5 Alternatives To The Volkswagen Beetle

Coming up with five alternatives to the Volkswagen Beetle requires a thorough consideration of what the original VW Beetle actually was back in the day. No, we will not be including the retro-styled, front-wheel drive New Beetle that ran from the 1998 to the 2010 model years, and was then revised for its final 2012 to 2019 run — that was a totally different car.

The Volkswagen Beetle, which was not designed by Hitler, represented bare-bones, no-frills basic transportation when the first two examples of the car were introduced to the U.S. in January of 1949. In the land of gas-guzzling, Detroit-built land yachts, the air-cooled little Beetle was quite an oddity, but it soon caught on as an economical, nimble-handling alternative to our domestically produced vehicles. 

A unique advertising campaign exploited the Beetle's intrinsic advantages, propelling sales to the point where the Beetle had outsold the venerable Ford Model T by 1972. It remained in production for the U.S. market until 1976 for Beetle sedans and 1979 for Beetle convertibles. The original VW Beetle continued in production in Latin America, except for a 1986-1993 pause, until it all came to an end in 2003. When it was all over, a total of over 21 million air-cooled Beetles had been sold by Volkswagen. 

With this framework in mind, we will select those new cars that, to some extent, fulfill the original Beetle's brief. Here are five economical, fun-to-drive, and somewhat quirky-looking means of personal transportation for you, almost 80 years after those first Beetles landed in New York City. 

The 2025 MINI Cooper Hardtop definitely fits the bill as a Volkswagen Beetle alternative. It's small, it's quirky, and it's a hoot to drive. The base Cooper Hardtop is the least expensive MINI, coming in at $28,950 MSRP, plus a destination and handling fee of $1,175. For that, you get a 2.0-liter, turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine producing 161 horsepower, which is four times the horsepower of a 1964 VW Beetle. A seven-speed dual-clutch automatic sends the power to the MINI's front wheels. 

Even though this MINI model no longer comes with a manual transmission, the car's renowned go-kart handling, which now has its own separate drive mode, is still standard equipment here. The MINI's rear suspension is a multi-link setup with front and rear stabilizer bars, while 17" alloy wheels and all-season tires aid in putting the car's power to the ground.

Inside the 2025 MINI Cooper Hardtop, the creature comforts definitely upstage the rather basic appointments that the VW Beetle came to our shores with. The MINI includes a front center armrest, panoramic moonroof, heated steering wheel, heads-up display, keyless entry, dual-zone automatic climate control, a tilting and telescoping steering wheel, automatic windshield wipers, power and heated front seats, heated steering wheel, and so much more. LED headlights and remote start also come as standard.

Performance of the MINI is leagues ahead of the VW Beetle. MINI claims a 0-60 mph time of 7.4 seconds, while Car and Driver claims the original Beetle could manage 0-60 mph in 36 seconds. Quite a difference.

This one is for fans of the late, lamented Volkswagen Beetle Convertible, a part of the Beetle lineup since 1949. As a Beetle convertible alternative, the 2025 Mazda Miata is the least expensive convertible that you can buy in 2025. With a base MSRP of $29,530, the Miata is also an excellent sports car, with a 35-year history of satisfying those who like to just put the top down and drive. 

Even though the Miata has come nowhere near the Beetle's incredible sales record of 21 million, this Mazda sports car can boast with over 1.2 million examples sold since its introduction for the 1990 model year, making it the Guinness Book's best-selling roadster worldwide. Every generation of the Mazda Miata has contributed to this achievement.

The Miata is well-equipped, with plenty of both performance and convenience features included, even on the entry level Sport model. The engine on every Miata is a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder with 181 horsepower. To that, Mazda bolts a six-speed manual transmission, sending the power to the rear wheels. 

Performance in Car and Driver testing shows cornering force of 0.90g on a 300-foot skidpad, while 0-60 mph takes 5.5 seconds, 0-100 mph takes 15.7 seconds, and the quarter-mile happens in 14.3 seconds at 96 mph, while the top speed is 139 mph. Also standard is a 6-speaker audio system, keyless entry, tilt & telescoping steering column, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob.

