Road Test: Volkswagen Beetle Sport 2.0 TDI 140

 

Price as tested: €28,695

+ Sexy looks, improved cabin quality and space, comfort, quality, engine

– Cheap rear suspension spoils the dynamic performance, expensive

= Grooviest looking car on the road today, but Golf is still superior

How do you review an icon? How do you pass judgement on something that's already a pillar of history? If you went on a date with Scarlett Johannson (or Brad Pitt, take your pick) would you spend dinner assessing their skin tone, their haircut, the cut of their clothes? Or would you just revel in simply being in their presence?

That's the problem facing this bitten, cynical car critic when it comes time to review the new Volkswagen Beetle. The original Beetle was the first car to break the Ford Model T's record as the best-seller of all time (a mantle since passed to the Toyota Corolla) and made a remarkable journey from being the apple of a cruel dictator's eye, to being the car of choice of the California counter-culture to its final resting place as a revered classic and a beacon of simple, rugged engineering.

Then Volkswagen attempted to have its cake and eat it. Based on a concept car, the second generation Beetle launched (with, shock, front engine and front wheel drive) in the late nineties to acclaim for its cute, cartoony styling but to criticisms for its poor interior packaging and a deeply lacklustre driving experience. Not to mention the fact that it was more expensive than the more practical Golf which replaced its ancestor, but which shared engines and chassis with the new Beetle.

Now, the record has come around again, and there's a third generation Beetle. Again, it's based on the same platform as the Golf (albeit the last-generation, MkVI Golf, not the current car) and again it's trading heavily on its iconic past.

It's very, very hard not to be sucked in by those retro lines. The overly-curved, cartoonish look of the second Beetle is gone, replaced by a car with a flatter, more aggressive roof and square, straight lines to add tension. Frankly, it's brilliant and I was instantly suckered. There are few, if any, other cars on the road right now as good looking as this and it draws a more obvious line between the original Beetle and the Porsche sports cars it inspired.

Inside too, things are better than before. Out goes the silly flower vase and in comes a neat instrument pack and a touch of the Fiat 500's cabin ambience. Obviously retro but still modernly functional. There's much better space in the back and the boot is far more practically sized and shaped than was the case on the last Beetle.

The engine's a belter too. VW's 2.0-litre 140bhp diesel engine has been around for a while, but in the Beetle it proves itself still a youthful performer. Theres's as much punch as you could wish for through the gears, yet it will still return a 50mpg average without too much effort. Stop-start would be nice for traffic duties, but hey, you can't have everything and it's refined enough to make you believe, just for a moment, that it might be petrol.

It's just a pity that the chassis isn't up to the standards of the engine, especially when the new Golf is able to provide such a classy driving environment. The Beetle's not bad, it's just not as good as it could be. The steering (which communicates with you through quite a big wheel) is nicely, even sportily weighted and the Beetle turns into corners with alacrity and precision. The problem comes from the rear suspension. The Beetle is, primarily, designed and built for the US market where price is king, so to keep costs down, VW has stuck with an old-fashioned torsion-bar rear axle. It's mechanically simple, compact (which helps with the boot space) but it cannot provide the sophistication of a more modern multi-link setup. Hit a mid-corner bump when rounding a fast corner and you'll see what I mean. The rear end thumps, kicks and even skips a little a times. It's never actually unstable, but it feels and sounds uncomfortable and discourages you from enjoying the drive.

Which is a shame, as the Beetle is a remarkably charming car. It's not just the styling this time around, as the cabin, engine and, for much of the time, the driving experience are up to snuff. The problem is, as ever, that the Golf is more capable, more spacious, more affordable and better to drive. There is a reason that the original Beetle was replaced by the original Golf and that reason hasn't really altered in the past forty years. Yes, it is a bit like taking Scarlett Johannson out and asking if there are any more at home like her, but that's the simple truth.


Facts & Figures

Volkswagen Beetle Sport 2.0 TDI 140


Price as tested: €28,695


Range price: €20,695 to €30,445


Capacity: 1,968cc



Power: 140bhp



Torque: 320Nm



Top speed: 198kmh



0-100kmh: 9.4sec



Economy: 4.9l-100km (57.6mpg)



CO2 emissions: 129g/km


VRT Band: B1. €270 road tax



Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 92% adult, 90% child, 53% pedestrian, 86% safety assist 

Road Test: Mini Cooper SD

Price as tested: €31,080

+ Cool, cute, torquey, fun
– Not economical enough to make any sense
= Lots of fun but Cooper S petrol is superior


I’ve always had a bit of a thing for diesels. Most of my motoring writing colleagues will tell you that there’s nothing to beat the thrill of chasing the redline with a spine-tingling petrol straight six, or listening to the bassy woofle and rumble of a proper Mopar V8. And they’re right. But there is more to life...

