The Volkswagen Beetle – Bug-omology

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From the dark, a bug-eyed headlamp poked out tentatively, slowly revealing a sleek, red bug-like body as the Beetle crawls out of the basement where it was residing. Looking up, it noticed the sky is cloudy, the atmosphere humid and occasional droplets of water could be felt on its shiny, metal carapace and the Bug recalled its grandfather once remarked it never rained on Chinese New Year when it was first brought into this world back in 1938. Even its father, the 2nd generation Bug also lamented how much the weather has changed from the year it was hatched in 1997. The newly minted Bug wonders what’s so bad about having less UV now since it’s cloudy …. it’s not like the ozone is as thick as it was back in the 40s and one must take all measures to look good always; premature aging just wouldn’t do.

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As the Bug slowly creeps between giant man-made edifice of the Bangsar suburbs which is just the kind of habitat the Bug is born to do, it didn’t take long for other species in the concrete jungle to take notice of the Bug; some viewed it with the kind of nostalgic feeling like remembering grandma’s good ol’ morning home brewed coffee, others with envy and jealousy like seeing a flabby fat guy (yours truly) going out with a hot chick dressed in a modern, traditional red kebaya. Contradictory to any true beetle that uses its natural color to camouflage against the forest floor, the Bug on wheels simply craves for attention, especially so with the flashy red the writer finds himself in.

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Entomology is what humans call the science of studying insects. This is Bugomology, the study of the species volkswagen insecta The Beetle 1.2TSi and whether it will succeed its grandfather, the Original Beetle who captivated the hearts of so many and became a legendary species.

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Design

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The Bug is made up of a hard exoskeleton, comprising of a front that tapers downwards (its father, the 2nd generation Bug had the front segment more or less horizontal and this has been proven to be a less efficient design when flying in the wind but still immensely popular in attracting the opposite gender for procreation. Go online and you’ll find no small number of “how I met your mother with the Bug” or “yeah, we had you at Woodstock at the back of the Bug” stories. The progenitors of the 2nd generation Beetle basically drew a big semi-circle, then 2 smaller semi-circles in front and back for its ‘legs’ and it’s done! The Bug had the engineers go back to the drawing board and had  a theme of “designing a new original”. Kinda like giving you an old school underwear and asking you to make it sexier.

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The final result not only made the new Bug look much more dynamic and bold, it created a sense of masculinity. The new Bug never did like others calling its dad a wussy but with a cutesy exterior and a big, round eyed headlamps not so different from a Japanese anime character trying to look adorable, the new Bug understands … and is glad he turns out to be similar yet unmistakably different from his father.

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Like all kids nowadays, the offspring has grown to be bigger and wider than its parents. The Bug now measures 1,808mm wide (84mm wider), 1,486mm tall (12mm lower) and 4,278mm long (152mm longer). The car’s track widths has also been increased (front: 1,578mm, 63mm wider; rear: 1,544mm, 49mm wider) and one of the most significant increase is the wheelbase which tells you how many humans it can swallow at a given time. It’s now 2,537mm which is an increase of 22mm.

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Now, how often do you see a oval shaped fuel cover flap?

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Performance

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Like any youngling who doesn’t know any better, the  Bug decided, on one cloudy Saturday to hike up Genting Highlands, presumably to visit others of its kind in the jungle up on the hills but we all know better. Curious to see how the 1.2litre TSi turbocharged engine that provides 105PS and 175Nm between 1,775 to 4,100rpm pulls the Bug uphill, it wasn’t long before it found itself on the twisty hills leading to the Vegas of Malaysia. And it was here that the Bug has made quite a few discoveries of itself.

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First of all, some numbers. The Bug’s heart is mated to a 7 speed  DSG gearbox and crosses the 100kph finish line from standstill in 10.9 seconds. Not particularly fast but quick enough to outrun most other predators like the Proton Harimau, {Peugeot non-turbo Lion breeds and even other herbivors commonly found on Malaysian roads like the Perodua Kancils (those not with turbos, at least). Going uphill, the Bug doesn’t feel underpowered and could overtake others pretty well. Not sure if it’s because of superior power (with *ahem* driving skills) or others are just slowing down just to get a closer look at a breed that’s still relatively rare here. Still, it’s good enough in my books.

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But the Bug is not without it’s limitations and as the Bug discovered in this soul searching trip, 3 stands out most obviously:

– Don’t bother catching up with larger CC cars at high speeds on the highways. As able as the engine is, it’s still a 1.2l so it’ll suffer from shortness of breath soon enough. The Bug maxes out at 180kph.

– Push the engine harder and it’ll have a tendency to downshift and put the RPM above 3,500rpm where it’ll sound …. less elegant.

– If you do push the car, the sound it makes doesn’t sound like it’s being raped …. more like the Bug just soldiers on with determination to match the pace the driver wishes it to go. But take note of its engine oil temperature. In my run up, the temperature went up to 110deg which is way higher than the usual 90. Had to slow it down as we didn’t want the Bug to suffer a heart attack.

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Ride and Handling

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Prior to its birth in Mexico, Volkswagen ran an advertisement showing a black Bug zipping around a forest floor showing great agility in avoiding obstacles and making turns around bends. In reality, the Bug is not much different but not what most would be led to believe after watching that advertisement. One would imagine that superior cornering ability means excellent road traction …. but the truth is far from it; the Beetle has a tendency to slide pretty early on in any corner done at higher speeds. By design or by accident, we don’t know but it sure is fun chugging the Bug left and right whenever the opportunity presents itself. It’s scary at first as the Bug never have expected loss of traction so early in a turn but after a while, the Bug discovered that the deviance between the direction of the car and where you want to turn is only about 5% – 10% and it doesn’t go further than that. As a matter of fact, trying to fish-tail the Bug is almost impossible without the use of the handbrakes and at all times, you’ll know the amount of traction you have with your 4 tires.

