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Mon Apr 07, 2008 10:56 pm

2008 Volkswagen New Beetle Summary

The 2008 New Beetle is a 2-door, 4-passenger family coupe, available in 6 trims, ranging from the S to the Triple White PZEV.

Upon introduction, the S is equipped with a standard 2.5-liter, I5, 150-horsepower engine that achieves 20-mpg in the city and 28-mpg on the highway. A 5-speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard, and a 6-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is optional. The Triple White PZEV is equipped with a standard 2.5-liter, I5, 150-horsepower engine that achieves 20-mpg in the city and 29-mpg on the highway. A 6-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard.

The 2008 New Beetle is a carryover from 2007.

Source: http://autos.yahoo.com/volkswagen_new_beetle/

What do you guys think?

Mon Apr 07, 2008 11:41 pm

:roll: Give me a classic air cooled any day

Tue Apr 08, 2008 1:39 am

Quote: achieves 20-mpg in the city
Oh, Wolfsburg, you have strayed so far...

Quote: What do you guys think?
That the moderators are still asleep?

:lol:

Tue Apr 08, 2008 3:47 am

I call them the "Beetle Wanna Be."

Tue Apr 08, 2008 4:15 am

I have a 67 in my garage for the winter and it's basically an expensive toy I am restoring..have made good progress in the past couple of years. It is only used for joy riding and the occasional show (like Litchfield and Terryville).

I work in NYC and have a driving commute of 150 miles per day to get there and home. Last September I bought a commuter car..a 2007 new Beetle and so far after 23K miles on it it has been very reliable and averages 32 mpg. The ride is comfortable and with the bubble shape of the car the interior head room is enormous and it gives you the feeling of sitting in a much larger car.
I opted for the auto vs stick because I didn't feel like constantly shifting in rush hour traffic on the West Side highway in Manhattan.

I wanted a TDI, but they were not available and will not be until from what I am told 2009. At that time I may do a trade in. So far I have no regrets and the car has been a very dependable car to make that long distance commute. The biggest improvement on the 2007 model is that they finally got rid of the timing belt and replaced it with a chain. Prior to this, belt failure (its located internally in the engine) would be catastrophic and cause the engine to blow.

If in the near future the car starts to fall apart I will pass it along, but so far so good.

Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:08 am

This is not a Beetle:

This is a Beetle:

Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:09 am

Personally I don't give a damn about any watercooled VW. I would rather buy a Ford.

This belongs in the "other vehicle" forum and not here.

Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:13 am

PierreDeKat wrote: Quote: What do you guys think?
That the moderators are still asleep?

:lol:
Sorry... ;)

Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:29 pm

Hey i love it. i just bought a 2004 and love it......so far. i know it doesnt beat the oldies but its a great car. I also have a '59 ragtop(fjord blue) bug which i cant wait to have them side by side at our vw car show here in wisconsin. :wink: So thats what i think!!!!!!!!!

Wed Apr 09, 2008 6:19 pm

Rowroy wrote: This is not a Beetle:

This is a Beetle:

Now that a Beetle....

Fri Apr 11, 2008 11:55 am

Personally, I think VW dropped the ball on the New Beetle. Back when it was the Concept I, it was just a design to gain attention at a show in Germany. It wasn't meant to be a production car but to show off what they were planning in the way of a 94 MPG car.

Well, nobody at that time cared about a 94 MPG car but everyone was goo-goo-gah-gah about an "updated bug." So, Volkswagen ushered in the retro look with the New Beetle.

Where I think VW dropped the ball was the New Beetle is on a Golf IV platform. Nothing about the New Beetle was or is innovative except a shape that harkened a past Volkswagen decided to kill a few years later (another dropping of the ball). The Golf is a smarter design if one wants to go that route. Even worse, Volkswagen has updated the Golf line with their fifth generation.