And that more is better known as torque. Torque, far more than power, is what makes driving worth doing. It’s what gives you overtaking oomph, out-of-junction propulsion and that sublime kick in the small of the back on a quick take-off. Petrol engines can provide torque, of course, but usually they need the assistance of either a big turbocharger or a large swept capacity. Both of which tend to lead to big fuel bills, and if there’s one thing I like in motoring, it’s something that’s useful in the real world.

So diesel, with the price only of a bit of clatter and rattle, can give you big torque but without the nasty surprise on your credit card statement. And that’s why I was so delighted to have a go in the Mini Cooper SD.

As BMW itself says, a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable for a Cooper S badge to be glued on to anything other than a highly-tuned petrol engine. But times change, Co2 takes over as mankind’s primary worry, and technology improves. And suddenly a diesel-swilling Cooper S seems like perfect common sense.

The SD’s 2.0-litre engine isn’t actually related (at least not directly) to the 2.0-litre 188bhp engine found in the 520d and so many others. Rather, it’s a development of the 110bhp 1.6 diesel found in the Mini Cooper D, and as such was much easier to package within the Mini’s tight engine compartment.

143bhp doesn’t sound like much when you compare it to the petrol Cooper S’s 184bhp but then the petrol’s 240Nm of torque pales in comparison to the SD’s 305Nm. That’s good enough to twist the front tyres all the way to a 0-100kmh time of 8.1secs. Now, that’s just over a second and a half behind the petrol Cooper S, and that is where the SD’s case starts to unravel just a touch.

You see, were the petrol Cooper S some high-revving headache of a car, one that needs to be driven on the limit to give of its best, then the effortless torque of the SD would be the ideal counterpoint, making for a more relaxing drive and more accessible performance. But that’s just not the case. Because the Cooper S uses a turbocharged engine, its performance characteristics are closer to those of a diesel than of a traditional high-revving petrol engine. Just, it’s 65Nm down on the SD, but I guarantee you that, if you drive a Cooper S, you won’t come away thinking “Hmmm, that could have done with a bit more low down shove.”

So perhaps then, the SD can muller the thirsty, profligate Cooper S when it comes to fuel economy. Ummm, nope, not that either.

In terms of official quoted figures, there is a significant difference, with the Cooper S returning 5.8-litres per 100km and the SD a mere 4.3-litres per 100km. But it’s not that simple. Official figures are always at best a work of utter fiction and in my hands, the Cooper SD only managed to average around 6.0-litres per 100km, and that’s with the full battery of fuel-saving MINIMALISM systems, including stop-start and an intelligent alternator fitted. True enough, that means a Cooper S will be worse again than its own official figure, but I don’t recall having driven one and felt that it was exactly hoovering my wallets. And in terms of Co2, there’s nothing to choose, really. The Cooper SD’s Band A rating means you’ll pay €104 a year road tax, while the Cooper S’s 136g/km means you’ll pay a whopping... er... actually quite similar €156.

In terms of the way they drive, there is almost nothing separating the two S models. Ever since the Mini introduced electric power steering in its 2007 facelift, the old feel and feedback of the 2001 Mini has gone, replaced by heft and accuracy, but a distinctly artificial taste to the helm. The ride, as it has always been, is firm to the point of being jiggly on poor surfaces, but actually, I reckon that recent tweaks to the Mini have improved things. Certainly, the SD felt noticeably more comfortable on poor surfaces than previous Minis, even if it’s still no Rolls-Royce in that respect.

And once you tip it into a sequence of corners, all sins are forgiven anyway. It may be so much bigger and heavier than the original Issigonis Mini, but the balance, grip and infectious sense of fun are still are there in abundance. The SD is an utter riot to punt down a twisty road, and with all that torque, it does mean that you can keep gear changes down to a minimum.

Inside, the cabin is still a bit of a retro-mess in terms of ergonomics, but it is also still beguiling and charming with that big (and mostly useless) dinner-plate-sized speedo slapped in the middle of the dash and the row of neat toggle switches underneath. Space in the back is still essentially useless but the front seats are spacious and comfy, even if they are chronically awkward to adjust.

I honestly thought that the Cooper SD was going to be, for me, the ultimate Mini. I thought that it would combine the addictive hit of high performance that you get from the petrol Cooper S but with the fuel-sipping nature that grants you the warm feeling of a four-figure touring range. But it doesn’t. It’s still a damned good car, with an excellent engine and a terrific chassis, but all of that is also true of the Cooper S, which just happens to be €400 cheaper. I still have a thing for diesels. Just not this one.

Facts & Figures

Mini Cooper SD
Price as tested: €31,080
Price range: €17,250 to €37,150
Capacity: 1,995cc
Power: 143bhp
Torque: 305Nm
Top speed: 215kmh
0-100kmh: 8.1sec
Economy: 4.3l-100km (65.6mpg)
CO2 emissions: 114g/km
Road Tax Band: A €104
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star adult, 3-star child, 2-star pedestrian