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What’s a bit of a letdown is in the area of NVH. Noise-wise, there’s a bit of wind noise intrusion at speeds above 110kph and most of it seems to be coming from the A pillars. While I’m no engineer, I’d say the huge wheel arches may have something to do with the extra noise instead of interior build quality, which is NOT the case with the Bug as everything is as well built as a tank.

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As to how well the Bug glides over the sometimes-less-than-perfect Malaysian roads, it does so pretty well. Suspension feel is quite similar to the Polo Sport where it’s stiffer than most other sedans but never bone jarringly uncomfortable.

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Cabin Convenience

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Inside, any humans finding themselves within will be wrapped in such luxury and class, one can’t help but feel …. happy being inside. It’s as if the Beetle releases happy gas that makes you grin senselessly …. and any other person looking at you from the outside will be doing the same thing. Everything fits very well together and for once, I’m not complaining of the lack of soft plastics on the dashboard because it just wouldn’t look good here. The

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With a three-spoke steering wheel that traces its roots back to its grandpapa, the new Bug allows any human to experience the full pleasure of driving it by conveying the road conditions and traction of its tires perfectly to its driver. Paddle shifters adds huff to its pace, allowing the driver to control how loud he/she wants the Bug to shout when pulling uphill.

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Engine temperature? What engine temperature? You won’t find a gauge here but should you be interested to know how hot your hot Bug is going, a couple of quick jabs on the MFD controls found on the left side of the steering wheel is all it takes to show it to you ….. which was what I did and boy, it was pretty scary seeing the temperature rise from a cruising 90deg C to 110.

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Anyone who’ve driven a VW would find the controls here to be quite familiar. The RCD510 TFT touchscreen head unit provides audio entertainment for all passengers (the PHONE icon does nothing unfortunately as it, like all VWs have no Bluetooth module) and the air conditioning controls are easy enough to use.

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Twin glove compartments, a tribute to grandpa whom the current Bug wonders what would be stuffed in there back in a time where there’s no iPod, no iPhone, no iPad, no MP3 player, no condominium access card, no GPS, no handsfree kit, no …. well, you get the drift. He did recall there was a flower pot holder somewhere in Grandpa but that’s not to be found here.

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As snug as a virgin can be sitting here, babe! Definitely one of the best seats from VW

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The back is snug too …. but in a way that’s painful. There’s barely enough space for adults (a Scirocco’s rear legroom is better) and kids who likes seeing the outside when the car goes by dislike the smallish rear quarter window. Best treat the Bug as the Love Bug for couples only.

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And being a couples only car, you get pretty decent boot space for the 2 of you to disappear somewhere ….

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Safety

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Basic it may be but the most affordable Beetle is well equipped with the following safety features:-

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• 3-point seat belts, front with seat belt tensioners
• Two 3-point seat belts, rear
• 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating
• Dual front airbags with front passenger airbag deactivation
• Combined side airbags and thorax airbags for front passengers
• Electronic stabilisation programme ESP
• ABS
• BA
• Electronic vehicle immobilisation device
• ISOFIX preparation for child seats
• Park distance control PDC for front and rear
• Hill hold control
• Safety optimised front headrests

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Specifications

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Exterior

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• Front fog lamps and fixed bending light
• ‘Whirl’ 6.5J x 16 alloy wheels with tyres 215/60 R16
• Exerior mirrors, electrically adjustable, foldable and heated

 

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Interior

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• 3-spoke leather multi-function steering wheel with control for DSG, MFD and radio
• Auto-dimming interior mirror
• Beetle glove box
• ‘Climatronic’ air conditioning system with 2-zone temperature control
• Cruise control
• Dash pad painted in body color
• Front centre armrest
• Leather gearshift knob
• Mobile device interface MEDIA-IN with iPod/iPhone adapter cable
• Multi-function display ‘Plus’
• Rain sensor
• ‘RCD 510’ touch screen 6 CD charger radio with CD/MP3/WMA replay function
• 8 speakers
• Seats in ‘Vienna’ leather upholstery

 

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Maintenance and ownership

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To hatch and bring home a Bug would cost you RM139,888 (without insurance, road tax, etc) and comes with a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty. Servicing is done once every 15,000km as is all other VW models and what’s notable is that fact that the Bug has probably less carbon footprint compared to how much I make each morning when I go to the toilet with a fuel consumption of 5.litres/100km

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Those who don’t own a VW calls it expensive whereas those who do say it’s cheap. Price is always relative but suffice to say that there is no other car in the world today that is as unique as the VW Beetle and truly, I couldn’t think of any other car to compare it against. In that sense, whether expensive or not truly lies in the eye of the buyer and for a lifestyle, retro-like vehicle that makes you as popular to an 18 year old chick as well as to your 80 year old auntie, I’d say it’s worth every sen.

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Once again, kensomuse is extremely honored to have Mr Khairulzaman Abdul Razak, the man responsible for all the beautiful shots you see here. Even the Beetle whispered to me later that if he ever finds the right love, he MUST have Khairul to shoot the event! Some of his past work in kensomuse can be found in the Sportage article (seen HERE) and the VW Golf R (seen HERE). Need we say more? You can contact Khairul at his email here: khairulzamanabdrazak@gmail.com

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