I think VW would have been modern and smart if they updated the air-cooled Beetle for worldwide (including North America) export AND made a New Beetle based maybe on a Polo platform for worldwide (again including North America) with one of their diesel-stingy TDI engines that never made it to these shores.

I have nothing against the upscale Phaeton and Touareg but they should have been luxury afterthoughts while VW was making a genuine new niche where they fit best.

Fri Apr 11, 2008 8:16 pm

oasis wrote: The Golf is a smarter design if one wants to go that route. Even worse, Volkswagen has updated the Golf line with their fifth generation.

I have a MK5 Golf / Rabbit, and for the record it's a much better car than the MK4 could even pretend to be.

Tue Apr 15, 2008 3:44 pm

ManxBug wrote: oasis wrote: The Golf is a smarter design if one wants to go that route. Even worse, Volkswagen has updated the Golf line with their fifth generation.
I have a MK5 Golf / Rabbit, and for the record it's a much better car than the MK4 could even pretend to be.
I think we are agreeing with each other here. :wink: When I said "much worse," I meant much worse for the New Beetle which is still based on the 4th gen platform.

We are perfectly happy with our '02 TDI, but I drove the bottom-of-the-line Rabbit 2.5 when they first came out, and I was impressed.

Edit: I guess I really said "even worse." Oh well. :oops:

Tue Apr 15, 2008 5:05 pm

Sorry I guess i took that the wrong way. I still wish I would have gotten mine with a TDI.

You are right the beetle is quite a bad design. You need to remove the fenders and front bumper to do allot of basic maintenance on the engine.

I was going to get one last year but after the test drive I just hated the way the big front windshield pillers blocked everything and made you feel shut in.

Sat Apr 19, 2008 11:38 pm

oasis wrote: ManxBug wrote: oasis wrote: The Golf is a smarter design if one wants to go that route. Even worse, Volkswagen has updated the Golf line with their fifth generation.
I have a MK5 Golf / Rabbit, and for the record it's a much better car than the MK4 could even pretend to be.
I think we are agreeing with each other here. :wink: When I said "much worse," I meant much worse for the New Beetle which is still based on the 4th gen platform.

We are perfectly happy with our '02 TDI, but I drove the bottom-of-the-line Rabbit 2.5 when they first came out, and I was impressed.

Edit: I guess I really said "even worse." Oh well. :oops:

My GF just bought an 2.5 08 Jetta S, I drove it a little bit and it is Very Impressive. Now I just have to see if I can find VW Spec Oil anywhere that wont cost an arm and leg.

Fri May 23, 2008 3:07 pm

Tops the list of recalled vehicles. 2x the number of recalls of the number 2 on the list. I have only one modern VW and it is up for sale.

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2007/08/the-most-recall.html

Fri May 23, 2008 7:09 pm

hate it, hate it, hate it.....that is one case ,that just because it says volkswagen dosen't mean its a volkswagen. another case of "When keeping it real goes really wrong" my 2 cents...what do i know

Sat May 24, 2008 7:50 pm

My GF just bought an 2.5 08 Jetta S, I drove it a little bit and it is Very Impressive. Now I just have to see if I can find VW Spec Oil anywhere that wont cost an arm and leg.[/quote]

Good luck with that. I just did my 40K change. 8 quarts + filter, on my own back. $96. Thank the lord it's only every 10K

I could have cut $8 from that if I had went with valvoline syntech instead of the Amsoil.

Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:13 pm

HeidelbergJohn4.0 wrote: My GF just bought an 2.5 08 Jetta S, I drove it a little bit and it is Very Impressive. Now I just have to see if I can find VW Spec Oil anywhere that wont cost an arm and leg.

Good luck with that. I just did my 40K change. 8 quarts + filter, on my own back. $96. Thank the lord it's only every 10K

I could have cut $8 from that if I had went with valvoline syntech instead of the Amsoil.[/quote]

The G/F picked up 12 Quarts and 2 Filters from the Dealer for $112, thats not too bad!