The 2025 Fiat 500e is small like the Beetle and quirky like the Beetle. In fact, the original Fiat 500 was largely responsible for putting postwar Italy back on four wheels, just as the Beetle had in Germany. The original version of the Fiat 500 debuted in 1957, ran until 1975, and was later reimagined for the 21st century with a launch in 2007, though it arrived in the U.S. as a 2012 model and ran through 2019. The most recent version is the Fiat 500e, the modern EV that you see here.

The 500e is a small car with a small 37 kWh battery, which gives it an EPA-estimated 141-mile range. That, sadly, makes it the new EV with the worst range in 2025, tied with the Nissan Leaf S. It is a great car for the city: Coming in at under 12 feet long, it's easy to park in tight spaces. A byproduct of the Fiat 500e's tiny footprint is its tight rear seat and its 8 cubic feet of trunk space.

Performance stats of the 500e show it to be a decent, but not ground-scorching EV, unlike some others of its type. Car and Driver tested the Fiat 500e, managing a 0-60 mph time of 7.8 seconds, with the quarter mile taking 16.1 seconds at 85 mph, plus 0.83g of roadholding on the 300-foot skid pad. Pricing of the 2025 Fiat 500e starts at $30,500 MSRP, before the $1,995 destination charge, though it's still a $2,000 reduction from its 2024 price. 

The 2025 Kia Soul is the Korean-made alternative to the Volkswagen Beetle — it is quirky-looking and has been marketed to the public by human-sized hamsters. It has a squared-off, mini-SUV form factor, which gives it 101 cubic feet of passenger volume and 24 cubic feet of cargo space. It is also one of the most successful models in Kia history.

The Kia Soul is powered by a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine that produces 147 horsepower. The only transmission is a CVT, which sends the engine's power to the front wheels. Performance is adequate for its mission, giving the Soul a 0-60 mph time of eight seconds, a 0-100 time of 24.7 seconds, a 16.4-second quarter-mile at 86 mph, and roadholding of 0.91g on the 300-foot skidpad, according to Car and Driver.

Pricing of the Kia Soul starts at $20,490, with an added destination fee of $1,395. Standard equipment on the base model includes hill-start assist, power windows with driver one-touch auto, rear window washer and wiper, tilt and telescopic steering wheel, remote keyless entry, power locks, power side mirrors, air conditioning, privacy glass, 8-inch touchscreen, full digital instrument cluster, six-speaker audio system, and 16-inch steel wheels with covers. 

Optional equipment available on other trims and packages includes two-tone exterior paint treatments, push-button start, heated side mirrors, dual-zone climate control, eight-way power driver's seat, a 10-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system, LED interior lighting, remote start, and so much more.

The 2025 Toyota Prius is the heir to the Volkswagen Beetle's tradition of efficiency and excellent fuel economy. The Toyota Prius' hybrid drivetrain has established it as the modern king of the fuel-mileage hill, with EPA-estimated numbers of 57 mpg city, 56 mpg highway, and 57 mpg combined for the entry-level Prius LE model. In terms of looks, the odd styling of the previous versions of the Prius were definitely an acquired taste, but the latest model Toyota Prius is a hybrid head-turner, if slightly less functional in terms of interior space. 

The Prius hybrid is available with standard front-wheel drive or optional all-wheel drive. As with previous models, a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version is also available, which provides up to 44 miles of all-electric range. Pricing for the Toyota Prius starts at $28,350 MSRP, plus Toyota's unavoidable $1,135 delivery, processing and handling fee. The Prius PHEV is priced higher, at $33,375 MSRP plus the fee.

Under the sleek bodywork is a hybrid powertrain composed of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine connected to an electronically-controlled CVT. The transmission has two electric motors inside, providing additional assist and a total system output of 194 horsepower when driving the front wheels, while the all-wheel drive version gets 196 horsepower and an additional electric motor powering the rear wheels. Performance is improved over previous Prius generations, with a 0-60 mph time of 7.1 seconds, 0-100 mph in 18.8 seconds, and 0.87g on the 300-foot skidpad, according to Car and Driver.