Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, for the 2012 VW Beetle is $19,765. This is for a base model with 170-horsepower, non-turbo four cylinder and manual transmission. The lowest starting retail price for a 2012 VW Beetle with automatic is $21,665. The 2012 Beetle with the uplevel turbo engine has a starting MSRP, including destination charge, of $24,165 with a manual five-speed transmission and $25,265 with VW's six-speed Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) automatic.
The Volkswagen Beetle is back as a new, larger car with a flatter roofline, wider track, shorter windshield, better fuel economy and no bud vase on the dashboard.
It's also offered in Turbo trim with the same 200-horsepower, turbocharged four cylinder that powers VW's sporty GTI.
Competitors in the small, two-door car segment include the volume-selling Honda Civic, which has a starting retail price of $16,375 for a 2012 Civic DX Coupe with 140-horsepower four cylinder and manual transmission.
Note that the word "new" has been dropped, finally, from the Beetle's name even though there's plenty that's really new about the 2012 VW.
The test car, a Beetle 2.0T with gasoline turbo engine, felt larger inside than its predecessor, giving passengers a greater sense of space around them. The overly large, rounded dashboard of the previous Beetle has been replaced by a shorter, more upright dashboard. Even while in the back seat, I conversed easily with front-seat passengers.
The base VW Beetle engine — a 2.5-liter, non-turbo four cylinder developing 177 foot-pounds of torque at 4,250 rpm — only needs regular gasoline. VW plans to add a fuel-thrifty diesel-powered Beetle in calendar 2012.
With underpinnings borrowed from the VW Golf, the Beetle rides and handles well and managed sweeping curves and aggressive maneuvers competently.
There's more trunk space in the 2012 VW Beetle — 15.4 cubic feet instead of 12 cubic feet. Standard safety equipment on the 2012 Beetle includes electronic stability control, curtain air bags and antilock brakes.
