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THE CHARMING NEW BEETLE CABRIOLET LOOKS SET TO BE A SURE-FIRE WINNER FOR VOLKSWAGEN, WRITES BEN OLIVER.
SCORECARD
Volkswagen Cabriolet 1.4 TSI How much? HK$350,000 Engine: 1,390cc, four-cylinder turbocharged
160PS at 5,800rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox Performance:
0-100kph in 8.6 secs, 205kph
How heavy? 1,468kgs
I
’ve always regarded a Volkswagen cabriolet as a very Hong Kong kind of car, modern Golf underpinnings. It refreshed the perhaps for no reason other than that my father-in-law, a long-term expatriate coupe again in 2011, and this is the soft-top resident, had a Beetle cabriolet in the ‘70s and used to drive it with some version of this latest Beetle. exuberance on the roads around the Peak as a younger man, and because my It’s a much better-looking car than the wife fondly recalls being driven to swimming or tennis model it replaces, and you can lessons at the Hong Kong Country Club as a child in her really play-up the retro looks with It’s a much bettermum’s Volkswagen Rabbit cabrio, roof down in the sunshine, some of the paint and wheellooking car than singing along to a cassette of bad pop music. trim combinations, and create a the model it But these are fine, sensible cars for an urban, often warm stunning cabin by carrying some of and sunny market: small enough to cope with city traffic and those body colours into the interior replaces, and you tight parking spaces, affordable yet with a touch more prestige panels. can really playthan a Japanese brand, without the excessive engine power But underneath, the new up the retro looks of some open-topped sports cars, which you’ll never use on Beetle is entirely modern, with a Hong Kong’s busy roads, but with the ability to make the most choice of 1.2 and 1.4-litre directwith some of the of the sunshine, when it appears. injection turbocharged petrol paint and wheelThe new version of the Beetle cabriolet was the star of engines. These might sound a little trim combinations the latest Los Angeles motor show and is just going on sale small but they produce surprising now. The original Beetle design dates to the 1930s, and it power: 105PS for the smaller unit, was built continuously from 1945 to 2003, in its latter years made only in South and a massive 160PS and 240Nm of torque for America. Volkswagen introduced the ‘New Beetle’ elsewhere in 1997, based on very the 1.4; more than sufficient for Hong Kong’s
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roads and a perfect illustration of why such ‘downsized’ engines are a hot trend in automotive engineering right now, combining strong power with lower purchase and running costs, and lower emissions. The seven-speed DSG gearbox offers full manual control, or works as a seamless automatic – you choose. So how does it drive? With great charm. While I’m used to driving – and reviewing in these pages – cars of considerably more potency, the Beetle cabrio wins you over with its fine ride, good build quality, neat touches–such as the wind deflector that leaves the cabin calm and unruffled with the roof down even at illegal speeds, and the pleasure you get from getting into such a striking looking car and from seeing others’ smiling reaction to it as you drive. In fact it has a better public-reactionto-price ratio than most supercars, and yet you can park it anywhere. Like I said, it’s the perfect Hong Kong transport. HKGOLFER.COM
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