2012 - 15 VW Beetle Review

This "buggy" punches back!

The redesigned VW Beetle is no longer the bubbly, girly car with a flower pot in the dashboard; its grown up and its great!

The VW Beetle (or "Bug") is one of the most recognizable cars in the world. It is also one of the best selling cars in the world and has been in production since WWII. Since that time it has only been redesigned twice with the current Beetle on the market since 2012. The current Beetle blends styling from the original and from the previous model meaning that it still has a very distinct style but is modern as well. It is wider and more aggressive looking than the super bubbly, circular model of the early 2000's. It is now based on the Golf platform meaning that there is more room and better driving dynamics.

Take a look:

Different Styles:

In true VW fashion, the Beetle is offered in a wide range of setups. It has 2 doors, and 4 seats. However it can be a hard top (known as the hatchback) or a convertible. Depending on the year, the Beetle can have a variety of engines such as: a 2.5L 5 cylinder, a 1.8L Turbo 4 cylinder, a 2.0L Turbo 4 cylinder, a higher output 2.0L Turbo 4 cylinder, or a 2.0L Turbo 4 cylinder diesel. 
The 2.5L engine is no longer available in the 2015 year.
Transmissions are: 5 speed manual or 6 speed auto for the 2.5L and 1.8L engines. A 6 speed manual or 6 speed automated manual (DSG) are for the TDI or 2.0L turbo engines. 

Styling and Comfort Impressions:

Good job VW at making the Beetle no longer a "lady bug". This car has great looks on the outside. It keeps the style and outline of the original car while adding new modern touches like the lights, wheels and use of slim chrome stripes. Its curved lines and wide lower body make it look like its ready to go whenever you are. It has relatively large windows and the wheels fill up the car nicely.
Going inside means more great looks. While the new Jetta has a functional but relatively plain interior, the Beetle looks funky fresh. Yes it may have some hard shiny plastics, but they look great in it. The theme is curves, and it works. The different colour combos are fun and really can make the car yours. The front dash is pretty simple and functional just like in it's Golf and Jetta siblings but it just gives you the feeling like you have to touch it. With the turbo engines it also has 3 little gauges on the top center to show you how your oil temp, turbo psi and time are doing, a little touch that looks great. The sound system is fantastic and comes with 8 speakers as a standard setup. The front seats are sporty and very comfortable and supportive. Visibility is pretty good in all directions except through the rear view mirror. Its not that the rear window is small, but the mirror itself is just too small, like really small. It comes with a lot of features and heated front seats are always nice.
Take a look:

Headroom and legroom are ample in the front thanks to the high curved roof. The car doesn't feel very small even though it actually is. The doors are large and long which means two things. 1, that entry into the back seat isn't that bad. 2, that opening them in tight parking spaces may be tricky. Speaking about that back seat, its not too large. If you are over 6 feet your head will be hitting the top, but legroom isn't that bad depending on who is sitting in front of you. It definitely has more room in the back than the Mini Cooper, Fiat 500, or Hyundai Veloster. If you are in the convertible head room is then fantastic when the roof is open and even when it is closed it feels better and the top is soft. Finally the trunk space, its not that bad, but it could be better. Due to the extreme slope of the back on the hatchback, the trunk isn't very deep and height is cut off when the rear seats are up, reducing the space to maybe just a few small suitcases. However with rear seats down the space is quite large. In the convertible the trunk space is just like other convertibles, tiny. But thanks to the fold down rear seats it may still be possible to drive to the ski hill with the top down. 

Driving Impressions:

I was not able to drive the convertible or the diesel. However since the diesel is the same as in the Jetta and Golf, please refer to my review of the Jetta TDI here: 2011-14 VW Jetta TDI
I was only able to try the 2.5L 5 cylinder but will try to drive the Golf 1.8L turbo later, or possibly the 2.0L turbo.

