2013 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo Convertible - Is Cute Enough?
Miles to Date: 2280
The Volkswagen Beetle is an undeniably cute car -- from the original all the way to today's retrofied-Jetta -- and we won't question that. But after having the car for just one month, we're already beginning to question whether or not the cute factor is enough to make the Beetle Turbo Convertible.
"I don't understand the appeal of a Beetle cabrio with a 2.0T engine," wrote senior web editor Phil Floraday. "It's just a floppy GTI to me."
Considering that the GTI is a perennial favorite at Automobile -- snagging yet another All-Star award this month -- that's not necessarily a bad thing, although it is the reason Floraday wasn't swayed too much by the Beetle. "I suppose my real problem with the Beetle cabrio is it's so close to being a GTI, and the GTI is one of my favorite cars. It's like if you knew you were going to have steak for dinner, but instead of coming out medium-rare, it came out well-done: the ingredients are there, but the end product isn't as good." Perhaps it would look better in black with a red leather interior, then?
Metaphors and cow jokes aside, Phil wasn't the only person to note the car's floppiness. "It cowl shakes along rough roads like a Brazilian dancer," wrote associate web editor Donny Nordlicht.
Then again, this is a convertible -- some shimmy and shake are to be expected, a sacrifice in order to gain access to the outside world. "The best part of the Beetle is the roof, or lack thereof," wrote Nordlicht. "With the roof down, the convertible isn't much louder than the Beetle hardtops I've driven, and being able to drop the top adds a great fun factor to the car."
That top, it should be said, is a power-operated number that goes up or down in about ten seconds at speeds of up to 30 mph. That feature alone impressed senior editor Joe DeMatio: "You can have the top up on the freeway drive to work and put it down as you're decelerating on an off-ramp, then cruise the surface streets with the top down." The convertible comes standard with a large wind deflector that sits atop the two rear seats: while it does an admirable job of keeping turbulence to a minimum, the folding mechanism takes some practice, both removing from its latched perch in the top of the trunk, to attaching it to the car (using four rubber pegs).
With just 1036 miles on the odometer, associate web editor Ben Timmins (yours truly) embarked on a weekend road trip from our offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Brooklyn, New York. For any detractors of the Beetle Convertible who dislike its "cute" design and attitude, I'll say this: I received four or five unsolicited compliments about this car, unprompted, from complete strangers on my weekend behind the wheel -- more than any other car I've driven. Sure, you won't win any masculinity contests with the Beetle's bulbous styling, but the car fit in on the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan, where convertible-happy drivers pop their tops at any sign of warm, dry weather.
