New Volkswagen Beetles seemed to be everywhere on the streets when Car Showroom was in France and Italy a few weeks back and now comes news of the cute newcomers’ arrival in Australia.
Volkswagen Group Australia displayed the all-new Beetle at the Australian International Motor Show (Sydney) and confirmed a local launch early next year.
Only one engine on offer – the twincharged 1.4-litre TSI petrol with 118kW/240Nm driving through either a six-speed manual transmission or seven-speed DSG automatic.
And attention critics of the second generation Volkswagen Beetle: the all-new model features all-new interior ergonomics so you can park your complaints about sitting so far back. We actually love both the first and second generation Beetles and we can’t wait to drive the all-new version.
We love the looks. Unlike the second generation Volkswagen Beetle, the current design team headed by the charismatic Walter de Silva has succeeded in delivering a rear-end view which is very similar to the original air-cooled version. But the overall look is clearly more athletic/sporty – it’s wider and lower and the windscreen has been shifted rearwards where it’s more upright.
And this time around the round headlights are available with Bi-Xenon and LED DRLs.
And here’s good news for Volkswagen historians – the glovebox returns with an upward-lifting lid just like the original air-cooled model. Elsewhere the interior of the all-new Beetle takes on a more modern and up-scale look in keeping with Volkswagen’s current philosophy.
Volkswagen will announce the full local details at launch next year.
