Soft top or hard top, the Volkswagen New Beetle is built on the same basic platform as the Volkswagen Golf, a high-quality, highly rigid chassis. A rigid chassis results in a smooth, controlled ride with little noise, vibration or harshness. Well-engineered crumple zones and other features enhance crash protection. To maintain structural integrity without sacrificing its round shape, the New Beetle convertible's body has been enhanced to provide additional support, including a rear seat support that enhances chassis rigidity.

Beetle's dimensions prove it is no small car. The body is 161.1 inches in length and 67.9 inches wide, with a wheelbase of 98.7 inches. It's longer, but narrower and taller than a Mini. Beetle is shorter, but wider and not as tall as a PT Cruiser.

Quality is excellent. Gaps between doors, fenders and other body panels are some of the tightest we've seen. Fenders and bumpers are made from a special dent-resistant plastic. Outside door handles are easy to grab, feel good, and don't require inverting your hand to operate. New turn indicators on outside mirrors warn drivers alongside when changing lanes. Color-keyed mirror housings and door handles add to the Beetle's clean appearance. At night from a distance, our black convertible looked like something from Porsche with its sleek dome shape and round headlamps.

Convertibles are distinguished by an exterior chrome strip that surrounds the greenhouse and by a redesigned trunk design with integrated third brake light, and side mirrors with integrated turn signals.

Turbo S looks similar to the other New Beetles, but aerodynamic enhancements give it a hunkered-down German turbo look. Smoothed-out wheel wells and revised bumpers give it a seamless, aerodynamic appearance. Double exhaust pipes hint of compressed aspiration under the hood, while special 17-inch alloy wheels and tires indicate a sports suspension. A subtle Turbo S badge, styled after Porsche badging, adorns the back hatch on which sits a rear valance. The Turbo's rear spoiler pops up at speed and is designed to maintain rear-end stability in high-speed corners. After spending some time with the car, we found the rear spoiler a bit annoying as it comes back down with a "thunk" when slowing down.

Color is important on the Beetle and a diverse palette is available, including special-edition colors introduced at different times during the 2003 model year: Campanella White, Galactic Blue, Sunflower Yellow, Sundown Orange, Cyber Green, Chromaflair Silver/Green, Blue Lagoon, Red Uni, Chromaflair Cyan/Purple, Black, Reflex Silver, Red, Blue Lagoon, and Platinum Gray.