GTP Cool Wall: 2016+ Volkswagen Beetle Dune

[Leonidae@MFT]

Overpriced, overweight, underpowered, automatic and not AWD.. Seriously Uncool.

 

[CSLACR]

One of the least cool cars in history, this is. It's actually scientifical.

 

[GTP_Ingram]

Anyone who buys this won't care about the fact that it's useless off road, impractical, too heavy and more expensive than a Golf. They'll buy it because it's different, it's cheerful and it's bright yellow.

Like it or loathe it, it's one of very few cars that VW makes currently that isn't painfully boring.

Cool.

 

[Nessy]

It looks like yellow ocre, to me. Wouldn't describe it as a bright yellow.

 

[Cano]

2016+ Volkswagen ​

​

I never gave a S-U as quickly, and I didn't even look at the name of the car. I laughed when I did.

 

[FoRiZon]

Looks like lame corporate attempt at capturing nostalgia.

FWD, underwhelming design, very relied on stock parts etc. I'd rather have a "so bad its good" cars than "so okay its average".

Seriously Uncool.

 

[niky]

Like it or loathe it, it's one of very few cars that VW makes currently that isn't painfully boring.

Cool.

If you're talking the base model turbo 1.2 with a stick, like this:

I'm all for it. Modern Beetles are genuinely fun things, if a bit daft in terms of space utilization. They're not as much fun as MINIs, but they do have their charms.

But that gaudy, overwrought monstrosity of a special edition on the first page? Ew. No. Especially not with the ghastly body-colored wheels.

 

[ToyGTone]

When i first saw the word "Dune", i thought it would be like this:

Until i clicked this...

 

[GTP_Ingram]

It looks like yellow ocre, to me. Wouldn't describe it as a bright yellow.

Mild pedantry aside, my point was that it's much brighter than the majority of cars you'll see on the road. I'd admire someone more for buying this someone who chooses, say, a silver Golf.

If you're talking the base model turbo 1.2 with a stick, like this:

I'm all for it. Modern Beetles are genuinely fun things, if a bit daft in terms of space utilization. They're not as much fun as MINIs, but they do have their charms.

But that gaudy, overwrought monstrosity of a special edition on the first page? Ew. No. Especially not with the ghastly body-colored wheels.

I think the fact that the Dune is creating such a reaction on here is why it's the most interesting (and potentially coolest) Beetle on sale today. While it was pretty obvious that among the petrolheads on this forum it was always going to universally hated, I'm sure there are plenty of non-car people who feel the exact opposite about it.

It's a "Marmite" car - you love it or you hate it. That makes it interesting in my book. It's not something I would ever buy, but it looks fun. I think boring cars designed to please everyone and sell in huge numbers are far less cool than weird and divisive ones like this.

 

[SVT Cobra GT]

Nope. Uncool.

 

[axletramp]

Physically painful to look at. SU.

 

[huskeR32]

A bit overdone, but overall I feel the same about it as I do all examples of the New Beetle version 2: the coupe isn't too bad, but the convertible is atrocious.

 

[Vegard]

VW Dung Beetle

 

[Valkyr1313]

I like the sorta gold colour but it's not enough to un-do the FWD and the fact that they got only 170hp out of a 1.8 turbo.
Not SU but only by the tiniest of margins. Uncool

 

[Tyger]

I had hopes for some modern take on a Baja Bug too, but can't really mark it down for what I hoped it would be. This gen of Beetles are upper Meh for me, this particular trim brings it down to an Uncool.

 

[nascarfan1400]

I think it could have potential. Cool.

 

[AudiMan2011]

A Beetle with the Golf R engine and drivetrain would be a hell of a lot more interesting than the Dune. IMO this suffers from the same problem as the Vauxhall/Opel Adam Rocks Air, in that it's a pseudo-off-road looking car designed to appeal to the fashion conscious.

 

[niky]

It's a "Marmite" car - you love it or you hate it. That makes it interesting in my book. It's not something I would ever buy, but it looks fun. I think boring cars designed to please everyone and sell in huge numbers are far less cool than weird and divisive ones like this.

I like weird. I'm all for cars like the Nissan Pao or the New New Beetle (the design on the old New Beetle sort of left me cold. Felt half-baked). But this is just a cynical cash-grab special edition. A splash of new paint and plastic cladding aren't enough to make this a quirky-cool car.

It's like modernising the Mona Lisa. The original is weird and divisive and neat. This just isn't.

 

[Epic B]

Meh. No AWD, so thanks. If they're going to make a "rugged" looking Beetle, they should at least give it all wheel drive like the Jetta Alltrak.

 

[BlazeTheCat05]

Drivetrain: Front-engine, front wheel drive

......
Seriously uncool. They couldn't have reworked the drivetrain from the Tiguan?

 

[GTP_Ingram]

A Beetle with the Golf R engine and drivetrain would be a hell of a lot more interesting than the Dune. IMO this suffers from the same problem as the Vauxhall/Opel Adam Rocks Air, in that it's a pseudo-off-road looking car designed to appeal to the fashion conscious.

But this is just a cynical cash-grab special edition. A splash of new paint and plastic cladding aren't enough to make this a quirky-cool car.

Both the Adam and the Beetle are, in general, cynical cash grab cars. Given that I hate the Vauxhall Adam Rocks with a passion, one of the few things this debate has established is that I'm probably a bit of a hypocrite.

In my defence, the Adam is a miserable-looking, bandwagon-jumping, half-hearted faux-premium supermini with cringe-worthy marketing, whereas the Beetle at least looks kind of cutesy. If you told someone you drive a Beetle (regardless of if it's old or new), they'd probably be more interested than if you told them your car is called Adam, too.

While I'm well aware that the pair are - at least in principle - pretty similar, to me the Beetle is cynical cash grabbing done properly, whereas the Adam is the perfect example of how to make a nasty imitation.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

I actually like the newer Beetles, I kinda wish they made a GTI version just for the heck of it. Anyway, this one though; uncool. It reminds me of the Dodge Dart GLH concept that I saw a while back, it's another car homage of the past, but fails in the homage.

Note, I just vote uncool for that as I can't think of anything else that would be uncool about it to push it to SU.