It's still a VW which means it's still an average product with premium prices for acquisition, parts, and service, and you will be paying them because a) they are in the shop a lot and b) there's a lot of specialty stuff on them that makes it harder to go to independent shops with.
As for the new styling, yesterday I was reading about it and the designer said how he looked to the original beetle for inspiration, not the '98 New Beetle... yeah, right.
Just like the designer for the 350Z said he didn't look at other sports cars. Good gawd they must think we're dumb.
As far as the redesign, I try to not pass judgement on photos alone as I've learned that I can have quite a different impression of something in real life. That said, I don't find it any more appealing than the last version... yet.