Test Driven: 2012 VW Beetle Turbo vs 2012 VW GTI
Posted: December 23, 2011 Filed under: Cheap Fun!, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 2.0T, 200, 2012, 210, advice, Beetle, Comparison, consumer, DCT, difference, Drive, DSG, fun, German, GTI, handling, Hatch, Hot, hp, manual, Mind, motor, Over, practical, Retro, review, Sport, Test, turbo, Volkswagen, vs, VW 4 Comments »
Beetle Turbo vs GTI
I first saw the new VW Beetle up close at the New York International Autoshow this past year. I was very excited to see that the new version had become more of a sporting machine and less of a decorated flowerpot. On the surface the Beetle is on the same chassis as the Golf, and the one I was interested in, the Beetle Turbo, basically has the same mechanics as the famed GTI. This made me wonder how similar they really were to each other because I know VW would not want to steal sales from themselves. I decided to go try them both out back to back and compare. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: 2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser
Posted: December 6, 2011 Filed under: TEST DRIVEN, Used Gems | Tags: Blind Spots, FJ Cruiser, Mind over motor, Off-Road, Retro, review, SUV, Test Driven, Toyota, Truck, Trucklike, Utility Leave a comment »
It won’t win beauty contests, but at least it looks like a proper truck, and has the credentials underneath.
Toyota is one of three major automakers still offering an off-road biased SUV, the other two being Nissan (the Xterra) and Chrysler (the Jeep Wrangler). The FJ Cruiser calls up Toyota’s heritage of offering tough-as-nails trucks to go anywhere and do anything, no matter how hard the task or the climate. The old FJ40 Land Cruisers are some of the most famous trucks in the world, but on the surface, the FJ Cruiser seems to be a different story. When I first saw it on sale, I thought it looked like an oversized Tonka Truck, but thanks to the FJ40′s reputation, I figured it was worth a drive, so that’s exactly what I did. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: 2012 Volkswagen Beetle 2.5
Posted: November 22, 2011 Filed under: Green & Economical, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: Beetle, FWD, Hatchback, I5, Mind over motor, Red, Retro, Small, Test Driven, VW Leave a comment »
The Beetle’s shape is probably one of the best-known (and in some circles, most reviled) shapes on the road. However, the previous “New Beetle” was getting old by 2011, and Volkswagen took the time to completely redesign it for 2012. Because of its cultural impact over the years (and the fact that I know some people who read this site are interested), I took one for a drive recently. Read the rest of this entry »
