Test drive Volkswagen Beetle 1998 - 2005 compartment

Reincarnation. The second version

VW New Beetle: Real Zhuchara
In the history of the automotive industry, the legendary Volkswagen Beetle (beetle) occupies the most significant place (literally). The car, created by Ferdinand Porsche in 1939, is still available without fundamental changes at the VW factory in Mexico and through gray channels even enters Europe: in Germany, for example, a native beetle can be bought approximately for DM15 thousand.
Volkswagen New Beetle the first in the history of the automotive industry an example of creating a modern retro-style machine. The idea of \u200b\u200bthe project was born with a group of young designers of the Volkswagen California studio. The task of them was set extremely simple: it is necessary to recognize international trends in the center of modern life at an early stage and develop your vision of this trend specifically for the American market (a quote from a press release dedicated to the presentation of New Beetle). Designers from California calculated that most of the Americans Mark VW are associated with a beetle, and began to create a prototype for its reasons. In 1993, the work of American designers noticed the board of the VW concern. A year later, the concept of a car was presented at the Motor show in Detroit, and in March 1998 its sales in America began, where the car became a bestseller. Every day Volkswagen plant in Pueblo (Mexico) produces 600 cars.
In the summer of 1999, the author happened to visit the United States. I can personally attest that if the conversation in our company, which mainly consisted of Americans far from automotive journalism, came about cars, then two New Beetle models were most often discussed (usually at the same time at the same time BMW x5 .
In Europe, and even more so in Russia, the successes of the new beetle are more modest. Objectively, the New Beetle was too expensive for the Old World. Due to the fact that the car is assembled at the VW factory in Mexico, its price on the American continent is very real $ 14 thousand $ 18 thousand. In Europe and Russia, the cost of New Beetle is approaching $ 30 thousand. A considerable amount for outstanding design, but still far from the practicality of the car.
Retro-Zhuk is not a curiosity on Moscow streets, although it attracts attention. American designers, it seems to me, managed to create a car that has preserved a generic charm. But in the design of the salon, nostalgic notes are not manifested as bright as in appearance. Perhaps only a speedometer combined with a tachometer and a fuel level indicator causes children's memories. For Americans and Europeans, he may be associated with an old beetle, and we are more likely with a speedometer of the twenty -first Volga. Otherwise, the internal interior of the car is quite modern and in terms of finishing the concept of German quality meets.
The nature of New Beetle in motion can be called typical for Volkswagen cars. And no wonder the car was built on the basis of the fourth -generation VW Golf. At the same time, his suspension is not in comfortable, but to sports mode. Compared to Golf, he has more rigid shock absorbers, reduced lights. 16-inch wheels are installed on a relatively small car.
Even the basic version of the car is richly equipped. New Beetle is seriously equipped with an electronic contrasting system (ESP). The serial package also includes an electronic ABS with the functions of the brake forces distributor and differential lock. The optimal redistribution of brake forces between all four wheels allows you to reduce the braking distance, for example, when the car is completely loaded. When touched from a place on the road with an adjacent type of coating (for example, icy asphalt), the electronic blocking of the differential prevents the slipping of one of the wheels, improving the traction capabilities of the car.
The car is designed for four passengers, and in principle, in the back seat, two people no higher than 175 cm can be arranged quite comfortably (a rolled roof will interfere with tall). However, access behind the driver and front passenger is not easy: in order to climb there, you will have to show a well-known dexterity in a too short skirt or a long coat, this exercise is not very convenient.
New Beetle is officially delivered to Russia only in one single, very rich design: a 2-liter engine (115 hp) is combined with a four-speed automatic. The combination of such a motor and box gives the car a frisky character: its owner has the opportunity to drive from a traffic light, although nothing more. It is not worth expecting drunken accelerations from high speeds from the car.
In order to become the owner of the updated version of the legend, it is enough to go to one of the Volkswagen Russian dealers and pay from $ 24.5 thousand to $ 29.6 thousand (depending on the level of configuration).
Igor Komarov
 

Source: Wheel (company)