Style Does Come at a PriceSomething always happens to me health-wise when I know that I will be testing the Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible. For instance,
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| The Sundown Orange Beetle's infectious personality definitely helped me forget my blahs. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press) |
back in 2003 (I was testing the 2004 model), I eagerly counted down the days until I would be behind the wheel of the quirky but cute convertible. The countdown finally ended, and low and behold, that very Monday, only a few hours after I picked it up, I was hospitalized with a serious virus. I was out for the whole week, and then some. This time around, my editor announced that I would be testing the Beetle and I replied, "I bet you anything I'm going to get sick." I was right. I came down with a throat virus and a really bad runny nose. And no, it's not allergies. Although I was not bed-ridden like before, I was feeling quite under the weather. Coincidence? Who knows! But luckily, the week I thought I had the Beetle was a week premature, so
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| The GLX trim comes equipped with a 1.8L, turbocharged I-4 engine that produces 150 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press) |
in the end, I beat the bug before my week with the Bug. Hopefully the curse has been broken! I wasn't completely recovered from my coughing and wheezing by the time the Sundown Orange Beetle was in my hands, but its infectious personality definitely helped me forget my blahs. The GLX trim comes equipped with a 1.8L, turbocharged I-4 engine that produces 150 horsepower at 5,800 rpm and 162 lb-ft of torque between 2,200-4,200 rpm which further accelerated my healing process. Speaking of acceleration, this convertible goes from 0-100km is 9.1 seconds with the 5-speed manual transmission, the same transmission my tester was equipped with (0-100km/hr is 9.6 seconds with the automatic transmission). While the Beetle is not the class leader with regards to horsepower, it sure can fly.
