Volkswagen up! review
by Tom Stewart (25 October 2011)
The up! is Volkswagen's all-new and peculiarly-monikered city car. Built in Slovakia, it has a new platform, new body, new engine, new transmission, new infotainment, new everything. It plugs the gap at the tiny end of VW's range left by the discontinued Fox, and when it reaches UK showrooms during the Spring it'll be competing against the likes of the Fiat 500, Ford Ka and Toyota iQ.
First impressions count for a lot, and here the up! scores highly. It's undeniably cute to look at, and its chief stylists Walter de Silva (VW Group) and Klaus Bischoff (VW brand) have fortunately shunned a gloopy, organic, teardrop-inspired design and instead opted for a soft but clean-cut and attractive geometric look, so the up! looks like a small car should, not some experimental, oversized vegetable.
It's neat, tidy and good-looking inside too, and surprisingly spacious. Although almost two feet longer than the miniscule iQ, the up! is still pretty small – just 3540mm long and 1910mm wide with door mirrors extended - but there's loads of room for front-seat occupants, plus sufficient foot, leg, knee and headroom in the rear for two reasonably-sized adults.
Boot space is quoted as 251 litres (rear seats up) or 951 litres with seats folded. It's light and airy inside (helped by the part-white interior finish of the "up! white" spec car I drove, and glorious weather!) and there's good outward visibility.
In the UK the up! will initially be powered by three versions of VW's new 999cc, three-cylinder, 12-valve petrol engine: one with 59bhp, a 59bhp BlueMotion variant with Stop/Start, and a 74bhp version, all with five-speed manual transmission. A five-speed automatic is planned for 2012, while a full electric, zero-emissions model – the blue-e-motion – should arrive the following year.
I drove a 74bhp up! and, although it's no racer – 0-62mph in 13.2secs, 106mph max - the smooth triple-pot motor sounds satisfyingly crisp and raspy. Assuming you put the throttle and gearbox to good use, there's enough oomph for zooming about town, and it can hold its own on faster main roads.
The 59bhp engine makes the same 70lb/ft of torque as the 74bhp version but it can only muster 0-62 in 14.4secs with a 99mph top speed. Still, that's also comfortably quicker than the old 1.2-litre Fox.
According to VW, the chassis has a torsional rigidity of 19,800Nm/degrees. That means no more to me than it does to you, but I can confirm that, having driven on ancient cobbled streets (this press launch was held in and around Rome) and over some deeply rutted tarmac, this little front-wheel drive gem feels exceptionally taut.
This rigidity combined with well-tuned suspension results in reassuring handling and a decently comfy ride, even on poor surfaces. The electro-mechanical power steering is very light and easy at parking speeds, but there's assistance only when it's needed so it firms up nicely at higher speeds, and saves fuel in the process. Boy racers may wish to tick the Sports Pack option box (£450) which includes 16" alloys and a 15mm lower ride height.
The up! will come in four different trim levels: Take up!, Move up!, High up! and the top-spec up! black and up! white special editions. (Yes, that’s five – the black and white variants differ only in colour. Cue e-mails explaining that black and white aren't colours . . . )
The entry-level 59bhp Take up! will sell from just £7995, while the top-level 74bhp up! black and up! white (as tested) are £11,180. The Move up!, Move up! BlueMotion and High up! will fill the middle ground in terms of price and equipment.
Combined fuel economy figures are 62.8mpg for the ordinary 59bhp models, 67.2mpg for the 59bhp BlueMotion version and 60.1 for the 74bhp cars. CO2 is rated at 105g/km, 97g/km and 108g/km respectively.
Of greater interest to some will be the optional (£275) Maps & More touch-screen/voice-activated, integrated nav/radio/Bluetooth phone and music streaming infotainment system with SD card reader, media player, photo viewer and more. Similar to Fiat's excellent Blue&Me system, this portable device slots into the top of the dash and has been co-developed with satnav firm Navigon.
Maps & More is fairly intuitive and, after limited time with it, it seems to work well, although past personal experience, and that of colleagues, is that Rome will eventually get the better of any satnav system, and this was no exception. (There's a tale concerning another manufacturer's portable satnav unit which, while pressed into service on another press launch in Rome, was eventually thrown from the car onto the cobbles by one particularly frustrated hack!)
Standard up! equipment includes ABS with brake assist and two airbags plus a side/head/thorax airbag system in the front, while the options list also features a £400 Driver's assistance pack that includes City Emergency Braking – a first-in-class feature.
Active at 18mph or less, CEB uses a laser to detect the risk of impending collision and can automatically apply the brakes as required. The Driver's pack also includes ESP, EDL (electronic diff lock) and ASR (traction control), while an extra £350 buys you rear parking sensors, cruise control and a multifunction trip computer.
So, the up! can be had cheaply, or you can spec it up and indulge in executive-level gagetry. Fundamentally, though, it's a splendid little car, and it definitely gets the thumbs up from me.
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