Meanwhile in Brazil, the small cars which now hold a status quite comparable to how the Beetle used to be seen as a cheap beater are local variants of the Fiat Uno and Opel Corsa B. Not to mention the Corsa was also the first small car to become a serious contender to the Beetle in Mexico.
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Originally Posted by Ecky
I'd argue that the spiritual successor to the Beetle, on the road today, is something like a Corolla. Relatively inexpensive, small, lightweight, easy to work on, tons of them on the road, parts are abundant.
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I usually refer to the Corolla as some sort of Japanese Beetle too, even though it might not be so suitable to the needs of some rural folks who still praise the rear-engined RWD layout of the Beetle.
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The closest mechanical equivalent is definitely nowhere near the spiritual equivalent.
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Neither was the Gurgel Supermini so close to the basic layout of the Beetle, but at least it took in consideration the actual requirements of rural Brazilians who previously would buy a Beetle mostly for its mild off-road ability.