes shipping, you get an excellent stereo with a six-disc CD changer, a big power sunroof, supportive leather-covered bucket seats, lots of aluminum trim, including the pedals; fog lamps, side air bags, anti-lock disc brakes, full power and air conditioning features and an Electronic Stabilization Program, which uses computers to sense when the car is skidding, and helps the driver regain control by modulating brake and throttle input.

One feature is a novelty, and a rather annoying one at that, oddly shared with lesser New Beetle models. There’s a spoiler located just above the rear – at first glance, it actually looks like part of the window – that lies flat at speeds under 45 mph, and automatically pops up at speeds above that. When it pops up, it does so quietly, but as you are coming to a stop, it folds back down, landing with a “thonk” that sounds like you have a gallon of paint rolling around in the back. The driver gets used to it, but it draws a reaction from every first-time passenger, and not a pleasant one.

That noted, it’s surprising how well the Turbo S works. The hunkered-down appearance reflects a lower center of gravity that makes the Turbo S corner like it’s on rails, and the engine is one of the best from any manufacturer, anywhere. It’s basically the 20-valve, double-overhead-camshaft four-cylinder found in the base-model Audi TT.

Thanks to that engine and the sure-shifting six-speed manual transmission, the Turbo S accelerates with authority but still gets an impressive 23 mpg in the city, 30 mpg on the highway.

Some of the New Beetle’s inherent shortcomings remain, though. This is a car built around a peculiar body style, and that dictates a very broad dashboard top, and very little headroom in the rear seats.

Under the skin, there is not a whole lot of difference between the New Beetle and the more conventional-looking, and practical, Golf. If you’re looking more for four-door practicality and less for visual pizzazz, the Golf GTI may make more sense.

But the Golf has never been a head-turner, and the New Beetle Turbo S is. Volkswagen has built a New Beetle that will appeal to an audience previously unimpressed with the lower-performance models. The company is planning to import only 10,000 this first year, so get in line now.

Base price: $23,400

As tested: $23,950

Fuel mileage: 23 mpg city/30 highway

Details: Front-wheel-drive coupe with 1.8-liter, 180-horsepower 4-cylinder and 6-speed manual transmission.