First UK details of all-new Beetle 18 | 07 | 2011

    THE ALL-NEW VW BEETLE will be available with a choice of four powerplants — three petrol and one diesel — when it enters Scottish showrooms next year. Prices are expected to start at around £15,000 and rise to £25,000.

    Twelve years after the current Beetle entered the market and 73 after the original, the new model — which will go on sale across Scotland in the first quarter of 2012 — boasts new styling cues which immediately set it apart from the current car.

    With its much longer bonnet and the steeper inclined windscreen moved back, the styling makes the latest model look more similar to the original Beetle or the Ragster concept which was shown in Detroit in 1995

    Watch our video of the new Beetle on-the-road

    Not surprisingly, the new car, created by a team led by Walter de Silva (Group Design Chief) and Klaus Bischoff (Volkswagen Brand Head of Design) — and built at Volkswagen’s Puebla plant in Mexico, alongside the Jetta and Golf Estate — is substantially larger.

    But while it's bigger — length 4278mm (+152mm), width 1808mm (+84), wheelbase 2537mm (+22) — it's also lower, with the height reduced by 12mm to 1486mm. Track widths have also increased, by 63mm to 1578mm at the front and by 49 mm to 1544mm at the rear

    Storage capacity for luggage has also been increased and ranges from 310 litres to 905 litre with split/folding rear bench folded (previously 209/769).

    Watch our video of the new Beetle on-the-road at night

    For the UK, four versions will be available: three petrol and one diesel. At launch a 1.2-litre TSI 105bhp with seven-speed DSG gearbox and a 1.4TSI 160bhp six-speed manual will be on offer. In the second-half of 2012, a manual version of the 1.2TSI 105bhp, a 2.0TSI 200bhp petrol and a 1.6TDI with 105bhp and BlueMotion will follow. The diesel will deliver 65.7mpg and emit just 114g/km of CO2.

    There will be three trim levels — Beetle, Design and Sport — and all models have three doors and four seats. All will have a high level of equipment with highlights including air conditioning and DAB radio; alloy wheels, multi-function leather steering wheel, MDI (multi-device interface), Bluetooth and colour co-ordinated dash and door panels on Design; and Climatronic, Piano Black dash panels, parking sensors and black wing mirrors on Sport.

    See our static shots of the all-new Beetle

    Sadly for Beetle fans, the all-new interior design means the bud vase has gone from the cabin. Instead, the second glovebox integrated into the facia with an upward folding lid (familiar to those who know the air-cooled version) is back.  Ergonomic and easy to read, all dials and controls are within easy reach and sight.

    Naturally there's a range of optional items, including satellite navigation systems, KESSY keyless entry and start, a panoramic sunroof, bi-xenon headlights, parking sensors and new dash-mounted gauges are available for the first time on the Beetle.

    Read our road test of the VW Amarok

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    Jim McGill

     

    Don't miss our EXCLUSIVE roadtest of the all-new VW Beetle later this week

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