2004 Volkswagen New Beetle Cabrio

The "want to be loved" convertible Bug

Article by Matt St-Pierre (Auto123.com),

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Friday, September 17, 2004

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The "want to be loved" convertible Bug

Back in 1998, the buzzwords in the automotive world were: New Beetle. If you spotted one rolling down a street, it was almost something to write home about. Now, if you were lucky enough to own one, and particularly a silver one, you were cooler than Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli. At the time, dealers were turning away potential buyers by warning them about a waiting period that could easily last 6 months. Nowadays, a New Beetle gets about the same amount of attention as a Chevrolet Cavalier, that is to say, none. Last year, Volkswagen decided to introduce a convertible version to spice up the Beetle line and to replace the aging Cabrio that was based on the third generation Golf. This infusion of nostalgia helped somewhat, however it seems that dealers are having a little difficulty selling off their 2004s. The tester was a 2004 GLX 1.8T model that retailed for 39 690$ equipped with the optional automatic transmission.

Exterior styling

The New Beetle may be entering its 8-year without any significant changes (still nothing compared to the 50+ years of the original though) but no one would ever confuse it for any other car. The dome-shaped roof, the bubbly oversized fenders and the flower holder are all dead giveaways. The loaner was Mellow Yellow (not the song, the color) and was shod with the 17" alloy wheels wrapped in P225/45R17 Michelin rubber. Altogether, a distinctive package helped, in my opinion, by the Turbo badge on the trunk lid and a black top. The panel fit is good and the gaps are tight. The high intensity discharge (HID) headlights do a great job of lighting the road up ahead but, curiously, Volkswagen has decided to discontinue their use for 2005.

One element that is an issue for many roadsters and convertibles is outward visibility, especially towards the rear and sides. Usually, when the top is up, the rear ¾ view is a huge blind spot. An easy way to correct this problem, when the weather is permitting, is to simply put the roof down. In the case of the New Beetle, whether the top is up or down, general rearward visibility is very poor. With the top up, there are large blind spots, but when the top is down, the lower half of the rear view mirror turns black. What happens is that the roof folds onto itself to retain the original Beetle convertible's look, but because it is so large and it sits on top of the belt line, it effectively increases the height of the deck-lid and blocks rearward visibility. Forward visibility is good but it takes some time to get used to the deep dash and the fact that the hood cannot be seen.