First you start the motor, the great sounding 5 cylinder motor. It definitely feels and sounds larger than a 4 cylinder. It has a nice quiet rumble during idle and sounds like a much more powerful engine under acceleration. It is very smooth and provides plenty of power at any speed. Acceleration is quick but when its put in sport mode it really wants to go with fast shifts in either direction. This car is fun to drive for sure! While the engine may make some noise under hard acceleration it is in no way loud and the car is pretty quiet at any speed in terms of road or wind noise. The car rides well over bumps and cracks in the road but also has a bit of a sporty firmness that makes you want to just whip it around corners.
Visibility is great (except that rear view mirror) and it is easy to maneuver in tight parking lots. One thing that seems a bit odd though is that the rear window does not have a wiper on it, which it could probably use.

Overall:

The current VW Beetle is a great little car. If you are looking for a small funky car to have fun driving, but find the Mini and Fiat too small, the Beetle may be the perfect choice. It has great looks, great performance, you can get it as a convertible, and it actually can fit 4 people. Depending on your situation it may be the perfect first car or a very cool second car to the household. It should have the same fit and build quality as most of the new VW products which is quite good. With the variety of engine options you should be able to find a perfect fit for you.

Facts/ Figures:

Price new (1.8L, and TDI engines): $24,000+, $27,000+

FWD

Max HP: ( 2.5L: 170),(1.8L: 170),(TDI: 140)

Max Torque lb/ft: (2.5L: 177),(1.8L: 184),(TDI: 236)

MPG (approx*): (2.5L) 22 city; 29 highway. (1.8L) 25 city; 33 highway. (TDI) 29 city; 39 highway

Cargo room (approx*): 15 / 30 CuFt  (convertible: 7 CuFt)

Length: 168"

Width: 72"

Tank Size (gal): 14.5

Miles on one tank (using combined MPG figures): 362, 420, 493

Average used price with 60,000KM or less (80,000KM or less for the TDI) : $17,000+ ($24,000+)

* when I say "approx" I usually am using the numbers given by the actual manufacturer or Consumer Reports, minus 1 to be a bit more realistic. 

**No pictures featured are my own, they have been taken either from Google images or the manufacturer's website and their rightful owners should get any credit for them. This review featured all pictures from the manufacturer's websites ( some through Edmunds.com).

Links:

VW Canada

VW USA

Related Cars:

07-13 Mini Cooper

11-15 Fiat 500

12-15 Hyundai Veloster

Honda CRZ

Enjoy!

Please leave a comment or follow...

Busy Work Week

Busy week or two.

Expect a review up in the next day or two. I will also be releasing an updated comparison chart soon including a hatchback version as well.

J.K.

2011 - 15 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Review

Sporty and Fuel Efficient?!

The Honda CR-Z tries to blend both worlds together with interesting results.

The CR-Z is a small, 2 seat hatchback from Honda that was introduced in 2010 for the 2011 year. It has many styling cues from Honda's old 80's CR-X hatchback that was a small 2 or 2+2 seat sporty car. It is an interesting car that is sort of in its own category of "sport hybrid". It promises to deliver both sporty performance and handling as well as great fuel economy. Has Honda succeeded with this experiment?

Take a look:

Different Styles:

The Honda CR-Z Hybrid is only available as a 2 seat, 2 door hatchback. It has a 1.5L, 4 cylinder gas engine with a small electric motor as well. You can have either a CVT or a 6-speed manual transmission. 

Styling and Comfort Impressions:

It's nice to see a cool looking Honda again! The CR-Z has a lot of styling ques from the old CR-X which was also a small 2 seat, 2 door hatchback that was known for its sporty handling and performance but also stellar fuel efficiency. This car looks like a little mouse that should just be sprinting across the floor away from the larger cats. No matter what angle you look at this car, it looks like it should be going fast. The curves, the wheels, the lights and the big open grill all look great together. If you like the look of small hatchbacks but also like the car to not look boring, this is definitely for you (sounds sorta like the Hyundai Veloster...). 

