So the 2012 VW New Beetle is here (The "New New Beetle"?) and as befits a car famous for not significantly changing year after year, the new lines reveal themselves rather gradually as you look it over. The sloping tail refers more closely to the original car than its immediate predecessor. The iconic curved roof set on lower haunches amplifies the fender flares and suggests the original Bauhaus-inspired Audi TT. External design adjustments are individually subtle, but there are a lot of them and they add up. The more obvious change is the interior, which takes a big step forward. Drivetrain choices include some pretty sporty configurations, such as a powerful turbo clean diesel mated to the awesome dual-clutch gearbox found in Audi's more performance-oriented models. Is it still a chick car? Yes, it really is. But we dig it.
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