Early in the month, we noticed that our New Beetle was scraping the pavement on minor dips in the road. A quick look under the vehicle showed that the car's belly pan was damaged from a run-in with a parking block the previous month. The car was taken to McDonald Volkswagen in Littleton, Colo., where the belly pan was replaced for the low cost of $24.17.

After occupying driveway space for a week, the Beetle went back to McDonald VW for a fog light repair. Our driver was directed to the body shop, but the directions proved to be quite poor. After driving in circles for a while, he finally found a lot filled with cars in various states of disrepair, wandered into the office and was given a waiver from a rather unfriendly worker. The experience was unpleasant and unexpected after a couple of very good visits to this dealership.

The long-term Beetle has spent most of the month in the shop, but our editor-in-chief had the opportunity this month to drive a Volkswagen Golf--a vehicle that shares a platform with the Beetle. He found that, despite their shared parts, the cars differ dramatically in personality. For example, the New Beetle's front suspension is taxed by what feels like excessive weight over the front end. In contrast, the Golf feels light and playful, and decidedly more athletic. That is, until the road turns. The Beetle is more stiffly sprung, resulting in better handling and roll control. The Beetle also has a superior driving position, but the Golf has a smoother ride and more rear headroom for adults. The TDI engine in our New Beetle is preferable to the Golf's anemic, gasoline-powered four cylinder and the Beetle's manual transmission is more delightful to shift. The bottom line: with these two Volkswagen's similarly priced, buy the Beetle.

Currently, our New Beetle is still sitting in the body shop being poked and prodded. After the fog light is fixed, the service department will take the Bug to repair the chipping paint on the door handles and the broken slats on the right dashboard vent.

Total Odometer Reading: 22,257
Best Fuel Economy: not driven enough to fill up the tank
Worst Fuel Economy: not driven enough to fill up the tank
Body Damage: $24.17
Maintenance Costs: $0
Problems: Broken slats on right dashboard vent.