Road Tests: Long-Term Test

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Back in 1979, Volkswagen stopped distribution of the Beetle in the United States. At that time, 4.9 million Beetles had been sold in America (they were selling for $6,495). Although distribution stopped in the US, Central and South American countries continued to enjoy the circulation of new Love Bugs. To date, Volkswagen has sold 21.3 million Beetles worldwide, making it the largest selling car in history. When Volkswagen unveiled the revised Beetle concept car at the 1994 auto show, the response was overwhelmingly positive and the company had to build it. At the auto shows this year, VW unveiled the actual 1998 production model of the New Beetle and show-goers talked of little else.

Well, of course we at Edmund's had to have one for our long-term test fleet. So we called on our friends at Santa Barbara Mazda/Volkswagen and ordered a yellow TDI (diesel) with a manual transmission, power windows and the sports package. True to his word, the dealership owner, Kevin Eckhart, delivered the car equipped exactly as we requested. For the record, yellow and silver are the hardest colors to obtain so we were quite impressed that the dealership was able to deliver our vehicle so quickly. In fact, rumor had it that Volkswagen initially had a problem with the yellow paint, which was supposedly fading differently on the metal than on the plastic bumpers. Our dealer explained that the paint problem was resolved prior to shipping out any yellow New Beetles to the public. Volkswagen failed to respond to queries about the paint problem.

Edmund's editors in the past have voiced negative opinions about buying diesel engines in America, comments that have often been met with a barrage of emails from diesel-owning gurus detailing the many attributes of their diesel automobiles. Since we've never lived with a diesel-chugging vehicle ourselves, we decided we should. We also chose the TDI model so that we could find out first hand how easy (or difficult) it was to get gas and if the fuel economy is really as good as Volkswagen claims it is.

When we got the call that our New Beetle had arrived and was ready for pickup, the euphoria in our office could have been cut with a knife. Two of our staffers "volunteered" to trek the hour and a half from Beverly Hills to Santa Barbara in the Edmund's long-term Jaguar Vanden Plas. They were in such awe of the New Beetle that they forgot to do a complete rundown of the car to make sure everything worked when they picked it up. On the drive home, they quickly realized that the air conditioning unit would not blow cool air. Apparently, the compressor was not working. They tried to open the windows to cool the car off, but quickly abandoned that option when the noise became too unbearable at such high speeds. The next morning, we had our New Beetle in the shop. We later heard that three New Beetles have needed work done on the air-conditioning unit, prompting a voluntary recall of all New Beetles due to a wire-chaffing problem caused by the battery tray. Although our car was fixed, it still needed to go back for service to replace the battery tray. We made our appointment within a day of receiving our FedEx notice of the recall, but dealerships were already out of replacement pieces and we were told that we might have to wait as long as a month.

For those who have not had the pleasure of driving a New Beetle, we will try to explain the experience as best we can. The dealer warned us that people would do crazy things to get a closer look and that we should be extra careful when driving around town. We are consistently getting thumbs up signs from fellow motorists and are regularly asked questions when stopped at red lights. So, for the record, here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions:

-No, the engine has been moved to the front
-Yes, it's much more powerful than the "old one"
-We paid $17,760 buckaroos and it's worth every penny
-Yes, we had to wait to get it
-No, its not a tin can like the last one; it is probably the safest car in its class
-Absolutely, it is one of the most fun cars to drive
-Of course there is plenty of room--I had a friend who is 6'4" drive it in comfort
-The convertible will be coming out in 2000
-Yeah, we know about the recall
-The flowers are fake, real ones would wilt (moron)

But the most common comment we get is: "Oh my God, your car is sooooo cute!" Imagine throwing headlights and four 16-inch wheels on Winnie the Pooh and driving him around town ... we contend that you still wouldn't get the degree of attention you'll get driving a New Beetle. As one staffer put it, "It's like being the prettiest girl at the prom; everyone is looking at you."

Most Americans don't realize that Volkswagen is the world's fourth largest auto manufacturer because it represents only 1% of the US market, according to an April 22, 1998 article in the Washington Post. It is the manufacturer's hope that the New Beetle can recast them as a serious player in the US. Basically, Volkswagen is becoming "cool" again and sales of their Golfs, Jettas and Passats are also rising. One dealer reported that since the introduction of the New Beetle, his Jetta sales have doubled. The recent crash test results of the New Beetle confirm Volkswagen claims that they are making safer cars these days and this is also helping their sales. The New Beetle rated higher than 11 other small cars crash-tested in recent years, including the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Ford Escort. A sales manager at one dealership said it is really great to finally see people so excited about buying a car again.

Volkswagen has accomplished what few other car manufacturers have: luring nostalgic motorists and Generation Xers to the same car. For all intents and purposes, the New Beetle is truly new. The only concepts Volkswagen kept from the old Beetle are exterior styling elements, the bud vase, the grab bar and the assist strap. Other than that, it has been completely redesigned from the bottom up. The front seats are roomy with ample headroom, and the ride is smooth for a small car. The rear seats lack sufficient headroom for midsize to tall adults, but for kids and small adults, it is fine. We were also surprised that the company that brought us Fahrvergnugen did not leave a place for schmutz in the New Beetle.

So far, the New Beetle is still unique. Initially, Volkswagen was scheduled to produce 50,000 units for US consumption. Due to the high demand, however, the massive Puebla, Mexico, Volkswagen plant has increased its efforts and will be rolling 60,000 New Beetles off the assembly lines this year.

Having driven the vehicle for several weeks now, we are only left with a couple of questions: "How long will it take before people stop calling it the `New' Beetle?" And, "Is the New Beetle officially considered a Punch Buggy/Slug Bug?"

Best Fuel Economy: 36.49 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 21.84 mpg
Body Damage: $0
Maintenance Costs: $0
Problems: Air conditioner compressor not working.