2013 Volkswagen Beetle GS-R

The last new Volkswagen Beetle pioneered the automotive retro trend when it debuted way back for 1998. Thanks to distinctive styling and little touches like a flower vase on the dash, the New Beetle was an immediate hit with younger buyers and Baby Boomers alike. But that homage to the 1960s lasted so long without any changes that it eventually became an homage to the 1990s. In a way, the New Beetle has been a retro version of itself in its waning years. So it's with welcome relief that Volkswagen has introduced the redesigned 2012 Volkswagen Beetle. An entirely new model based on the most recent mechanical underpinnings from the redesigned VW Golf, the 2012 Beetle is a car that's a little less cute but a lot more functional. At first glance, it resembles a New Beetle that's been squashed from above. (And, yes, the word New has been exorcised, so you won't be reading about the new New Beetle). Indeed, the redesigned car is longer, wider and lower. This not only gives the Beetle more classic proportions, but it also provides for more legroom and a bigger trunk, not to mention a more natural position of the driver that dispenses with the previous package's unused space on top of the dashboard. The interior design has been redone as well to be modern without losing the Beetle heritage. The upright dashboard has an available drop-down glovebox (dubbed kaeferfach, or Beetle bin, in homage to the original), and it is color-keyed to the exterior as a means of adding a welcome splash of personality. The design might not be as retro as the Mini Cooper, but then neither are its interior controls, and this is definitely a good thing. In fact, the Beetle gets the same sensible electronics features and control interface that you see elsewhere in the VW lineup, including Bluetooth, iPod and a navigation system.