I've read so many reviews about the prior VW New Beetles, and all the bugs (no pun intended) they needed fixed. So after long consideration and a serious need to downsize from my 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd., I went to the VW dealer.

Now I'll be honest, I went there specifically for the Passat. Those VW commercials where the people are driving along talking about a movie then BAM! they're broad-sided, really got to me. Excellent advertising on VW's part. Anyhow, I'm there at the VW dealer with my mother and my two small children, 6 and 3 years old, looking at the Passat. I didn't really like it as it still looked quite large length-wise. So I walked over to the Jetta to take a peek. The inside didn't do anything for me, the outside didn't either. What to do? I wanted a German car and since my favorite Swedish Volvos were out of the question-the whole Ford thing, you know...

My mother had been over admiring the VW New Beetle, which amazed me since she has a fear of being in a small car these days with all the Hummers and ridiculously large pick-up trucks and SUV's out there on the road. More shocked realising that my mother goes everywhere with me, meaning if I was to get a new car, she'd have to feel safe in it as well.

She loved the New Beetle! She sat in it, spoke about how cute it was, how roomy it was for a smaller car, on and on. She had nothing but good things to say about it! Well, she opened the door for me, a Bug lover, I jumped at the opportunity look further into buying it.

She insisted I take it on a test drive, see how it feels, handles, etc. Oh my! What a fun car! I was surprised at the power it had and how well it handled-especially compared to the clunky 4 wheel drive Jeep I was so used to.

I got the New Beetle that night!

Now, let me tell you about the roominess if you're concerned about that. The Jeep I had didn't get great ratings on the roominess of the back seat, and for good reason. Two children in carseats need a bit of extra room for their legs (parents out there know what I'm talking about!) and the Jeep just didn't allow adequate room and I certainly wasn't going to hug the steering wheel to accomodate.

The New VW Beetle on the other hand, the kids have ample room. Ample leg room! What?! You're saying, no way? Oh yes, it does. I was literally jumping with glee over such a simple thing-leg room in the back seat! It's true, there is ample leg room in the back as well as in the front. No hugging steering wheels for me! Now, I will point out that if you're a parent of two children in car seats and are interested in the New Beetle, be advised that those two car seats and children will be the only thing sitting in the back seat. No third person will fit, not even a very thin person. That's the only downside.

Let's talk trunks now. The larger the trunk, the more stuff that ends up staying in it, hence creating less room than normal. That was the case with the Jeep. Yes I know it didn't have a 'trunk' but the back had accumulated quite a bit of random items. Umbrellas, a random "in case" blanket, car cleaning items...a lot of stuff that didn't need to be there rendering the back smaller than normal. You might say I was used to 'making do' with a small space in the back. At first glance, you'll think the New VW Beetle's trunk is quite small, and compared to full-size cars it is, but you can still get your groceries in there, I promise! You can even squeeze in your 12 rolls of toilet paper package on top of your groceries, it's true. I have.

Ok, I'm not going to get into all the technical horsepower, injectors, yadda yadda items that are easily found on the internet. If you're that interested in the New VW Beetle, chances are you've already read about all of that.

I hope I've answered some questions about the roominess of the New VW Beetle for those out there who haven't made up their minds yet and gone to the dealers to take a look because they have small children. Thank you so much for reading, I know it was alot!