Car hestitates significantly when starting from a standstill. A service guy said it's due to chain driven transmission. It sucks...a safety issue potentially if you had to get out of the way. Crummy mileage on high test. Very noisy interior. Tires very noisy after rotation. Rear seat non existent.
Purchased this car brand new in 2014. I have brought this car back to the dealership at least five times. Idiot lights on dash keep going on and off. Passenger visor falls off. Door screws keep coming loose. Right front reflector has fallen off. Bluetooth is a toothache. Transmission skips. All under warranty that has been repaired at least once and still fails to be corrected..
Last summer I decided to live out one of my dreams. My mom has just retired and also shared a similar dream and that was drive up the PCH from LA to Sab Francisco in a convertible. After doing a bunch of research on rental car companies we chose on that we felt would work for our needs. Much to my disappointment upon arrival we were told that there are three cars available for us non of which where un my list of cars to rent or had a big American V8. My choices where a baby blue beetle convertible or a purple Miata. Knowing that we would be spending the next two weeks on the road and where going to have friends in the car with us we chose the Beetle. I was familiar with VW as I had a TDI Jetta at the time so the interior was very familiar. We through both suitcases in the trunk and they both fight surprisingly. I put the top down with ease and programmed the Bluetooth so that I could get some direction on where I was going which took all of 3 minutes. With my destination plugged we head off Oceanside, Ca which is about 90 miles south of LA. Getting in the highway I heard the distinct sound of a turbo whistling and thought to myself that this may not be as bad as I thought. We drove the 90 miles with the top down and the heated seats on and had no problems. We stopped twice on the way down to get some food and water and a bathroom break and each time we stopped there was a comment on the car. My disappointment started to turned around. With the top down, the ocean breezing filling the cabin and the stereo cranked I was really started to enjoy the car. We had no problems hearing the radio with the top down either and I was even able to make a phone call using the Bluetooth and on the other end the person could hear me just fine. After spending several days in Oceanside with some friends and a few dinner runs with four people in the car I was very surprised with how much this convertible could do. The next stop was San Pedro and again we had no issues with the car. Evening sitting in the terrible LA traffic everything seemed perfect. After two nights in San Pedro it was time for the main event. Two days on the PCH with the top down and an overnight stay in Morrow Bay. We headed first thing in the morning and sat in traffic for 2 hours before we made it up to the PCH and after several days in the car already the seats became a little uncomfortable. Both my mom and I had the heated seats cranked hoping to keep the pain at bay. We finally made it to the PCH and we started getting into the curvy bits. I started pushing the little bug hard into the corners. I was not disappointed and the German engineering was really starting to show. There was very little body roll even with the top down and it did everything I asked it to without hesitation. We finally made it to Morrow Bay and filled up the car after driving aggressive and was very happy with the gas mileage. It got 27 MPG which by the way was the worst tank I saw on this 2200 mile trip. During our stop in morrow bay I had several comments like "cool car" and even had a conversation with a VW hippie. The next day we headed to San Fran and Mom and I had come to the conclusion that the seats are pretty bad on long trips. It got to the point that we didn't really enjoy sitting in the car anymore. Granted this was a brand new car. I think once the car had more miles on it they would become more comfortable. One the 2nd key I got behind a new mustang convertible with a man and his wife driving and I don't know if he was not confident with the car or what but even at moments when he was driving like me I was able to keep with him and felt like I couldn pretty much tear that mustang a new one on curvy road with this beetle. Anyways in conclusion the things I liked about the car is the power, the handling, and the looks. I had a couple of people comment on how it looks like an old 356 Porsche which gave me the confidence that this car is no longer just for women. The gas mileage was amazing even with my abusing the car for 4 days. I think the best tank I saw was 33mpg. The things I didn't like. The seats are uncomfortable and hope that down the road they would break in. The only other thing I didn't like was the when the top was up you can forget about seeing over shoulders. With the top up you are unable to see what is next to you on the highway and in parking lot situations. It was actually a little spooky. Other than that I was very impressed with the car. I would rent one again and may even consider buying one if I was in the market for a convertiable.