VW's Classic Cabrio Continues to Age Gracefully

I sucked it up in the name of journalism and agreed to road test a

Our man Rob braves winter weather (and potential humiliation) to drive VW's new New Beetle Convertible. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press)

2006 Salsa Red Beetle Convertible. Now I'm not one normally ashamed of his feminine side, but displaying it before the world has never been a desire of mine; fortunately the right hat and a pair of dark sunglasses can do a lot toward risk management. Pay attention because I am only going to say this once - what a cute car! There, it's out; but may never be repeated.

The whole concept behind the retro-theme Beetle is "fun." Stripping the modern bug of its tin roof in favour of a semi-powered fabric soft-top propels its fun factor into another dimension of space and time (to steal a line from a TV space sci-fi). And when it comes to space the New Beetle Convertible (NBC) can seat four with its roof up or down, but realistically the two rear seat occupants won't be in for the long haul, so to speak, if the drive comes during the winter months. Low roofline aside, these rear seats are also very narrow, upright and cramped. They're of the sort that will do in a pinch, but shouldn't be relied upon as adequate adult or even family seating.

Those

Cabin is cozy. But then again, it's not exactly a large car to begin with. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press)

seated up front will enjoy the plentiful legroom offered by the NBC's cozy, but slender cabin. The driver's seat is height adjustable and fairly supportive, although bereft of lumbar adjustment; a feature back-pain-sufferers appreciate. A further seat-related lament goes to the impracticality of the wheel apparatus used to set the degree of recline; it's just too difficult to use for anything other than minor adjustments. But the final word on seating goes to the tremendous heat imparted by the optional, 5-level heated leather front seats; they are a back-pain-sufferer's delight.

The Beetle's cabin is well constructed, and in keeping with the retro concept, thin on gadgetry and hoopla. A couple of aspects struck me as unusual, mind you. First of all, there's a football field of unused space between the instrument panel and base of the windshield, the same as the New Beetle coupe, contributing to a sense that one is seated further back than normal. Secondly, the extensive headroom beneath the fabric roof and the car's abnormally tall side windows give this compact-class convertible an airiness not normally found in this segment when the roof is in place. Together these peculiarities add to the fun-factor (or bizarre factor; Ed.) in driving the NBC, roof up or roof down. I jokingly likened the sensation to that of driving a bathtub - and I mean that in the kindest of ways.

But bathtubs aren't normally motivated by a 150-horsepower, 2.5-litre

Cabriolet's only motor is the torquey 2.5-litre unit also featured in the base Jetta. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press)

(152 cu in) inline 5-cylinder engine, (although the popular annual Nanaimo to Vancouver World Championship bathtub race could bring that into question). This spry powerplant is tucked beneath the front hood of the NBC rather than in the more traditional VW hindquarter. Naturally its frontal mounting lends well to front-wheel drive, something the original beetle never knew. Those venerable machines also never knew the thrust of the 170 foot-pounds of torque that propels today's Beetle convertible.  This is the same arrangement available on the base Jettas, by the way. It delivers strong performance with decent refinement but can be a little noisy when doing so. Although VW pins a tepid 0 to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 9.1 seconds on the automatic Beetle, its performance about town would suggest better. Only folks looking for true sports car acceleration would feel unfulfilled with the potency of the 2006 NBC's beetle juice.