Cars are rated one (forget it) to four ('bout as good as it gets) James Deans

 Specifications

• Style: subcompact convertible
• Engine: 2-liter four-cylinder
• Transmission: five-speed manual
• Drive train: front-wheel drive
• Horsepower: 115 hp @ 5,200 rpm
• Torque: 125 ft-lbs. @ 3,200 rpm
• EPA mileage: 24 city/30 highway
• Weight: 3,075 lb.
• Base price: $21,850
• Price as tested: $22,425

As is the case with many my age, a VW is a fond memory from my past.

A 1959 Beetle purchased new took me through four years of college, never once stranding me during sometimes frequent weekend trips home. It was still my car a year later when I dated my future wife. Was our first "family" car. Great, fun, thrifty little car.

A "last year" (ha, gotcha) red 1978 Beetle convertible wasn't so good, cursed with stalling problems. It would conk out and refuse to restart for about 20 minutes. The problem persisted after three "computer brains" for the fuel system were replaced under warranty, until it became intolerable to drive a car that would stall in the middle of a major intersection while turning.

Also not fondly remembered is a VW station wagon that seemed to spend as much time in the shop as our driveway. Then there was the used VW camper that we remember with fondness even though it blew a head bolt out halfway to our vacation destination and later surprised me with a brake pedal that effortlessly went to the floorboard (frantic right turn onto a side street prevented a rear-end accident with the car ahead).

Hmmm. Just why am I so fond of VW?

These troubled memories came back to me because I decided I should now check vehicle reliability before blessing one with the highest rating. We auto writers usually test top models that are carefully prepared for us. Audi even sends a test vehicle to the shop between every writer. No manufacturer wants an auto writer to experience any problem during a test week.

I certainly had no problem with the beautiful 2003 New Beetle GLS convertible. It was fun, very thrifty on regular gas and a calming influence in a gridlocked world.

I was prepared to bestow a four-star rating until I checked some owner comments at www.carsurvey.org

Ouch.

The same troubles with Beetles kept popping up in negative comment after negative comment. Stalling problems, excessive oil consumption with the 2.0-liter four-cylinder, window switches that break, interior surfaces that wear quickly, dealership and manufacturer indifference. The Web now gives voices to angry consumers and, brother, you can read some at this site.

The consistency of the complaints leads to a probability that the VW Beetle indeed has problems. And those problems, probably spread word-of-mouth before auto writers catch on, might be responsible for a serious dive in VW profits in the past two years. Yes, Beetle sales are down after the initial 1998 retro model caused a rush to showrooms, but so are all company offerings.

What gives me greatest pause, however, is knowing that VW was near the bottom of manufacturers lists for reliability and durability not many years ago. You know, those J.D. Power lists that crown Lexus the king of good cars. A full list, you'll note, is never made public. Car makers do not want you to know the cellar-dwellers. But in years past, VW and even Jaguar found themselves bogged in reliability woes.

Both pulled themselves out.

Jaguar did so smashingly that it now flirts with Top 5 most years.

VW and Audi stopped being poster children for lousy vehicles.

Until now.

If these complaints voiced on the Internet reflect more than a few disgruntled owners, then VW has a major, major problem on its hands. While auto writers spend a week with a vehicle (the writers you can trust should tell you up front everything they can possibly find fault with), vehicle owners live with it for months or years. They KNOW! And if you intend to buy a particular vehicle, it pays to ask an owner after you've read all those "great car, sets benchmarks, performs like .. blah, blah, blah" stuff that passes for "reviews" in many magazines and newspapers.

I encourage you, as always, to do your homework before making the second largest purchase of your life. Check Consumer Reports, check Internet sites like carsurvey.org

'cause fun as the VW Beetle convertible was -- and it was -- I now have enough qualms to back off a strong recommendation to buy one.

A beauty of the Internet lies in databases. If I've written something before that applies today, why write it again? I can just link a reader to it. One click and it's done. So it is that VW Beetles in three guises have been reviewed at The Car Place since the New Beetle's introduction in 1998. At the bottom of this review, you'll find links to those reviews, which will detail all you probably want to know about many areas of concern. In this review of the convertible, I'll stick to comments unique to the convertible.

