Volkswagen Beetle review: bought for the shape, lived with despite the practicality
3.3/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Buy the final-generation Beetle if the shape is the point — nothing else in Bahrain's used market looks like it, and the 1.8 TSI is genuinely quick enough to back up the styling. Do not buy it expecting a practical daily car for a family; the rear seat and boot are both compromised by the coupe roofline, and resale is a niche market of buyers who want exactly what you have.
Pros
- 1.8 TSI is genuinely quick in a car this light — quicker than the styling suggests
- Distinctive design still turns heads a decade after launch
- Direct steering feel and a low, involving driving position
- Comprehensive airbag count for a two-door coupe of its era
Cons
- Rear seat and boot are both compromised by the coupe roofline
- No longer produced anywhere — parts increasingly need a VW specialist
- Niche resale market limits how quickly you can sell one
- Air conditioning is adequate but not class-leading in a smaller cabin
Volkswagen built the final New Beetle for people who had already decided they wanted one, and the 2014 facelift made it a more honest proposition by swapping the wheezy naturally aspirated five-cylinder for the same 1.8-litre turbo four found in the Passat and Jetta of the era. 170 hp in a car this light is genuinely quick — quicker than the Beetle's cutesy image suggests.
That is where the practicality argument ends, though. The rear seat exists more as a legal formality than a usable space for adults, and the coupe roofline eats into the 310-litre boot's usable shape even before you account for its modest volume. This was never meant to be anyone's only car.
What it is actually good at
Steering feel is more direct than a contemporary Golf's, the driving position is low and involving, and the styling still turns heads on Bahrain's roads a decade after launch — which matters more for this car than for almost anything else Volkswagen builds. It is, unambiguously, a car bought with the heart rather than the spreadsheet.
Buying one now
Volkswagen discontinued the Beetle worldwide in 2019, so every example in Bahrain today is used and increasingly hard to source parts for outside a VW specialist. Air conditioning performance in extreme summer heat is adequate but not class-leading given the smaller cabin volume, and the two-door layout makes rear-seat access genuinely awkward for anyone beyond a young passenger climbing in unassisted.