Review: VW Beetle Cabriolet

The Volkswagen Beetle is, unlike many cabriolets, much more than just a fashion accessory. Yes, it’s cute-looking and has glossy trim inside. But it also has four seats, a usable boot, decent standard equipment and a broad range of well-proven Volkswagen Group engines. There’s even a diesel.

There’s a lot going for it, when compared to smaller rivals such as the Mini Convertible and Fiat 500C. Right up until you drive it, and discover Volkswagen has chosen to take a safe and sensible approach here. Although the base 1.2-litre engine is sweet but weedy, it’s actually the best overall choice, as the Beetle doesn’t really encourage lively driving. It feels heavy and soft, anything but inspiring. This impacts on the expected fun factor somewhat.

Going too far down the fashion route will also see you ruin another otherwise OK aspect of it – ride quality. With normal wheels, it’s soft-edged. Add on bigger rims and it becomes unremittingly crashy and plain uncomfortable. At least it’s refined, both roof down and up, unless you choose the diesel: then you have lots of gruffness and vibration to contend with.

It’s better inside. Typically for a Volkswagen, the driving position is good, seats are supportive and it’s logically laid out. There’s a standard, straightforward-to-use 6.5in touchscreen too. It’s also stylish and feel-good. But visibility is pitiful. It’s always bad in cabriolets, but this is particularly poor, with big blindspots to the rear and hard-to-judge extremities. Even parking it is tricky unless you have parking sensors.

So long as you’re in the front, you’ll find the Beetle Cabriolet spacious. Even tall adults will find space to spare there. In the rear, it’s a different matter; headroom is very limited and the seat backs are uncomfortably upright. There’s a paucity of legroom as well, and it’s tricky to get in and out of the rear.

On the other hand, the boot is good. It’s much more spacious than, say, a Mini, and it doesn’t shrink if you lower the roof. The rear seats split 50/50 as well, which is perhaps a better use for the rear cabin. The only tricky part is the letterbox-like opening you have to feed items through, but it’s more than fine for a reasonable shopping trip or a couple of cabin bags.

What will you have to pay for a Beetle Cabriolet? If you look at the list prices, rather a lot. It seems expensive compared to a Mini Convertible. That’s before you get to the dealer, though: start haggling and you’ll soon find there are discounts to be had, as proven by the What Car? Target Price team.

We would, however, steer clear of the base trim. It’s just that, too basic, lacking alloy wheels and an alarm. You have to fork out extra to hook up your Apple iPhone to it. Our favourite trim is Design, which has air con, DAB, Bluetooth, USB input and an eight-speaker stereo. Perfect for roof-down listening. Even here, mind, Apple CarPlay is extra. Avoid expensive R-Line and Dune models.