Since the convertible shares all safety features with other New Beetles, those don't need to be mentioned. But convertibles face one unique problem - the rollover accident, which can expose occupants to massive head trauma. A roof, after all, provides protection against a head striking the ground while the car is upside-down. Not so in a ragtop.

To protect as best can be done, VW includes pop-up roll bars behind the rear passenger seat. That's almost unheard of at this price, since this feature could only be found on top Mercedes-Benz topless models a few years ago. But VW has tall bars that shoot out in 1/4 second if a rollover is sensed. Coupled with the strongly reinforced windshield, the convertible has front and rear pivot or crush points above the heads of those inside while the car rolls over.

The outstanding crash test results for the Beetle speak to the fact that this is one of the safest subcompacts on the market.

One-hundred and fifteen horsepower doesn't sound like much, but if the gearing is correct and car doesn't weigh too much, then it gets the job done. So it is with the VW New Beetle convertible GLS. And for those who simply can't stand the thought of a 0-to-60 time above 10 seconds, VW will offer a turbocharged convertible next spring.

I enjoyed the leisurely convertible and never felt the need for more horsepower. This kind of tops-down motoring, like that in the new Ford Thunderbird, is meant to be savored, not gulped in rushing microseconds.

Braking was sufficiently strong, the clutch was light and easy to engage smoothly, shifting was a no-brainer, and cornering was flat and sure. There was some minor flexing of the convertible body passing over railroad tracks. Noise was suppressed very well with the heavily-cushioned top up.

Front-seat occupants in the New Beetle convertible enjoy four-star accommodations. Seats rise and tilt and recline and slide into perfect position. There is massive headroom with the top up. Footroom is plentiful. And the driver can rest an elbow on the window sill.

For those in the rear seats, it can be like an overnight at the motel orphaned by the bypass that took traffic thataway. There's precious little footroom and the sloping top is coming down onto their heads. Best to sentence children to those confines.

(In the photo here, note the driver's and front passenger's seat positions. I drive close to the steering wheel, in NASCAR fashion. My wife is tall and likes lots of footroom. An adult behind me would find footroom satisfactory; one behind my wife would have knees to chin.)

Entry to the rear seat is very easy, however, since the front seats slide and fold forward and the big doors open to Kingdom Come.

Controls are well placed and instruments are few. At night, they illuminate in a blue fashion favored by VW.

The dashboard itself is a rather useless monster that prevents even a glimpse of the front of the car.

But the unique aspect here is the ragtop. Reach up, twist a lever and the top pops open slightly. Press a button and the top drops into position in about 11 seconds. It does not drop into a well, as is the case with most convertibles. No, it drops baby-buggy style, stacking up to partially block rear view and make your parking life difficult. But it's the way VW has always done convertibles, so why should this retro model be any different.

With the top up -- as is the case with most convertibles -- there is a substantial blind spot to the right-rear.

Thankfully, the rear window is glass and thus will not fade or crack as plastic does over time.

After my week, I decided I really liked the VW New Beetle convertible. So much so that I would buy one.

Then I did the reliability research. Now, I'm not so sure.

Here is an affordable, fun, economical, safe convertible with unique, retro styling. As a ragtop, I like it better than the PT Cruiser. But what can we make of the complaints?

That part I'll have to leave to your good judgment. I found no fatal flaws, no reason not to buy and love this little cutie that's perhaps the consummate "chick" car.

But I will tell you this: If I were managing VW, I'd be bending over backwards to satisfy complaining customers and I'd have some regular "quality is job 1" seminars for all employees. When profits plunge, as they have for VW, the temptation is to cut costs as a way of increasing profitability. But cost-cutting can be false savings if parts are low-bid items prone to failure. Frankly, the main thing VW needs to save right now is a reputation that was tarnished, polished and faces a repeat of that cycle.

'nuff said.

Home, James