New Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet Review | Drive, Specs & Pricing

Sell your car for what it's really worth Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet Review and Prices

10.8M 1,900,000 1.3M 2.32M 92.5K

• Review
• Interior

The Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet is stylish and feels surefooted to drive. It doesn’t have the character of an Italian roadster but should serve you well

Carwow price from Used £13,989 Ready to see prices tailored to you? Compare used deals Rated 4.4/5 from 76,628 reviews wowscore 6/10 This score is awarded by our team of expert reviewers after extensive testing of the car

What's good

• Distinctive looks
• Good range of engines
• Much better than the old car

What's not so good

• Can be a bit pricey
• Not that practical
• Isn’t great to drive

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Find out more about the Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet

• Is the Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet a good car?
• What's it like to drive?
• What's it like inside?

As with the hardtop, it’s a noticeably more enjoyable car to drive than its predecessor, along with the improved practicality and good range of engines on offer.

However, some issues such as limited rear space that plague the regular Beetle have been carried over and, in some cases, emphasised by the Cabriolet’s nature as a soft-top convertible.

The Beetle is a safe choice for a stylish convertible and will rarely annoy

Overall, the Beetle Cabriolet certainly has its merits, especially when compared with the similarly style-conscious cars it competes with. Decent ride and handling, useable practicality and some pretty capable powertrains help make a convincing case. Dynamically, the soft-top Beetle does lose some ground to the best rivals, but almost all Beetle buyers will be focused more on the car’s styling.

All in all, if you’re in the market for an affordable, stylish convertible that isn’t too compromised when it comes to practicality, we reckon it’s worth considering the Beetle Cabriolet.

How much is the Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet?

The Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet has a RRP range of £19,405 to £30,195. The price of a used Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet on Carwow starts at £13,989.

One of the ever-present problems when turning a hard-top into a convertible is the penalty in rigidity caused by the loss of the roof.

The joy that roofless motoring brings easily offsets the middling handing

Performance and Economy

The Beetle Cabriolet shares the same engine range – three petrols, two diesels – that you’ll find in the equivalent hatchback Beetle, and they’re all decent powerplants.

Whilst the larger engines, in particular, the 197hp 2.0 TSI petrol offer the best performance in the range, it’s the smaller engines that are the pick of the range. For instance, all engines bar the aforementioned 2.0 petrol can manage at least 40mpg on the combined cycle, with the 1.6 TDI diesel managing a very impressive 65mpg.

All the engines appear to be very smooth and refined, as you’d expect from a VW engine. However, it is worth pointing out that the smallest engines in the range aren’t exactly what you’d call punchy…

Whilst all cars come with either a five or six-speed manual transmission, some critics are inclined to recommend the automatic DSG gearboxes over the manual, given that they suit the car’s more relaxed character. However, they do cost a fair bit of money to buy, and they do hamper the running costs slightly, so we’ll let you decide as to whether ease of use justifies slightly more frequent stops at the pumps.

Driving

Extra bracing has been added, and all models come with the clever rear suspension that was usually the preserve of the top spec hard-top Beetles. The overall dynamics aren’t too shabby and the ride quality appears to be fairly good.

Overall refinement also seems to be pretty good thanks to the sound insulation of the fabric roof – which takes 9.5 seconds to be raised or lowered at speeds of up to 30mph.

Whilst it’s by no means awful to drive, and noticeably better than the previous Beetle Cabriolet, it’s not that rewarding if you drive it enthusiastically. Rear visibility is also compromised when the roof is up, so it may be worth to spec the parking sensors if you’re definitely going to buy a Beetle Cab.

The VW Beetle Cabriolet is spacious up front but quite cramped in the back. The interior design is simple and easy to use but the build quality isn’t quite up to VW standards

Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet colours

Special paint - Denim blue Free Special paint - Black Free Solid - Tornado red Free Special solid - Pure white Free Solid - Salsa red Free Solid - Harvest Moon Beige Free Metallic - Java Free Solid - Candy white Free Solid - Black Free Solid - Black Free Special solid - Candy white From £200 Special paint - Saturn yellow From £250 Special solid - Tornado red From £280 Special paint - Sunflower From £360 Metallic - Shadow blue From £430 Metallic - Reflex silver From £430 Pearl - Deep black From £430 Pearl - Laser blue From £430 Metallic - Platinum grey From £430 Metallic - Heavenly blue From £430 Metallic - Gecko green From £430 Metallic - Arctic blue silver From £430 Metallic - Reef blue From £500 Metallic - Moon rock silver From £500 Metallic - Blue silk From £560 Metallic - White silver From £575 Metallic - Dark Bronze From £575 Metallic - Ameleva Blue From £575 Premium paint - Oryx white From £930 Premium paint - Habanero orange From £995 Next Read full interior review Carwow price from Used £13,989 Ready to see prices tailored to you? Compare used deals Rated 4.4/5 from 76,628 reviews

• Used Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet deals Carwow price from £13,989

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