The Volkswagen Beetle 1999-2011 FULL REVIEW
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- Опубліковано 8 тра 2023
- Volkswagen Beetle 1999-2011 FULL REVIEW
Jonathan Crouch writes an in-depth Volkswagen Beetle 1999-2011 review. If you want to watch more reviews on vehicles like this Volkswagen Beetle 1999-2011, make sure to SUBSCRIBE to our channel and comment what YOU want us to review next.
You'll either love or hate the 'new' Volkswagen Beetle. Some will celebrate it as an icon brought up to date, whilst others will feel it's a sad pastiche of a best-forgotten relic and a Golf in drag. Whatever way you look at it, the Beetle is here, it's sold rather well and it's great fun to own. It might not attract the crowds or cause the slack jawed stupefaction it did when it was launched, but a Beetle will still put a smile on many driver's faces. Is the bug back? Most think it never really went away.
To be quite frank, we don't have much to thank Adolf Hitler for, but the KdF-Wagen (kraft durch freude - strength through joy) that was launched in 1941 certainly had something to be said for it. Fast-forward half a century to the mid 1990s, and over 22 million Beetle sales later. Volkswagen's designers produced the Concept 1 show car that received such a tumultuous reception that production of the new Beetle was ordered. First arriving on these shores in February 1999 in left-hand drive form only, the Beetle was an immediate success, although many took advantage of cheap European imports to drive costs down further. Around 800 'official' left-hand drive models were sold in the UK before the right-hand drive models started to be produced in decent numbers from the factory at Puebla, just outside Mexico City.
Late 1999 saw the introduction of official right-hand drive cars, which like the first models were powered by the venerable 2.0-litre 115bhp seen in the Golf, Bora and Passat since 1992 (new Beetle old engine). Despite promises of a wider engine range, it wasn't until the summer of 2000 that Volkswagen introduced another variant, the 1.6-litre. This 102bhp petrol unit was new not only to this car but to the entire Volkswagen line-up and acted as an import-busting value proposition for the Beetle range. 2.3-litre V5 and 1.8T engines were subsequently added to the range alongside a 100bhp TDI diesel. In early 2003 Volkswagen at last began imports of the eagerly awaited Beetle Cabriolet in either 1.6 or 2.0-litre forms and by summer 2003, a 1.4-litre engine had been added to both saloon and cabriolet versions and the 1.9-litre diesel also appeared in the drop top car, giving it a distinct Beetle thrum. Just from the wrong end.
A facelift announced in the summer of 2005 saw the wheelarches get sharper edges, the headlamps reshaped and round red taillights introduced round the back.
Writer - Jonathan Crouch
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I bought a new 2004 Beetle Convertible manual 1.8T in December of 2003. I still have it, over 20 years later. Keep up with maintenance!
Hi from Australia nice to hear positive comments on the second generation Beetle. Well done for maintaining your car. After 42 years of driving the first generation and owning 12 variants over those years, I too now have transition to the new beetle having acquired 12 months ago, a 2002 IKON Australian edition 1.6 manual. Sadly I must part with my 72 SuperBeetle as I now need the comforts the new beetle provides. The car I bought was sparingly driven, only 150,000 km in the 22 years and was pretty much well taken care of . Since I’ve acquired spent $1200 on Maintenance and she goes like new it’s still a beetle. The new beetle still contributed 1.2 million global sales added to the 21+ million tally of the Beetle sales since 1938 and this variant sold about 10,000 in Australia from 2000 to 2011. I don’t consider myself a purist, but I’m just at a loss why some of the the so-called VW purists hate on this car so much Mine is red factory sunroof and as a nod to the m4 golf.. in which it shares it base I have golf caps on the wheels I get a lot of positive comments as the New Beetle is now old!.. as with any car..keeping up the Maintenance everything works I just love it gives me a lot of pleasure driving it with the retro styling and the blue lighting and red light interior And the many mods to the first generation about the car I want to grab handles etc. She still handles well, and with the fuel injection has got plenty of power to move on need it to with the traffic. I’ve seen a lot of examples of neglected Beetle s on UA-cam and people bagging on it but as you say you maintain it, they are fine and it is up to us to keep this vehicle preserved for future generations to see..cheers !
