Volkswagen Beetle review

Okay, so we’re lukewarm about how the Beetle drives, but if you’re buying it for how it looks (of course you are), you’ll be heartened to hear it ought to make a pretty decent proposition. For one thing, given it’s a VW parts bin car, it’s not going to be tricky to service or repair. It’s subject to the usual 36-month, 60,000-mile warranty, and besides the infamous diesel fix, it’s not the subject of any major reliability woes or recalls.

Practicality is a pleasant surprise, too. Okay, it’s not a Golf estate, but the large front doors mean access to the rear seats is easier than a Scirocco or three-door Golf, even if the sloping rear window means it’s not for tall people when you arrive there. The boot’s a handy 310 litres.

Even basic cars have air con, a DAB digital radio, Bluetooth and twin front and side airbags. There are two petrol and two diesel engines on offer, a 1.2 and 1.4 turbo petrol and either a 109bhp or 148bhp 2.0 TDI. All have stop-start available.

A Beetle is such an individual purchase, so the likelihood you’ll be shopping as a fleet buyer is pretty miniscule. If you’re willing to put CO2 before particulates, the 2.0 TDI puts out a claimed 117g/km versus the 1.2 TSI’s 126g/km, and on a cruise it’ll return up to 62.8mpg on the combined cycle, while the petrols score low 50s officially.