The rear hatch has 2 portions to it. A top sloping part with a wiper blade and a smaller vertical part at the end. The rear lights are large triangles that wrap around the edges; very sporty looking.

Going inside, the views are nice, but it could be nicer. While the layout with the large buttons and nicely separated air from radio controls looks good and logical, it's not really what one would call "sporty". The materials and colours used look a bit plain and to put it into perspective, the Honda Insight hybrid (which is in no way a sporty car) has the same interior layout and almost the same materials. Even the navigation unit is the same. But this is not all bad, even with the touch screen system, it still has plenty of buttons for very easy and quick use, as well as wheel mounted controls.

Take a look:

The seats are quite low, typical of a small sports car. They are quite nice to sit in, very well supported, good material, and a good amount of travel in all directions. Because the CR-Z is essentially just a 2 seat vehicle you have plenty of leg room and good head room. Instead of like Honda's Civic and Insight, the CR-Z does not have a 2 zone dash; it looks closer to the Fit's layout. 

The sound system is pretty good, to be expected in a sports car with 6 standard speakers and the upgraded EX trim adds a sub-woofer, which in a small car like this just fills it with sound. 

The cargo space is a bit odd, but usable. While the short sloped roof means that tall items won't fit well, there is a decent length to the space. The portion right behind the front seats also folds up and backward to reveal what looks like 2 extremely small seats, which they can be in Europe and Asia. Apparently people in Europe and Asia don't have legs because there is no way a person with them could fit in that space unless the front seats were all the way forward, making them useless. But in most configurations the area is covered in plastic with two shallow bins that allows you to put small items back there with out them sliding around a lot and be somewhat out of sight. 

Driving Impressions:

Has Honda done it? Successfully mixed sporty driving with good fuel economy? Sort of. Let's start with sound. Due to the set up of Honda's hybrid power-train, called Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) the car can go through some phases. At start-up the engine turns over and starts (unlike most other hybrids where its just electric at start-up) but once it sits and idles for a bit it will turn off and the car will try to use just electricity from the battery pack, unless its very cold. When the engine does turn off at a stop light or something, it is sometimes pretty noticeable when it turns back on as the car shutters for a second and the acceleration has a little surge. Even though it is a small engine, when idling it is almost unnoticeable. However, once you get underway you start to feel it a bit, and hear it. 

Under hard acceleration the engine is pretty rough and loud but there is a pretty nice sound coming from the exhaust that makes it feel like a larger car. The acceleration is pretty fast as the electric motor provides extra torque and HP instantly. It being a small and relatively light car, with tight steering means that handling around corners and potholes is very good and fast. It is a very fun car to drive. However, due to its short wheelbase and its sport-tuned suspension, even on normal 16-inch wheels the ride is very stiff and bumpy. This would be expected from a small sports car, but the fact that this is also a hybrid and can't truly compete with proper sports cars, the ride should be a bit softer. Also, most people expect a hybrid to be quiet or at least somewhat quiet while driving along normally, but there seems to be a lot of tire and road noise that comes into the cabin. There are 3 driving modes that can be selected: "Normal", which is just how it sounds,"Eco", which pulls back acceleration quite a bit, and "Sport", which actually doesn't feel that much different than normal, it lets you rev a bit higher but it doesn't make a big difference in the performance. Due to its small dimensions is it also really easy to drive in tight spots and park.

Visibility is ok in most directions except the rear corners. The rear of the car over the wheels narrows enough that when looking through the side mirrors it actually looks like the wheel humps are sticking out too much when in reality you can see more than a normal car would allow. 