Car has nice handling, level around corners, nice ride, nice brakes. I was surprised that I found it nicer than the Honda Fit-Jazz. Nice manual transmission (except the clutch pedal was too far away). If I moved the seat forward to get my foot closer to the pedal, my chest bumped into the steering wheel. Steering wheel was only minimally adjustable. And no I don't have short legs nor do I have large breasts. Overall I really enjoyed driving this car. Car has a surprisingly large amount of room inside for passengers and cargo. Getting into the rear seat is surprising easy given the way the front seats slide forward. You can get more cargo space by not only folding down the rear seat-backs, but the rear has some additional fancy tricks to enable more cargo room. Pleasant car to drive. Comfortable for drive and passengers. Horror story for maintenance and repairs. Replacing the halogen light bulbs for the headlights is more complex, difficult, and time-consuming, than on any other car that I am aware of. The engine air filter is big and well-constructed. However replace the filter is a a nightmare. The left side of the filter housing is jammed in under the left front fender. To remove the cover, replace the filter, and put the cover back on - I don't see any way to do it without a struggle. It would have been nice if they had used a worm-gear hose clamp for the MAF sensor hose that attaches to the air filter housing. But they made things as hard as possible for the mechanic by using one of those spring-clamp style hose clamps. Big clamp so you need some muscle power to squeeze it open, and dexterity to hold it open while you slide it off of the air filter housing. A hose-clamp plier that can stay open via a ratchet mechanism will make it easier to hold the clamp open. If that was not crazy enough, the air filter for the passenger cabin is just ridiculous. Most cars, yo just open the glove box, squeeze the sides to remove it, and there is an easily accessible air filter. Not the New Beetle. You have to figure out what you ahve to do to remove several plastic panels from that huge expanse of plastic behind the windshield. Then you have to remove about 12 screws to get to the bracket for the filter bracket. You heard me, there is a filter bracket to hold the filter, and another bracket to hold the filter bracket. Then you have to remove about 12 more screws to get to the filter bracket that is inside the bracket for filter bracket. And some of the screws are right next to the steeply angled windshield, so you cant use an ordinary screwdriver. I think they had Torx heads too. If I recall correctly I used a short Torx bit, a bit about 1.5 cm long, and I turned it with a box wrench. A ratchet handle would not fit - the windshield was in the way. After you finally figure out how to access an remove about 24 screws, then you have to figure out how to get the filter out of the bracket and put a new one in. Unlike for most cars, it isn't self-evident. And if I recall correctly some of the screws needed different bits than other. If that wasn't bad enough, the hot or cold air ducts under the filter, that push air throughout the passenger cabin - are lined with urethane foam. After a few seasons of blowing hot air, then cold air, through the foam-lined ducts, the foam starts becoming friable, and tiny particles of foam start circulating around inside the cabin. Oh year one more thing - after a few years many of the plastic parts start getting brittle and break. Especially in the engine compartment where they are exposed to heat. I remember breaking fuse boxes, the brackets they attach to, and their covers. This is a drivers' car I think. I enjoyed driving it. But not a mechanic's car.
In the states. I purchased a 2010 Beetle 2.5 automatic with just under 100k miles. There are good and points about it. Some cheap bits here and there are like the ignition coil connectors, windshield washer motor, and general maintenance being more involved if not more expensive. The battery was a headache, for example. Beyond all that, it has been overall very relatively to its age and definitely better than my old Nissan. I like the leather seats, ride dynamics, ac, room, radio, and the power. It has its own unique character that grows on you.
This is the exacly my car, new beetle bug 2008 and same yellow color, except right hand drive...😘...and I love it very much...
I have a 2000 TDI 5speed, love it. Handles like a sports car while attaining over 50MPG.
Very popular with tuners over here in Germany - the mk5 and 6 Golfs were pretty stodgy and vapid compared to the Mk4. Golf bods generally don't rate them.
🇦🇪I like this car becouse it is realy for land scape and its a beuitifull peace of art❤🎉🎉🎉
Tenho 1 Beetle aqui no Brasil.
É um show... Só que meu tem volante do lado esquerdo kkkklkkkk.
Reliabilty-wise its also been failrly good with lots of miles.
0:36
I call the car Barbie
Automatic is better than manual
For lazy people.
Any car that is built following a form from the fifties is probably not a great car. I’ve always thought of it as a girl’s car..,
Why would it not be a good car?