I feel like such a girl for saying this but...

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Atty

Atty

Golden Member
Aug 19, 2006
1,540
0
76
Drove my best friend's (might as well be sister) VW Beatle this weekend. She has a convertible with idk what packages, its got a sport transmission mode, auto-manual transmission, etc, its really nice but holy hell, it was fun to drive.

Never expected one of those things to be at all fun to drive, without traction control on I spun the rear wheels at a red light long enough for some smoke to pour out the back. On the high way it was still fun to drive, over taking everyone, even with the top down.

Maybe its because other than my Camry the only cars I've driven have been proper sports cars (X35's BMWs, M3, Mustangs, etc) so I just didn't expect a small little car like that to have any power or they really are just fun to drive.

Now I would never own one so I'm wondering, what VW or other brand cars share similar driving experience with that one? I'm assuming a Golf GTi does but I hate Golf's and I don't think Scirocco's are sold in the US.
 
9

996GT2

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2005
5,212
0
76
Atty said:
Never expected one of those things to be at all fun to drive, without traction control on I spun the rear wheels at a red light long enough for some smoke to pour out the back. On the high way it was still fun to drive, over taking everyone, even with the top down.
Click to expand...


Uh, the New Beetle is front wheel drive...
 
Atty

Atty

Golden Member
Aug 19, 2006
1,540
0
76
996GT2 said:
Uh, the New Beetle is front wheel drive...
Click to expand...
It wasn't brand new (06 or 07?), but no lie they did let off a bit of smoke gunning it off the line, enough for her to yell at me. It wasn't pouring off but they did spin.

And yes there was a bit of E-Brake involved in my fun. :p
 
9

996GT2

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2005
5,212
0
76
Atty said:
It wasn't brand new (06 or 07?), but no lie they did let off a bit of smoke gunning it off the line, enough for her to yell at me. It wasn't pouring off but they did spin.

And yes there was a bit of E-Brake involved in my fun. :p
Click to expand...

By "New Beetle" I mean the model that has been in production since 1998. All VW Beetles made since then are front engine, front wheel drive.

The "New" distinguishes it from the "Old" beetle, which was the one that was first made in 1938. That one was rear engine, rear wheel drive, but none of those ever came with a sport-auto transmission or traction control :p It also hasn't been sold in the US since the 1980s.
 
Last edited:
9

996GT2

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2005
5,212
0
76
TehMac said:
Yea, I was about to post the new thing. I have been able to squeal the rear wheels in a FWD car, but uh...yea...
Click to expand...

I guess he could have been going in reverse. In that case he could have smoked the "rear" wheels ;)
 
exdeath

exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
13,679
10
81
If you got your rocks off flooring it in a New Beetle, don't ever drive a car with any real horsepower (eg: 350+) or you might have a heart attack.
 
C

CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
0
You can get smoke off the tires from just about any car if its a manual trans.. Automatic though, not so much.
 
Atty

Atty

Golden Member
Aug 19, 2006
1,540
0
76
exdeath said:
If you got your rocks off flooring it in a New Beetle, don't ever drive a car with any real horsepower (eg: 350+) or you might have a heart attack.
Click to expand...
I have driven cars with real horsepower (M3 has what, 405?) Mustangs have 300+, etc. I just did not expect that thing to be at all fun to drive, I thought it would be a convertible version of my Camry without any power and just made me look entirely gay.
 
C

coxmaster

Diamond Member
Dec 14, 2007
3,017
3
81
Everybody else seems to have covered the FWD clarification.. So i'll answer this question

Atty said:
Now I would never own one so I'm wondering, what VW or other brand cars share similar driving experience with that one? I'm assuming a Golf GTi does but I hate Golf's and I don't think Scirocco's are sold in the US.
Click to expand...


Yes, the GTI has a very sporty feel. However, everybody seems to overlook the GLI. Ive got a Jetta Wolfsburg (same engine and trans as GLI) and its a blast to drive. Ride and handles EXACTLY like the GTI..

Might be worth checking them out
 
exdeath

exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
13,679
10
81
Atty said:
I have driven cars with real horsepower (M3 has what, 405?) Mustangs have 300+, etc. I just did not expect that thing to be at all fun to drive, I thought it would be a convertible version of my Camry without any power and just made me look entirely gay.
Click to expand...

If you spun the tires in a 90 HP car, it's because it has hard 1.5" wide all season tires.
 
ElFenix

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,402
8,574
126
if it's the turbo version it might be decently quick.
 
DarkThinker

DarkThinker

Platinum Member
Mar 17, 2007
2,822
0
0
The only beetle my manliness would allow me to drive...



The Kommandeurwagen

Oh, BTW, has anyone asked OP to "hand man card" yet? OP, hand man card asap.
 
exdeath

exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
13,679
10
81
ElFenix said:
if it's the turbo version it might be decently quick.
Click to expand...

The turbo version has what, 15 more HP than a N/A one? It's a joke. That turbo is for the "two engines in one" fuel economy concept, nothing to do with making it fast.
 
WhoBeDaPlaya

WhoBeDaPlaya

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2000
7,415
404
126
Obligatory :

mancard.jpg
 
LTC8K6

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,576
126
The Old Beetle was indeed available with an automated manual trans with a torque converter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom