From the moment Volkswagen first displayed its Concept One at an international motor show, potential customers were baying for a production version. The idea of driving a modern car which aped the style of the iconic Beetle was immensely popular, and interest remained high throughout the years before the new model finally arrived in the showrooms.That was in 1999, though right-hand drive versions didn't arrive in the UK until the following January. Since then there has been little reason to change the car, but for the 2006 model year there have at last been some revisions. They're fairly insignificant, though, limited to sharper edges on the bumpers and wheelarches, restyled lights, new VW emblems, different colours and wheel styles, revised interior fabrics and the addition of chrome to the air vent and instrument surrounds.There are no major technical changes - the Beetle is still based on the MkIV Golf platform, even though the Golf itself has moved on to a new and more sophisticated generation. The controls feel much the same as they do in the Golf, but apart from that a non-expert driver would be hard pressed to recognise any similarity between the two. Step inside a Beetle and the very first thing you notice is that the windscreen is a long way off, with vast tracts of dashboard space in between you and it.That's not something you would find in an old Beetle. The driver and front-seat passenger of that car practically had their noses jammed against the screen. Safety regulations, and the fact that the new car has the engine and gearbox in the front while the old one had them in the back, make the difference. It goes to show how much fiddling had to be done to make a modern car resemble one designed half a century earlier.That same process completely crucified the Golf/Beetle's ability to carry either rear passengers or luggage. Ever since the new Beetle appeared it has been scoffed at for its shortcomings in these areas, but it doesn't seem to have made much difference to people's desire to buy the thing. Poor storage capacity is less of an issue than the fact that Volkswagen still fits a small plastic flower vase next to the steering wheel.Another thing that has been carried over unchanged from the pre-facelift car is the strange front-end bounce that has affected every Beetle I've ever driven. The test car, the more powerful of the two relatively basic Luna models with a 101bhp 1.6-litre engine, did not have enough performance to make this a problem (unlike a 1.8 Turbo which scared the willies out of me a few years ago), but I still found it uncomfortable.Surely this could be fixed with a small readjustment of the suspension? It's not as if the fact that the Beetle is based on a now-discontinued Golf could have anything to do with it - an enormous number of Volkswagens, Audis, Skodas and SEATs have all used the same platform, and with the possible exception of the original Skoda Octavia not one of them felt remotely the same on the road as the Beetle does.I would probably avoid buying a Beetle for this reason alone. Well, maybe that and the lack of room behind the front seats. But I suspect that I'm not part of the target market. If you are, you probably don't want to hear any criticism of it. It's most likely that people who buy Beetles don't want a practical family car with lots of space and crisp dynamics - they buy Beetles because they want a Beetle, and that's all there is to it. Engine 1595cc, 4 cylinders Power 101bhp Transmission 5-speed manual Fuel/CO2 36.7mpg / 185g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 11.6 seconds Top speed 111mph Price £12,335 Details correct at publication date
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