|
Road Tests: Long-Term Test
1998 Volkswagen New Beetle
August, 1999
By editors at Edmunds.com
Date Posted 01-01-1999
Our long-term New Beetle has been passed from one Edmunds.com employee to another this month faster than a hot potato on wheels. First, our Denver-based editor-in-chief loaded the car down with hordes of computer equipment and office paraphernalia before driving it 16 hours across several western states to Los Angeles, Calif. After finagling the seats down and finding a place to stow the detachable headrests, our driver managed to fit the following into the small car: - two 17-inch computer monitors
- two fax machines
- two laptop PCs
- one desktop PC
- one HP 6P printer
- one HP 880 printer
- one speaker telephone
- one digital camera
- one CD case
- one file box of paperwork
- one knapsack of research materials
- one extra-large duffel bag
- one 230-pound driver
Using the front seat and passenger floorboard, all of this stuff--amazingly--fit into the Beetle without blocking the rear view. During the drive, our editor found new respect for the turbodiesel's 1.9-liter engine that scoots you along right nice. The Buglet seemed unfazed by both the altitude and the weight in the car, allowing our editor to maintain 75 mph entering the Eisenhower Tunnel at approximately 11,000 feet in altitude; the only other car on the road that could keep up with him was a Saab 9000 Aero. As an added bonus, the Bug averaged 45 mpg while crossing Utah and provided astounding long-term seat comfort the entire trip.
Once in L.A., several other staffers took turns playing with the Bug. One woman with a baby called the car an enigma, because on the outside it looks like something a cash-strapped high-school kid would drive, but on the inside feels and looks like a sports car. Though she thought the car handled well and appreciated that the front seats slid forward and up (making it easy to climb in the back to install a car seat), she noted that the rear hatch required too much force to shut tightly and the cargo area was too small for her stroller--disqualifying it as practical family transportation.
Another driver--who used to ride to and from high school in an old Beetle--found that the car's rubberized surfaces reminded him of the retro boom boxes found in Sharper Image catalogs; an attempt at trendiness. He also noted that nothing happened when he pushed the remote keyless-entry buttons. After spending $7.12 on the 2016 batteries that run the device, the key fob worked impeccably once again. He also found that the horn honks to indicate it has been locked, which isn't a problem for the driver, who is presumably awake when doing the locking. Instead, it's an environmental problem, he claims. Our staffer should know--his neighbor had a Honda with this same feature and used to park it right under our colleague's bedroom window.
Next, our managing editor took a brief turn behind the Beetle's wheel. He found it was a snap to park in his narrow, off-alley garage--unlike the other average-sized cars he's been parking there lately. Never having purchased diesel fuel in L.A., it took our editor 40 minutes to locate a station that sold the elusive liquid. Obviously, a New Beetle owner would quickly find the nearest diesel-selling station in his or her neighborhood, but until then, getting gas is a major undertaking--at least in West Los Angeles, where gas stations are generally difficult to find to begin with.
In L.A., the Beetle no longer attracts the kind of attention it summoned a year ago, though there is definitely still interest. Our editor-in-chief found this out the hard way during his trip West. A woman from California cornered him in Glenwood Canyon, Colo., spouting off about her new blue Beetle. At a mini-mart in Beaver, Utah, a guy wanted to know what New Beetles were selling for in California. When we told him we paid sticker for it more than a year ago, he said the dealers in Salt Lake City are still asking $3,000 over sticker. Bloodsuckers. Meanwhile, a gaggle of high-school girls fresh from a rafting trip on the Green River couldn't keep their eyes off the car as they filed into the store from a 15-passenger Club Wagon. At a car wash outside of Beverly Hills, everyone gaped as the yellow New Beetle was detailed amidst white Bimmers, Benzes and Lexi. Our introverted editor hated every minute of it.
General complaints this time around centered on the usual: lame cupholders, lack of interior storage, and alloy wheels that collect too much brake dust. One driver commented that the stereo produced rich sounds, with deep bass and clean highs, while another found it to be tinny-sounding. Finally, the auto-unlock doors didn't unlock quite fast enough one time, causing our editor-in-chief to set off the alarm at a busy FedEx office--just what a reserved guy driving a yellow New Beetle likes best.
Total Odometer Reading: 24,969
Best Fuel Economy: 48.0 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 21.7 mpg
Body Damage: $0
Maintenance Costs: $7.12
Problems: Inoperative key fob.
|
