In its increasing number of forms, the Beetle dodges criticism like a criticism-dodging thing. You may point out that it is difficult to park because the driver has to guess where its extremities are. You may observe that the packaging is hopeless. You may complain that it looks silly. In each case there is a one-word answer - style.The Beetle has been attracting the interest of style-conscious folk since it was a show car called Concept One. It exists simply because people think the idea of a modern-day pastiche of the original Beetle is cute. The fact that it has a dashboard-mounted vase (into which, in the case of the test car, a colleague was wicked enough to place a pink flower of some sort just before I took delivery) is as relevant to the New Beetle ethos as any of its mechanical features.As with every other car currently being produced by the Volkswagen Group, the Beetle is beautifully built. Once you have got used to how far away the windscreen is, it is comfortable to sit in as long as you're in one of the front seats. Tall people can forget about the back seat, and there is a similar lack of room for luggage.In these respects the new Beetle is similar to the old, since that was not a car in which four adults could travel easily. Likewise, I have finally come to a conclusion about why the front end of the modern car is so wayward. I used to think that it was one of the more severe cases of a German manufacturer under-damping the suspension, but while driving the 1.8 Turbo version tested here I realised that there may be something else to it.For what it's worth, here is the theory: the old Beetles were, of course, rear-engined, so there was no weight over the front wheels. In the new car those wheels lie on either side of the engine and gearbox, so they are actually supporting most of the car's bulk. But the front end wanders around so much that it feels like there is no weight up there at all - very much like an old Beetle, in fact. If this is deliberate, it must be the only case of witty suspension design in motor manufacturing history.On less powerful Beetles this is not a major issue, though it does make them awkward to drive. It's a different matter with the 1.8 T. With VW's excellent and very familiar 1.8-litre turbo on board, the Beetle is a rapid machine whose straightline performance is highly impressive. Unfortunately this performance is not matched by the handling; sometimes I felt I had to turn into a corner twice - once to get the car to change direction, and then again a second later to counteract the roll understeer.I don't think the style argument is strong enough to answer this one. If Volkswagen thinks a 150bhp Beetle is a good idea, it should make sure the handling is up to the job. (As an aside, it also seems curious that both the Beetle and the Audi TT have developed handling problems - and quite different ones in each case - during the translation from the much better-balanced Golf whose floorpan they share.)Overall this Beetle was fun to live with, and it certainly attracted a lot of attention, which is most of the point of owning one. But I'm not sure how many people who like the Beetle concept will need the performance; and if you really want that excellent engine, I would draw your attention to the large number of much more appropriate Volkswagens, Audis, SEATs and Skodas to which it is also fitted.Second opinion: Yeah, yeah. Understeer, schmundersteer - who cares? Not many Beetle buyers, and only when the car is being driven hard round corners. Owners of the 1.8 T, though, will get bucketfuls of acceleration. Other drivers look across and think they'll just squirt away from this blast-from-the-past design, only to discover that flooring the throttle shoots it away very smartly. Lovely build quality, good-looking six-spoke Monte Carlo alloy wheels, quiet running, strong mid-range performance, usually unimpressive gearchange. A six-footer can get just enough headroom in the rear by sitting upright (actually, you have to, because of angle of the seat back) with head held so that it's under the top of the rear window rather than directly under the roof, but that's not comfortable for too long. There isn't enough rear legroom, anyway. Most people will use the Beetle as a two-seater with a big enough fascia top to accommodate a moderately-sized snooker table. A lot of fun to be in. For the record, it was a magnolia. Ross Finlay. Engine 1781cc, 4 cylinders Power 148bhp Fuel/CO2 34.4mpg / 197g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 9.0 seconds Top speed 126mph Price £15,445 Release date 15/05/2010