Overall:

The Honda CR-Z is an odd little car. It looks good on the outside, decent on the inside. There are only seats 2 but it has a good amount of cargo capacity of a car this small. It tries to blend the performance of a small sports car with the fuel efficiency of a hybrid. However, its doesn't quite perform like a true sports car and for a hybrid it doesn't get that great of fuel economy. It really depends on what you are buying the car for. If you are used to sports cars but would like something more fuel efficient, this may be a good option. If you already have a fuel efficient car that is larger and you are looking for a small little city car to throw around corners with just one other person, this would be good. Should this be your only car? No, unless you live in the middle of a huge city and you essentially expect to never have to drive other people. Should this be your second car? Probably, even if you live in the big city or in the suburbs. As long as you don't have a growing family. It also comes with a pretty long warranty that covers the hybrid power-train.

Facts/ Figures:

Price (for mid trim level): was about $22,000+ USA, $29,000+ Canada

FWD

Max HP: 130

Max Torque lb/ft: 127

MPG (approx*): 35 city; 38 highway.

Cargo room (approx*): 25 CuFt

Length: 161"

Width: 69"

Tank Size (gal): 10.6

Miles on one tank (using combined MPG figures): 392

Average used price with 60,000KM or less: $12,000+

* when I say "approx" I usually am using the numbers given by the actual manufacturer or Consumer Reports, minus 1 to be a bit more realistic. 

**No pictures featured are my own, they have been taken either from Google images or the manufacturer's website and their rightful owners should get any credit for them. This review featured all pictures from the manufacturer's websites ( some through Edmunds.com).

Links:

Honda Canada

Honda USA

Related Cars:

07-13 Mini Cooper

11-15 Fiat 500

12-15 Hyundai Veloster

Enjoy!

Please leave a comment or follow...

2012 - 15 Hyundai Veloster Review

All that glitters is gold, just not the base trim Veloster

Sporty looks inside and out are only backed up if you get the turbo engine

The Hyundai Veloster is a cool looking, small and sporty hatchback that is based off the Accent platform. It was created to replace the now gone 2 door Tiburon small sport car. With Hyundai having mostly just "normal" cars in its lineup, they decided that they wanted to throw in a small "hot-hatch" for fun. In terms of looks alone this car is fantastic, but it doesn't really have much muscle to back it up. It came out in 2012 and hasn't changed much since then. 

Take a look:

Different Styles:

The Hyundai Veloster comes only as a very unique 4-door hatchback ( 3 passenger doors and 1 cargo hatch). The driver side door is long like a normal coup style door. The front passenger door is shorter like a sedan and then there is a very small door for the rear passengers on that side as well (the sidewalk side for North America). The rear hatch itself is unique as it is not just the back of the car, it is also 1/2 of the top. It comes with 3 transmission choices, a 6 speed manual, a 6 speed automated manual (dual clutch), and a 6 speed auto. The engine choices are a very under-powered, 1.6L 4 cylinder or a turbo version of it. 

Styling and Comfort Impressions:

This is a really cool looking car. Its low profile and wide wheel arches make it look very solid on the ground and ready to zip around corners and dart through traffic. Wheels and windows seem the right size and flow well with the car. The lights and all the little curves and creases are all to point toward a sporty look and hopefully the drive as well. 

Going inside, the styling does not disappoint. With typical new Hyundai fashion, the inside of the Veloster has nice materials and flowing lines. Every piece fits together well and while it may not look as sporty as the outside it still looks well refined and not cheap in any way. The center media unit even has the shape of a V (nice touch Hyundai). The sound system is a bit of a let down; there are 6 standard speakers but they don't seem to have enough power or clarity for a car like this. The seats are comfy and very supportive, befitting of a sports car. The headroom and legroom up front are also pretty good for a car this short and low. 

