Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet TDI Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet TDI
Prices: £18,775 – on the road
Insurance Group: 11
Emissions: 149g/km
Performance: Max Speed 110mph / 0-60mph 12.4s
Fuel Consumption: (combined) 50.4mpg
Safety: Twin front & side airbags / ABS / ESP
Dimensions: Length/Width/Heightmm 4081/1836/1498

A RETURN TO THE FOLD

Our Rating: 7.0 / 10

With Cute Old-School Looks Married To Reassuringly Modern Mechanicals, Volkswagen’s Beetle Cabriolet TDI Has Plenty Going For It. Steve Walker Reports…

Volkswagen aren’t renowned for producing vehicles at which one glance will leave you hopelessly smitten. The German marque’s designs tend to major on quality and subtlety rather than attempting to blow onlookers into next week with jaw-dropping styling. The Beetle, however, is that rare thing - a Volkswagen that is defined by the way it looks. The 1960s flower power connotations of the iconic retro lines are such that Beetle buyers often know they want one before they’ve even sat inside the car. If anything, this effect is stronger still with the Cabriolet version. The drop-top roof is a further concession to style in the face of practicality but at least the fitting of a sensible TDi diesel engine can help to redress the balance.

It seems to make sense, a modern take on the 1960s Love Bug with a folding roof for really getting back to nature and a salt of the earth oil-burning engine chugging away under the bonnet. You certainly get low emissions and good fuel economy with the TDI powerplant so buyers can paint daisies all over the bodywork safe in the knowledge they’re doing less to poison the local fauna and flora than many other motorists. Yes, the Beetle Cabriolet TDI is fairly clean but there’s nothing especially environmentally friendly about it, just as there’s nothing old-fashioned or retro about its construction or underlying technology. Visually the car might evoke the old hippy’s favourite VW Beetle convertible (which would be classed as a very dirty car by today’s standards) but it’s actually a MkIV Golf with a trendy topless body to seduce the dewy-eyed nostalgists among us.

The Beetle’s TDI engine actually churns out 149g/km of carbon dioxide which is the lowest of all the units offered in the Beetle Cabriolet and with a claimed average economy figure of 50mpg, it’s also by far the most economical: even the smallest petrol unit can only manage 39mpg. Performance is fairly brisk too, with only the 1.8-litre petrol turbocharged engine giving significantly more forward thrust than the 105bhp TDI unit.

The normally aspirated 2.0-litre engine and the 1.9-litre TDI diesel are well-matched adversaries in terms of performance. The petrol unit can reach 60mph in 11.7s from a standing start before eventually running out of steam at 115mph, whereas the TDI does the 0-60mph sprint in 12.4s and has a 110mph top speed. Look beyond these figures, however, and the TDI edges ahead. 240Nm of torque at just 1,800rpm translates to a forceful punch of acceleration that’s easily accessible early in the rev range. It’s delivered in quite a raucous and aggressive fashion, so buyers wanting a smoother driving experience from their Beetle Cabriolet may favour a petrol unit but the diesel definitely has greater flexibility to offer at the engine speeds where most people do most of their driving. On top of this, there’s the TDI’s 50mpg economy compared to the petrol’s 32mpg. The price being asked for the petrol is slightly less than the £18,775 you’ll need to secure a TDI model but the 2.0-litre car does come with alloy wheels.

The 1.9-litre TDI engine makes a solid case for itself in the Beetle Cabriolet but how does the rest of the car measure up? The roof is always going to be a key issue with convertible cars and true to form, Volkswagen have done a thorough job of engineering the one you’ll find on the Beetle. Raising or lowering the hood will only take 13 seconds thanks to a slick electrohydraulic system. All you’ll need to do is release a pair of latches on the windscreen header rail and press a button. The hood itself is a cloth-lined three-layer construction that does a surprisingly good job of cutting down on wind noise when in the upright position and includes a proper heated glass rear window. With the hood up, the car looses its trademark domed roof profile to some extent but fold it away and it perches above the boot opening in an attractive manner that’s reminiscent of the original Beetle. The roof may not come to rest in the boot but don’t expect much space in there for