The second-generation of the born-again Beetle retains its distinctive iconic looks, while providing a roomier cabin and distinctive interior touches. The car also dispenses with the word "New" in its name -- probably a good idea since the modern Beetle had been around since 1998. This Beetle drives decently, but doesn't excel anywhere and shows penny-scrimping compromises.
Handling is no more than ordinary. While the ride is compliant, it's not as tied down as we'd expect from a sporty coupe. Power came from the standard 170-hp, five-cylinder engine, which was punchy enough, but a little noisy. The manual gearbox works well, but clutch travel is long. Further, even with the base engine and stick shift, fuel economy was unimpressive at 26 mpg.