New Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet Review
1949 was the year when we first saw the Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet, then as now the Beetle Cabriolet was designed as an affordable soft top for the masses.
Nearly sixty years down the line we have the latest incarnation of the cabriolet Beetle, designed by Volkswagen to keep the friendly "bug" shape, the new Beetle Cabriolet still retains much of the classic styling that made the beetle so popular for so long.
The new Beetle Cabriolet has been brought into the 21 st century by VW, although the exterior may hark back to days gone by, the interior and the passive and active safety systems are all you would expect with a new VW, driver's and front passenger's airbags with passenger's airbag deactivation switch, front passengers Curtain airbag system, anti-lock Braking System (ABS), an electronic stabilisation programme (ESP) which includes electronic differential lock (EDL) and Traction control (ASR) are all fitted as standard to all Beetle Cabriolet models.
Dropping the top on the Beetle Cabriolet could not be easier, flick the roof catch, press the button and the electro hydraulic roof folds down in just 13 seconds giving you a super cool four seater convertible. Although the roof may sit on the back like an old style pram, it works, it just looks right, had Volkswagen hidden the roof away, as with most convertibles these days, the old style charm would have been lost along with that classic shape.
Five engine options are available on the cabriolet, 1.4 and 1.6 petrol units are used for the Luna trim level and they develop 75 and 102ps respectively. The other petrol options are a 2.0 litre and a 1.8 litre turbo, the 2.0 litre develops 115ps with the turbo power plant pushing out 150ps. Finally the diesel offering is a 1.9 litre TDI, that develops 105ps. If you want top speeds and acceleration figures for the Beetle Cabriolet you are missing the point, this is a car to be cool in, you don't want to go screaming down the road in the blink of an eye, no one would notice you and the Cabriolet Beetle is for people who want to be noticed.
The Convertible Beetle may be the lowest priced four seater cabriolet on the market and, attractive as this is on its own, when you add to that the fantastic residual values that the VW Beetle Cabriolet retains, it is easy to see why the drop top bug is proving to be so popular, even if it is close to becoming a pensioner
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