Don’t bother denying it; you’ve been anticipating the launch of this car as much as you have the new Golf 7. Either you wanted to see if it is it still a girly, poser car for people with too much money, or it was because of that sad human need to drive past an accident and slow down to see what you could see.

After driving it for a week and conducting a spot survey, the general consensus is “no, it’s not as girly as the first one but it’s still for people with too much money”. And at R240 000 to start, you can understand why.

But seriously, well done on pulling the new VW Beetle back from the precipice of metrosexuality. They’ve beefed up the body a bit, got rid of that annoying flower on the dashboard and even given it some athleticism. After a week with the car I was left feeling like the model from the late-90’s was made for women. The 2012 version however, a man could drive this. An open-minded man who perhaps drives a Mini, but a man none-the-less.

How can I say this?
The body was always the issue with the new Beetle, and in the new version they have hunkered it down in to the wheel arches, beefed up the curves and made it all-round better looking. And the hips? Still no more distracting in the side-view mirrors than driving a VW Scirocco or an Audi TT. It’s way more comfortable than the former and similar looking to the latter.

At 1.2 tons, it’s not what you’d call light, and you feel it in the take-off. I tested the max-engined 1.4-litre 118kw engine, and you won’t be feeling much grunt until at least the top end of 3rd gear, but then again this car wasn’t made for racing. 0-100 in 8.3 seconds.

So this car isn’t fast, but at least it’s very, very comfortable. A smooth ride thanks to the suspension working to compensate for the low-down weight and there’s effortless steering too.

From a practicality POV, I’ll sit on the fence. There’s a decent sized boot that rivals any other hatch, but opening requires a muscular arm thanks to the weird angle the boot sits at. That strikes out the “50+ female driver” I’m afraid. Mums gonna be asking random strangers in PnP carparks to help her open her back end. Not appealing.

And the two back seats are almost not back seats. While there’s a lot more space than other cars I’ve seen, you are going to have to sit pretty close to the steering wheel to fit your basketball team in the back.

The interior has been done over with just the right amount of new-age lines and designs and flat-faced dashboard. The airvents perform a square-blind shape that have you feeling like you’re sitting in an accountants office in Randburg and the GPS (and this is not a lie) is easy enough to operate while on the go looking for Bosner Street in Centurion.

There are some negatives, but none of which you won’t adapt your driving style to. The brakes are a bit sensitive at first, sorted within the first few days. And the manual gearbox I tested was a bit of a workout. Chunky gear changes await, but it’s still more of a driving experience than many autos offer.

Get it:
R240 000 – R317 000
From: www.vw.co.za