It's hard to approach the status of the Beetle. Only a couple of cars on the road have similar lifetime sales numbers and few have the instantly recognizable shape of the Beetle. The New Beetle arrived in 1998 as a modern car based on the Golf platform with modern technology and a fairly high price. With the engine up front this time around, the New Beetle features a relatively spacious interior with a large hatchback cargo area. Pricing has settled around $20k. In today's market, Scion, Hyundai, and Kia provide the kind of value that the original Beetle was known for, but a unique combination of heritage, style, utility, and fuel economy should help keep the Beetle on some shopping lists.

New trim level naming: S and SE. Numerous color and option changes