The New Beetle received several major updates for 2006, including an external makeover and a new 5-cylinder engine. For 2007, the New Beetle adds some new color choices, but the diesel-powered TDI version has been dropped.

The original Volkswagen Beetle's classic rounded shape could well be the most easily recognized profile in automotive history. As with its spiritual predecessor, the rear-engine, air-cooled Volkswagen Type 1 (the original Beetle's official moniker), the New Beetle's name appears nowhere on the car, yet virtually everyone can identify it at a glance. Volkswagen designers even went to great lengths to engineer the New Beetle’s convertible top so it resembled the original Beetle's baby-buggy profile with the top down, maintaining the famous curved roofline with the top up.