From the 2011 New York Auto Show, Cars.com's Mike Hanley takes a look at the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle.
Transcript
(upbeat music) <v Announcer>Cars.com auto review. Hi, I am Mike Hanley with cars.com. We are here at the New York Auto Show, checking out a car that probably needs no introduction. It is the iconic Volkswagen Beetle. It has been redesigned for 2012.
Goes on sale this fall, and it takes a lot of design cues, from the original model. If you are familiar with the original Beetle, which was sold in the U.S. for 30 years, this one is going to look familiar too in some respects, it's got a similar roof line, it is not as arced as the outgoing new Beetle, and that carries down the seat pillars, that drop off dramatically towards the rear of the car, just like the old one. When it goes on sale, the Beetle is going to be offered with three engines. The fuel economy leader is, the diesel engine. That is rated at 29 miles per gallon in the city, 40 on the highway. But the base engine, which is probably going to be a more popular option, it is a 2.5 liter five cylinder, is rated at just 22 city, 31 highway. Now, if you are into a performance, there is also going to be a turbocharged, four cylinder. The Beetle is going to be offered in design and sport trim levels, when it comes up, but Volkswagen says, they are going to make annual theme versions, so, I imagine that means special editions, each year for this model, which makes sense. Now, overall interior quality is a step up from where the model was, which was, really aging in the class. And it also seems nicer than, the new Jetta, that Volkswagen has recently redesigned. You can see this model has some, red accenting that matches the exterior color, new options, our navigation system, which has not been offered before, and the panoramic sunroof in this model is significantly larger. Despite the Beetle's dramatically raked lift gate, there is actually a pretty decent cargo room when you open it. It is 10.9 cubic feet and, the back seats fold down too to expand the space. Redesigning a car like the Beetle is a difficult proposition, but Volkswagen has found a nice balance between enough retro cues, enough modern touches, to reignite interest in this model. <v Announcer>For more car related news, go to cars.com, or our blog, KickingTires.net.