Take a look:

The back seat is another story. First, I will say adding another small door for the rear passengers was nice instead of it just being a normal 2 door coup. However, the door is so small and doesn't open wide enough that getting into the back seat is still a pretty undignified experience. What they should have done was to make the rear door open backwards (suicide doors) which would also add to the awesome look of the car. Getting back there, there are two seats with a plastic tray and cup holders in the middle. The seats themselves are well cushioned, albeit a bit short. The leg room isn't great but it's better than other 2 door coups in the class. Head room however, is just abysmal if not dangerously limited. Due to the extreme slope of the roof the head room is reduced but to make it worse, the top portion of the rear hatch actually extends into the space with a glass portion right above your head, meaning on really sunny days there could be a chance that rear passengers heads could get burnt. Also, with this design, if there are people in the back seat and the rear hatch is opened and then closed, there is a very good chance that you could slam the roof down on their head causing serious injury. Only people less than 5 foot 10" tall should even think of sitting in the back. 
Finally: the trunk. It's not that bad. While you may not be able to put very tall things back there, it is pretty large and the seat backs do fold down. The opening is also very large.
Take a look:

Driving Impressions:

Lets get this out of the way quickly. This car is basically a person who went tanning and then said they went on vacation when people ask. If you like driving, or at least like to not be frustrated with how under-powered your car feels, do not even think about getting the Veloster with the normal engine. While idling the engine seems all quiet and smooth but, as soon as you try to move forward you get the feeling that the car isn't thinking the same thing. I have driven many different types of cars out there, many of them somewhat under-powered, but I have never had the car feel like it was actively trying to hold me back. The best way to describe how it felt is to say I at first thought the tires were all flat as it did not want to coast at all once up to speed. After a quick stop to check, all the tires were fine. To get it moving you literally need to push the pedal all the way down and then the engine just starts screaming at you. Its very loud and rough under acceleration. One would think that a dual clutch transmission should help get it going quicker ( like the VW Jetta and Golf) but the one in the Veloster seems to second guess itself as it lags and lurches instead of shifting quickly and smoothly. I really hope I just happened to get a lemon of a Veloster and they are all not like this because it looks so cool! I was not able to drive the turbo version. I should assume that the acceleration is better but it may be even louder. The visibility is also not the best as the rear quarters have huge blind spots and that back window is split with not a lot of useful sight on either the top or bottom parts. The overall ride of the car is pretty stiff and rough as they tried to make this a sporty car with good handling, meaning all small bumps are felt.

Two things that are a tiny bit of a saving grace are that the sound insulation seems to be pretty good because once at speed there is little tire or wind noise (on normal tires). It also has a nice tight steering feel that makes you want to throw it around corners. 

Overall:

I was very disappointed with the Veloster. As a fan of small hatchbacks I had high hopes for this car. It looks really cool on the outside and the inside. It is comfortable for the front two people and can move four in reasonable comfort. However, the lack of power and the unwillingness of the car to even remotely live up to it's looks is too disappointing. If you want a cool looking small car that may be a bit more practical than a Mini or a Fiat, then the Veloster may be a good choice as long as it's the Turbo. Also, it's a weird name, its like they tried to make a combination of "velocity" and "raptor" but its just doesn't sound right.

Facts/ Figures:

Price (for mid trim level): was about $22,000+ 

FWD

Max HP: 138, 201 (Turbo)

Max Torque lb/ft: 123, 195

MPG (approx*): 27, 23 city; 36, 30 highway.

Cargo room (approx*): 16 / 35 CuFt

Length: 167"

Width: 71"

Tank Size (gal): 13.2

Miles on one tank (using combined MPG figures): 409, 356

Average used price with 60,000KM or less: $14,000+

* when I say "approx" I usually am using the numbers given by the actual manufacturer or Consumer Reports, minus 1 to be a bit more realistic. 

**No pictures featured are my own, they have been taken either from Google images or the manufacturer's website and their rightful owners should get any credit for them. This review featured all pictures from the manufacturer's websites ( some through Edmunds.com).

Links:

Hyundai Canada

Hyundai USA

Related Cars:

07-13 Mini Cooper

11-15 Fiat 500

Enjoy!

Please leave a comment or follow...