WHERE the original Beetle's horizontally opposed, air-cooled, four-cylinder engine defied convention, the New Beetle gets a thoroughly ordinary powerplant from another member of the VW family. Using a cast-iron block and an aluminium cylinder head with a single overhead camshaft and just two valves per cylinder, it displaces 2.0- litres and is a useful workhorse more than a high-performance powerplant. Fuel is injected by an electronic, sequential multi-port system.

With just 85kW and 165Nm of torque and 170Nm at 2400rpm, it nevertheless does a good job of propelling the Beetle. Claimed fuel economy figures are good, however the car sups on premium unleaded petrol.