Someone Else's Problem: My Hot Latino - '16 Beetle Cabrio

[narf]

As you may have read around the forums I've just been to Wolfsburg
I wonder where I parked in this sea of bland VWs...



...is a question I won't have to ask any more



You're looking at my company car for the coming three years, a factory-fresh VW Beetle Cabrio finished in beautiful Habanero Orange.
Under the hood you'll find a plastic cover, they say 220 horses and 350 torques hide somewhere below that, and it'll do 0-100 in 9.5 seconds *

It has many sides to look at:









Naturally, the two-tone scheme continues on the inside




Proof pic?



It has many buttons.



There's also room for many things.



It sparkles!



A long day of car-related shenanigans over, I returned to my hotel... and immediately found myself in good company



We both had a drink.



The Beetle sort-of refused its drink though



Before you ask... yes, it did come with a Currywurst.



* 100km of clear blue sky, that is

 

[Hok]

Congratulations. Looks good

 

[WDWBen]

Fancy CarPlay/Android Auto?

 

[Sevs753]

Nice! I love the wheels!

 

[ScarFace88]

Are you going to name it Salma?

 

[gt1750]

Congrats, looks nice! I just think the wheels should be bigger, with deeper dish, to fill the chunky wheel arches better.. Or you should get those Beetle GT3RS wheels and chrome them

 

[Redliner]

:lol:

 

[rickhamilton620]

Red brake calipers huh?

Seriously though, congrats on the new ride - I've always liked this gen Beetle.

 

[Viper007Bond]

A company car that's a convertible and not horribly boring? :shock:

Also is a company car that common over there? No one but executives seem to have them here.

 

[CraigB]

Congrats! That's a cute little Bug you've got there.

 

[rickhamilton620]

A company car that's a convertible and not horribly boring? :shock:

Also is a company car that common over there? No one but executives seem to have them here.

Company cars are far more popular in Europe than in 'Murica. Even the most mundane reviews i've read/watched mention "and here's the option for company car drivers!" (usually some weak sauce engine choice in a mid range trim level)

 

[Mitchi]

A company car that's a convertible and not horribly boring? :shock:

Also is a company car that common over there? No one but executives seem to have them here.

That is fantastic!

I expected the boring, obvious grey or silver choice but no, against all "rules" in the society you bought this Love it!

Also I love how you just posted that 991 GT3 RS inbetween.

 

[Dr_Grip]

Also is a company car that common over there? No one but executives seem to have them here.

Company cars are a pretty good deal tax-wise for companies. Over here, people who have to drive a lot (customer service reps, consultants, techs, salespersons, etc) get them. Additionally, above a certain pay grade, it's one of the first niceties thrown in to keep in-demand employees from leaving.

- - - Updated - - -

Company cars are far more popular in Europe than in 'Murica. Even the most mundane reviews i've read/watched mention "and here's the option for company car drivers!" (usually some weak sauce engine choice in a mid range trim level)

There's also company car pools - unlike the personal company car, which is part of your pay package and you get to take home and use on weekends, the mid-spec Mondeos/Passats are fleet vehicles used by "whoever happens to need a car".

 

[public]

Congrats!

 

[DanRoM]

Even if I don't like them - nice choice for a company car. Congrats on winning the fight with the masters over car policy at your company.

Does it come with a cover for the roof?

Also, you should have nicked the wheels of the black one parking next to you. The retro rims don't fit the look of the car at all in my opinion. But hey, taste...

 

[narf]

Fancy CarPlay/Android Auto?

No... as far as I've read, the VW implementation "AppConnect" is fairly restricted, so I didn't spec it. It has CarNet as standard with the Discovery Media, will test that soon... they say it has radar for when you're approaching rain

Are you going to name it Salma?

I was thinking The Donald, but then I would have had to get the beige roof... and that's a weird combo

Red brake calipers huh?

Seriously though, congrats on the new ride - I've always liked this gen Beetle.

They're standard with the engine
I'm kinda sad the new refresh dropped the dopey bumper and made the R-Line bumper standard. It's a friendly car, not supposed to look aggressive.

A company car that's a convertible and not horribly boring? :shock:

Also is a company car that common over there? No one but executives seem to have them here.

Not all company cars are like Thomas' Focus though it's not free, and I had to work the system for a while to lift colour restrictions.
I'm paying a flat fee for private use pre-tax including fuel, maintenance, tyres, car wash, the lot; and get to pay a flat amount of taxes based on the list price. All in all, it'll cost me exactly the same per kilometre as the pre-owned Eos.

That is fantastic!

I expected the boring, obvious grey or silver choice but no, against all "rules" in the society you bought this Love it!

Also I love how you just posted that 991 GT3 RS inbetween.

it's not against all rules, I had the rules changed first
Interestingly, the colour was fairly present around Wolfsburg... though it looked weird on a Passat Alltrack.

...and yes, I've been silently scheming to drop in The Other Beetle since Ringmeet

 

[thomas]

You wish..

 

[narf]

Does it come with a cover for the roof?

Also, you should have nicked the wheels of the black one parking next to you. The retro rims don't fit the look of the car at all in my opinion. But hey, taste...

Yeah, the cover is currently sitting on the back seats... will try it on soon, at least once. Then I'll decide if it'll sit in my basement for winter, or for three years if it's too much of a faff.

I had those 20" Monterey wheels out for a two-hour test drive, and no... they make the car bone-shakingly hard and undriveable outside of Wolfsburg with their perfect roads.
As for looks, those wheels make the brake disks look undersized and lost in space... if you were to go for the more aggressive R-Line exterior then maybe, but I like my dopey friendly bug package

 

[DanRoM]

I had those 20" Monterey wheels out for a two-hour test drive, and no... they make the car bone-shakingly hard and undriveable outside of Wolfsburg with their perfect roads.

Okay, that's a valid argument. I didn't realize they were this stupidly big. 20" on a Beetle? Rappers' Edition, or what?

 

[narf]

Okay, that's a valid argument. I didn't realize they were this stupidly big. 20" on a Beetle? Rappers' Edition, or what?

The Beetle has huge tyres, my wheels are 17". To compare, the Eos had 235/40R18 rubber... on a Beetle, 235/40 is on 19s.
Additionally, there's no adaptive dampers on the Beetle so bigger wheels have a slightly greater comfort penalty compared to the DCC set to comfort.