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“Volkswagen”, the name associated and initiated with the name “Beetle”- the peoples car. After making and breaking many record by selling 22.3 million numbers, VW revived it once again. World saw first glimpse of Beetle’12 in first half of last year at expos in Shanghai & NY. Now Beetle bug has now finally flew-in to India at 11th AutoEXPO in Pragati Maidan. But during journey of 70+ years (1938 to till today) Beetle saw the transformation from economy car of common people to premium hatchback.
The cute and the gorgeous Beetle have seen some make-up act on its exterior. Now it gets daytime running lamp encircling the bi-xenon headlights. Font bumper appears to be squared of a little and so are the tail lights. Tail lights also show VWs genes as it takes C shaped curve. Then there is integrated spoiler at the end. Also roofline has lost its curves and gets flattened. The new car is 1.808m wide, 1.486m tall and 4.278m long; that’s 84mm wider, 12mm lower and 152mm longer than the outgoing version, and considerably wider and longer than a Golf. We can get little sense of ‘Porsche’iness in the overall looks. But it still has the Car next door appeal with it.
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The bug is having small but powerful and efficient heart inside. It is having 1.2 liter, turbocharged TSI engine giving out 105 PS power and 1.4 liter TSI supercharged giving 160 PS of power. While looking at these figures, please don’t forget about VW’s impressive ‘Think Blue. Drive Blue’ theme. The theme tries to hit sweet-spot between maximum power output with minimum fuel burnt. The 1.2 l motor can go from standstill 0-100km/h in 10.9 secs and the bigger 1.4 l motor can do the same in 8.3 secs. So these figures make this Beetle to fly higher and faster.
VW has given complete makeover to Beetle under the body also. The Beetle ‘Sport’ comes with a standard, factory-fitted XDS electronic differential lock which is essentially an extension of the familiar EDS functionality. XDS improves handling in fast bends and calibrates the car towards more “neutral” steering; it does this by using active brake intervention to prevent wheel spin of the unloaded wheel on the inside of the curve, which in turn improves traction.
At an expected price of Rs. 25 lakhs, the Volkswagen Beetle now have to face Mini Cooper and A class and A1 in future. So how do you consider this Hitler’s idea and Germany’s Icon “The Beetle” – evolved version.
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Other than the new Touareg, Polo, Vento and Jetta, the German automaker also showcased the Volkswagen XL1 Concept. The Volkswagen XL1 Concept is a Super Efficient Vehicle, which returns close to 100 kmpl mileage. It is powered by a 800cc, 2-cylinder engine, sipping on diesel fuel and producing power of 48 BHP. An electric motor producing 27 hp of power ensure the XL1 reaches 100 kmph in just 11.9 seconds. A top speed of 160 kmph is possible thanks to the light weight of just 795 kgs. No signs of the XL1 Concept going into production at Chakan or Aurangabad anytime in the distant future.
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