Everybody ought to have a … beetle. A VW beetle, that is.
I am currently driving a 2006 Volkswagen Beetle Package 2, manual transmission, moonroof, heated seats — the works. This car is a room with a view. Surrounded by glass, moonroof overhead, no appreciable blind spots, you can really see where you are going. The Beetle is extremely nimble as it skips around other cars on the highway and the clutch and transmission are smooth as glass. This would be a perfect car on which to teach a novice how to drive standard shift.
The 2006 Beetle is full of surprises. It’s a delightful little car that accommodates tall people. There’s plenty of headroom and a lot of legroom when the front seat is moved back. Actually, the amount of headroom and the spaciousness of the interior astound me, as the Beetle is a very compact creature observed from the outside.
The interior is practical lux — spare but not cold. The Bug reflects its German heritage with easy to handle dials for heat, air, and lights highly reminiscent of the Mercedes SLK when it first arrived. Turn signals and wipers are on paired stalks on
the steering column, and the coup de grâce is the heated seats with dial up dash controls. The leather interior is refined but understated, and the entire effect is clean and crisp like the Mini Cooper, but warmer and more inviting than its rival. The Mini, however, has a much roomier rear seat compartment, and anyone prone to claustrophobia should never climb into the rear of the Bug. It’s a very tight fit.
There isn’t a lot of trunk space in this VW, but with folding rear seats, it will accommodate golf clubs or big luggage. The Monsoon radio/CD player is easy to handle, too. One thing I found irksome was the fact that the CD skipped to the next track
whenever the car encountered a bump while turning. This glitch never happened when crossing railroad tracks or other bumps as long as I was driving straight forward.
Surprisingly, for the entire week I have been driving the Beetle, an indicator light never once went on. VWs are known in the remarketing world for being highly sensitive beasts whose airbag and seatbelt lights click on frequently to keep you from getting too comfortable. There is almost never anything wrong with these features when the alerts activate, but the number and frequency of popup alert lights have earned VWs the nickname “christmas trees” in the remarketing world.
Other crowd-pleasers of this hardworking car include vanity mirrors on both driver and passenger visors that automatically activate a complementary light when opened. The driver also has a side visor to block out sun or light. Gas and trunk releases are at hand on the driver’s door, and the dual window controls are there as well. Finally, it is economical. $15 (at $2.28/gallon) filled the empty gas tank to about 70% full, a welcome relief to the budget-conscious.
All in all, a great car with lots of extras for the money.
Attributes
- 2006 VW Beetle Package 2
- cream (officially “harvest moon”) out/black leather in 5 cyl/2.5L gas engine
- 5 speed manual transmission frontwheel drive
- moonroof heated seats radio/CD player
- outside temperature indicator 8,500 miles