The word sentiment often sounds very deep, as if something as long as it is tied to the feelings, it becomes fresh and vulgar, in fact, these two words have been made vulgar by various marketing stalks. Although I tried my best to avoid this word, the story surrounding this car could not escape the word "feelings", after all, this car was born of the times, but died of feelings, it is Volkswagen's legendary model - the Beetle.
The Beetle is legendary because it made the Volkswagen group it is today. The original Beetle, which originated from Hitler's National Car program, although stranded due to World War II, played a crucial role in post-war economic reconstruction. Later, it went from Europe to the world, and until 2003, the cumulative production exceeded 21 million units, from a national car to a legendary history.
However, our domestic consumers have not witnessed this legendary history, but have only really come into contact with the second generation of Beetles since they were introduced into China, but the Beetle has only developed three generations of models in its nearly 80-year life cycle. Therefore, in the domestic market, the Beetle has also changed from a former national car to a small posture car.
As an old mass fan (before the MQB era), even though I owned the old Jetta, the old POLO, the MK4 Bora, the MK5 Sagittarius, the MK6 Golf, the old Touran, the T5, even though I had rubbed shoulders with the Beetle countless times, I never plucked up the courage to own a Beetle. I think this is called not being able to pay for feelings. So when I learned that the Beetle would be completely discontinued and saw the beetle farewell video released by the public, although the tears unconsciously wet my eyes, I could only say in my heart full of regret, maybe this is the best destination for the Beetle.
So when I was confronted with the Beetle Collector's Edition in front of me, the only and last intimate encounter was perhaps the best way for me to say goodbye to the Beetle.
Exterior Design: A tribute to the classics
The Appearance of the Beetle Collector's Edition is in line with that of the regular 1.4T Beetle model, and the mirror-reflective wheel decoration cover and rearview mirror shell strive to create a retro atmosphere. The rounded raised shape of the front and rear fenders is also a classic modeling element of the beetles of the past generations, and the roof line of the third generation of the beetles is no longer rounded, which is also the most controversial design of the beetle, which is a little more tough and less cute, perhaps a compromise made to equip the panoramic sunroof.
The excessive curvature from the roof to the tailgate is the finishing touch of the Beetle, and the unique one-piece tail wing of the 1.4T model also gives the cute Beetle a touch of liveliness. Even after years of existence, the Beetle's unique styling style and frameless doors can still attract the attention of countless young boys and girls.
Interior style: lack of personality, and not enough emotion
If the appearance of the Beetle can make people pay for feelings, then it is very likely that you will calm down on your own when you enter the car. Because the interior of this generation of Beetles really lacks novelty. The only highlight may be the interior panels of the same color as the exterior, but care should be taken when using them so as not to leave scratches that are difficult to recover. And the very emotional little vase that was once on the second generation of beetles has disappeared without a trace.
Although the beetle's steering wheel adopts a flat bottom design of leather stitching, the grip is very thin, a bit of the sight of the first generation of beetles, I don't know if this is intentional by the public, or I am too sensitive. Because it's not easy to find some of the Beetle's unique features in the interior.
Since the third-generation Beetle uses the platform of PQ35, it is all too familiar to me as a daily Golf 6 driver. There is no keyless entry key start, mechanical handbrake, manual seat, steering wheel button and automatic air conditioning panel, everything is so familiar, revealing the style of the Volkswagen model of a decade ago. But all this is neither familiar nor difficult for today's consumers to accept.
The interior design is mostly circular, which is reflected in the positions of the instrument panel, multi-function instruments, air conditioning outlets, central control floor and door horn. However, compared with MINI, it still has less personality and seems to be more prosaic. Although there will be no LCD meters, the unique combination of the 1.4T model, which can display oil temperature, turbine pressure and stopwatch, is very interesting on this beetle that is not mainly sports, and it is an undesirable configuration on my Golf R.
Although the Beetle is a two-door shape, it is a 2+2 seat layout, and although the rear row is not spacious, people who are not more than 1 meter 7 in height can still ensure comfort when they sit in. There are not many rear configurations, except for the 12V power interface, such as air conditioning outlet, USB interface, and central handrail you can't have. The only thing that allows rear passengers to play with is the same vintage handle as the original Beetle, because this is the only armrest that rear passengers can hold tightly. But for girls, the back row of the Beetles serves as their own storage room.
Driving experience: It is not a very girl-friendly Beetle
Female consumers make up the vast majority of car owners who choose the Beetle, and are largely attracted to the Beetle's appearance. But actually driving, I found that the Beetle's care for female drivers is actually not friendly.
Born on the PQ35 platform, the combination of the EA211's 1.4T engine and 7-speed dual-clutch transmission is all too familiar to us, so the driving texture of this car is basically the same as the Golf 6 generation.
However, the Beetle has a heavier steering force, the position of the brake pedal is higher than that of the golf on the same platform, and the suspension structure is harder than the golf, so girls are actually more likely to feel fatigue when driving. And when you close the car door and pull out your seat belt, you will find that the Beetle without a seat belt push device really lacks some human care for girls.
It's just that the Beetle's small and fresh interior trim, large frameless doors and panoramic sunroof can create a bright and warm driving atmosphere, coupled with the high return rate of the appearance, it can alleviate the mood of girls when driving. But for me, the owner of the golf, the Beatle's driving experience does lack characteristics.
The lazy throttle response at the beginning and the sudden power of the turbine after more than two thousand revolutions were typical of the Volkswagen models of that era, and only the swing of the turbine watch when I stepped on the throttle deeply could arouse my desire to drive. But most of the time, I still like to drive this Beetle in the Buddhist system, admire the reflection of this Beetle reflected from other bodies, and enjoy this comfort.
Commented:
Although the Beetle has such and such shortcomings, it will not affect me to like it because of its classic design, but to make me pay for this feeling, I will still choose to be calm like most consumers, after all, the feelings can no longer support the car can go further. Therefore, Volkswagen chose to discontinue this model and put more energy into the field of electric vehicles.
For people who love this car, the Beetle is like a friend who has known it for many years, although there is not much contact, but I know that it has always been there and will pay attention to its news. But when it really leaves, it will inevitably feel sad inside. If someone tells you that in years it may return with a whole new look, would you expect this friend to be back? (Auto Review/Zheng Cheng)