The outgoing New Beetle, first introduced in 1998, failed to live up to the same levels of mass appeal. It was cute, had a soft, bubbly exterior and, of course, the infamous flower vase (which was standard). Despite it's appearance, it was still a lot of fun to drive, reliable and reasonably efficient. With the many redesigns found in the 2013 Beetle,
Volkswagen has sought to win back some of the mass appeal that made the original the icon that it is. The differences are easy to spot, even at first glance. The 2013 Beetle shares it's platform with the new Golf. The wheelbase is now both longer and wider, giving the Beetle a more aggressive, planted stance than it's predecessor. Really, it could be said that, for the most part, the Beetle is a Golf that has been reshaped and formed to fit a more stylish ride. To power the newest new Beetle, a 2.5L, 170hp engine comes as standard. This is an increase in displacement over the 1.8L that came in the previous Beetle.
The power band is smooth and, while not world-beating, is a hoot to drive for only being a standard offering. Being that it is a Golf at heart, the Beetle handles well thanks to the sport-tuned suspension and the electromechanical steering that also comes as standard, keeping with the current trend of electrically-aided power steering systems. As per usual with these systems, there does seem to be a little bit of a loss of "road feel" in the steering wheel with the addition of the electric steering, but not so bad as to be terribly noticeable unless you were looking to find it. All in all, the 2013 Beetle is a very fun car worthy of the admiration of someone, everywhere, which would make it's ancestor very proud.