What's all this about?
Volkswagen has only gone and done a crossover, off-road-style version of the evergreen Beetle. Harking back to those evocative Baja Buggies of the past, this is the Beetle Dune and it has been revealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Are my eyes failing me - only, one of the Dunes in the pictures looks like a soft-top?
Your eyes are fine. The Dune comes as a 'coupé' (and calling the Beetle a coupé is stretching the term to the very limits of credibility as it is) or a Cabriolet.
Good grief! An open-top off-roader?
Why not? Range Rover's doing it with the Evoque.
Fair point. OK, so what marks out the Beetle Dune?
It rides 10mm higher than a regular Beetle and features all the sorts of body cladding you'd expect from something like a Skoda Octavia Scout or SEAT Leon X-Perience - so check out the big silver air vent at the front, or the silver diffuser at the rear, or the black plastic fringing the wheel arches and even the 'Beetle running boards'. Which, ah... are those bits of black plastic on the doors. Nice 'Dune' graphic on the flanks, though. Oh, and it gets its own design of 18-inch alloy wheels. And LED rear lights. And a spoiler on the boot, which is black on the top and body-coloured underneath.
What are the colour choices?
There are nine shades to pick from, including two new metallic hues called Sandstorm Yellow and Dark Bronze. If you go for the hatchback Beetle, you can optionally have the roof painted black, but all the Cabriolets get black-soft tops.
How about the interior?
There's a 'Dash Pad', which is a console-mounted panel of colour to match the exterior, while contrast stitching is used on the Dune's sport seats and leather-trimmed steering wheel. The Composition and Discover Volkswagen infotainment systems will be available, as will options including a DAB+ radio, a second Bluetooth phone interface and a powerful, high-end stereo system from US manufacturer Fender.
Has the Beetle Dune got four-wheel drive?
As yet, it's not clear, but as three petrol engines and two diesels (all turbocharged) are offered, if the Dune does come with four-wheel drive it will only be available on the two biggest capacity engines. Pick from a 1.2 litre TSI (105hp), a 1.4-litre TSI (150hp) or the 2.0 TSI engine from the Golf GTI, delivering 220hp. And if you prefer diesel, there's a 110hp 1.6-litre TDI and a 150hp 2.0. Fuel economy ranges from 42.8- to 54.3mpg for the petrol engines, and 62.8- to 65.7mpg for the TDIs, with CO2 emissions across the line-up starting from as little as 112g/km on the 1.6 TDI and rising to 153g/km for the 2.0 TSI.
When will they be on sale?
If confirmed for the UK, expect them in the first half of 2016.
Matt Robinson - 17 Nov 2015
