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2012 Volkswagen Beetle Pros and Cons at TrueDelta: The Beetle, das auto. Love at first sight, even more after several rides. by frango100

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Reviewed: 2012 Volkswagen Beetle

2dr Hatch turbocharged 200hp 2.0L I4 6-speed automated manual FWD

Why the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle?

Exterior styling

Exterior styling is ofcourse a matter of personal preferrence, but i like it a lot. It still has unmistakingly the basic shapes of the old beetle, but it isnow molded into a modern and sporty shape. From whichever angle you look at it, its just perfect.

Interior styling

I have the caramel interior with the sporty seats and the black carbon fibre style instrument inlay. It all looks nice and is of a very good build quality. It is a bit disappointing that they onlyused hard plastic materials for the dash instead of some soft materials. But the caramel seats, dash and carpets look very nice, you only have to take care of the carpets, which become dirty with ease.

Powertrain performance

The 2.0 TSI does perform very well with a nice exhaust tone when pressing the pedal a bit more. The 2.0 is coupled to the DSG on mine and i do like this combination a lot. In D the DSG shifts very quick at low rpmīs and this is ofcourse good for the fuel economy. Manual shifting with the butterfly switches at the steering wheel is fun to do, but i keep it mostly in D. Put it in S and the beetle goes away as a rocket. The sound the exhaust then makes is so nice to hear, especially when it shifts. This makes it sometimes difficult to drive away slowly.................

Fuel economy

I have the Beetle for just one month, so canīt say too much yet, but after 500 Km mostly highway driving (from whicharound 100 Km on mountanous roads), it was showing an average of 13.1 Km/ltr. Not bad at all. When i drive into the city, it averages more or less 8.0 Km/ltr. Iīm not a racer, but also not a slow driver.

Handling

The steering of the Beetle is electrically boosted. It feels very well and direct and is a lot of fun on winding roads. I have the front and rear parks assist sensors on it, which makes it a lot easier to park. It is maybe a matter of getting used to, but the frontis not easy to see where it ends, due to the round shape of the hood.

Why Not the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle?

Rear seat room & comfort

I love my Beetle, but the rear seat legspace is not so good. For me its no problem at all, since normally only my wife and i drive the car, but when you normally have to drive with 4 adults, it can become crampy at the back. If the driver and front passenger are not that tall, the rear legspace is quite good. Even the headspace is ok.

Driving position & visibility

Driving position for me is perfect, but the visibility when looking over the left shoulder is limited. There is quite a thick beam in the middle of your viewing area. The drivers mirror has a special part which reduces the dead corner, but the thick beam is still a limiting factor. It maybe also has to do with my height (1m97), so my seat is almost at the most aft position and my head closer to the beam.

Ride smoothness

The 2.0 TSI seems to have a firmer suspension. It feels nice over all, but very bumpy roads will transmit to your seat.

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