Whatever your feelings on the VW Beetle, there is one fact that is not worth debating: this is an iconic car. Sell 21.5 million units of anything in less than 100 years, and you’ll be an icon too. And now the new generation has landed in South Africa.

While the “New Beetle” released in the late 90’s managed to sell a million units worldwide, it also managed to generate a ton load of criticism and ridicule from critics. The question is “what will the new gen do”.

The first issue to address was redesigning an icon, not an easy task. But Porsche manage to do annually…sort of. The “New Beetle” from the 90’s took a lot of flak because it looked like what most considered to be a gay or girls car. In the new gen, they’ve gone for a more masculine look.

It has not only a lower profile; it is also substantially wider, the front bonnet is longer, the front windscreen is shifted further back and has a much steeper incline. They claim it resembles the awesome Ragster concept shown off in Frankfurt in 2005.

Buyers have a choice of two turbo-charged petrol engines, a 1.2-litre TSI 77kW and a 1.4-litre TSI 118kW, both in two equipment specs.

The 1.2-litre engine promises 5,9-litres/100km, the most efficient Beetle ever and can hit 100km/h in 10.9 seconds.

The 1,4-litre version boasts a decent sized 118kw getting it to 100km/h in 8.3 seconds and reaching a top speed of 207km/h.

The original Beetle was also criticized for having an innate inability to go long distances. Seriously, ask a mate who owned one and they’ll tell you the trip to varsity every morning alone was sometimes too much for the ol’ soul.

VW have addressed this too by including a rear boot (where the original had its engine) with 905 liters of space. Granted this isn’t a tremendous amount, but it’s decent for a hatch car.

Wait to hear about sales. Here’s hoping they bite.

PRICES:
1.2 TSI 77kW Design Manual R235 400
1.4 TSI 118kW Sport Manual R296 600
1.4 TSI 118kW Sport DSG R311 100