2009 VW "New" Beetle

I arrived in Memphis around 1 AM on Tuesday, and was glad to find National was actually waiting for my arrival. When they dropped me off at the lot the politely apologized for the small number of cars, and informed me they had just taken over 200 Toyotas off the lot. There were 2 cars, and 2 of us needing them. The VW Beetle and a Chevrolet Colbalt were running and waiting for us. I immediately walked over to the VW and boy, am I happy I did.

FUN does not even begin to describe this car. I fell in love as soon as I got in and closed the door. The dash and controls were typical VW- clean lines, no fuss and very user friendly. The color was pretty cool too, a blend of blue and red LED.

The other words that come to mind for this car are FAST and TORQUE. I am truly amazed I didn't get a ticket this week. You put a 2.5 liter, 5-cylinder (150 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque) engine on a little sporty chassis and it is hard not to push the limits to see what it can do. The 6-speed automatic was very responsive, and the "Sport" setting was fun on the highway. The manual shift mode was a lot of fun too when I wanted to be a little playful.

The only things I noticed about this car I'd have to learn to deal with:
1. The back seat is ridiculously small. I got in just to see what it was like, and I am not a tall person; I barely fit.
2. The stereo was a little weak, and I didn't find an AUX input. I think they should be standard in the age of the iPod. One is available as an option for $130.
3. The back tail was tricky to close. I had to open and reclose it a few times. A light on the dash indicated when it was open, even though I couldn't pull it up it was not latched 100%. I really had to slam it sometimes to get it to close all the way.

Aside from the speedy and fun factor, what impressed me most was I used less gas this week than ever. Granted I used the car one less day, but I didn't need to stop and get gas before I returned the car, even with my "aggressive" driving from Tuesday night to Thursday afternoon. That included the trip to and from the airport on the freeway. Granted it was not as "FULL" as it was when I picked it up, but the needle was still on F so I got to skip the fuel pump on the way home.

The price for a 2010 model with the same features as the one I drove is $20,542. I'd add a sunroof and maybe the larger wheels, but even the base model has all the featurs I'd want. I love VW and this one certainly did not disappoint!