Volkswagen of America has announced pricing for the Beetle and Beetle Convertible 1.8T models, which are now beginning to arrive in dealerships.

When equipped with a five-speed manual transmission, the base price for the Beetle is $20,295 and $21,395 with a six-speed automatic transmission. The Beetle Convertible — only available with the six-speed automatic — starts at $25,170.

The new 1.8-liter TSI engine has a peak output of 170 horsepower at 4800 to 6200 rpm, matching the horsepower rating of the outgoing 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine, but delivered at 700 fewer revs, says Volkswagen. It offers seven pound-feet more torque at 184 lb.-ft., produced at just 1,500 rpm — 2,750 revs less than the outgoing 2.5’s torque figure.

In addition, all 1.8T Beetle models now have electric power steering instead of the hydraulic setup on the 2.5 models.

The new engine also returns better EPA estimated fuel economy figures than the 2.5-liter unit. The Beetle equipped with the 1.8T and a six-speed automatic transmission now gets 33 mpg on the highway, up from 29 mpg for the 2.5-liter engine.

At the same time, the city mileage improves from 22 to 25 mpg, and the overall EPA estimated combined fuel economy is now 28 mpg compared with 25 mpg for the outgoing five-cylinder, according to Volkswagen.

Volkswagen of America predicts that by the end of 2014, close to 90% of its vehicles will be sold with these engines.