After being discontinued for a span of two years, Volkswagen India has brought back the popular Beetle and has even started taking bookings for the same with a payment of Rs. 1 lac.
The second coming of the new Beetle will be through CBU-route which was also the case last time. The expected price for the car will be around Rs. 30 lacs which would pit the new Beetle in direct competition with the likes of Fiat Abarth 595 Competizione and Mini Cooper S.
The company has already given the details regarding the specs of the car which includes Volkswagen's composition Media touchscreen infotainment system that works with an 8 speaker system.
The interior of the car features various connectivity elements as well including a USB port, AUX-IN and Bluetooth connectivity. Bi-xenon headlights are used for the car along with LED Daytime Running Lights, also known as DRL. Further, we have static cornering lights featured by the fog lamps for better visibility on road and LED taillights at the rear. The 21st-century Beetle as the company calls it, sits on 16-inch spare wheels with 205/60 cross-section R16 alloy wheels.
Inside the new Beetle, we see leather upholstery for the seats which definitely has the premium feel while we see the same leather covering for the steering wheel, handbrake lever and gearshift knob.
The car gets three ambient light color options whereas other notable features include lumbar support with heating options, auto rain sensors, cruise control, folding and heated light sensors, ORVMs-power-adjustable, panoramic sunroof and front seats with height adjustment.
Safety section is well sought after as well with the new Beetle equipped with 6-airbags as standard including driver and passenger airbags, side and combined curtain airbags.
There is also de-activation facility for the passenger airbag. To provide more control to the driver behind the wheels, the new Beetle gets functions like Electronic Differential Lock, Electronic Stability Control, Anti-lock Braking system, Engine Drag Torque Control, etc.
Moving on to the most essential part, the engine, the new Beetle has only one option in the form of 1.4 litre TSI turbocharged petrol motor that works in sync with the 7 speed DCT dual clutch automatic transmission system.
The motor pumps out 150PS power which is comparatively lower figures compared to its rivals Mini Cooper S and Fiat Abarth 595 Competizione. For more efficiency, Beetle comes with start stop system in combination with regenerative braking.
There is a 8 step guide to book your Beetle as well that starts with selecting the right color for your car. The second step is to choose the right dealership followed by confirming the color and dealership.
The fourth step is feeding your personal details while the fifth step is selecting the convenient time for a phone call with the dealer. The sixth step is finalizing the purchase with the dealer followed by confirmation of the booking details. Finally, the customer is required to pay the Rs. 1 lac booking amount.
So the battle is starting to take an interesting shape and we will have to wait and watch how the new Beetle competes with Abarth 595 Competizione and Mini Cooper S when it officially hits the showrooms for sale.
With Inputs from cardekho.com
