2012 Volkswagen Beetle: Loud Road Noise
February 7, 2013
There's quite a bit of road noise that makes its way into our Beetle's cabin. It's a low boomy rumble. Normally, road noise doesn't bother me, but this was so intrusive I had to turn up the volume on the stereo to try to drown it out. And even that didn't do the job to my satisfaction.
Tires obviously have a lot to do with road noise, as does the surface they're rolling on. In testing the Beetle registered 67.7 db at 70 mph. Our Focus ST by comparison turned in 64.7 db. That 3-db difference doesn't seem like that much until you look at something like an Audi A8L that was crypt-quiet at 61.8 db.
In any case, I'm a bit disappointed. The Beetle would certainly not be my first choice for a long road trip.
Mark Takahashi, Automotive Editor @ 14,075 miles
