Is the Volkswagen Beetle Dune the latest attempt to breathe life into an ailing model or the greatest idea ever? Don’t answer yet.
It doesn’t take too much to see VW doesn’t know what to do with the Beetle other than smothering it with special editions as we saw with a bunch of concepts in April at the New York show. And now here’s the production version of the Beetle Dune that the company has teased us with.
I shouldn’t like this thing. It does nothing a normal Beetle doesn’t (which isn’t a great start), instead being more like a trim with every option thrown at it.
There’s no diesel now for obvious reasons, which is too bad because that might actually make it more charming and alluring.
Yet there’s a strong attraction to the Beetle Dune, in a way I haven’t had toward a “new” Beetle in a long, long time. I caught myself sitting in the convertible on the show floor for at least five minutes, prodding the interior and looking around at the garish gold paint wondering why I’d be OK being seen in this car. I wouldn’t have a problem.
Maybe it’s the fact a convertible version of the Dune exists at all, but this Beetle’s true appeal is it looks like a step above another “special” edition. And it isn’t trying too hard to run away from its “flower power” image here, either. This is a “rugged” Beetle, although take it to Baja at your own risk.
Now, would I pay money for one? I can’t answer that yet.
Photos: Zac Estrada/Carscoops
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