For our first UK drive in Volkswagen's new city car (following Tom Stewart's report from the international launch in Italy) we've gone to the top of the price list and chosen the model named, as whimsically as any other in the range, the High up!There's some justification in suggesting that this is simply the wrong up!, and not just because, at £10,390, it's the most expensive by over £1000. It also, unlike the cheaper BlueMotion Technology model, has CO2 emissions above 100g/km. This is of particular concern if you live outside, but regularly visit, the London congestion charge zone. In all the BlueMotion up! you can breeze in without so much as a by-your-leave, but in the High you have to pay the fee like a good little soldier.If the charge zone is not a consideration for you, none of the above matters. And the fact that you also have to pay Vehicle Exise Duty on this up! becomes less dramatic when you realise that it adds only £20 a year to your expenses. If you're worried about that sort of thing you probably won't be buying a new car in the first place.Another distinguishing feature of the High up! is that it uses a 74bhp version of the one-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, and therefore has no less than 15bhp more than all the others. It would be exactly true to say that I found the performance of the test car startling the first time I drove it, though I have to admit that I'd spent the previous hour driving a 1977 Beetle and, frankly, almost anything would have seemed fast after that.Once that effect had subsided I still thought that the High up! was quite brisk. I haven't driven one of the 59bhp cars, though, and when I do I suspect that I'll think they have enough power for the job. We'll see.Both the ride and the handling are pleasant, and there's plenty of room for tall passengers up front (the rear, for such a short car, is quite roomy too). The only off-putting thing about the driving experience, for me, was the body-coloured dashboard, which the up! shares with the new Beetle.Its attractiveness depends on what colour you're talking about. The Beetle's denim blue was fine, but the up! tested here was painted Tornado Red, and that's quite an aggressive shade to have in front of you when you're trying to concentrate on road conditions.This isn't the worst thing about the up!, though. The worst thing is the satnav part of the Maps&More infotainment system. I've heard stories of infuriated journalists having it crash on them, and while that didn't happen to me I was sorely vexed by its insistence on giving me information I didn't need.Specifically, it will say things like "turn right" when it actually means "don't turn left into that side road", and depending on where you are it may do that several times a mile. It's redundant and distracting and wrong.Maps&More has many other features, including radio controls, Bluetooth connectivity, a media player and much else, so I can see why you would want it. Its touchscreen, however, isn't set into the dashboard but flimsily mounted on top of it, and I fear for its ability to stay attached for the whole life of the car.A brief observation on practicality to finish. The up! - like the practically idential SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo - has 251 litres of luggage volume with the rear seats in place and 951 litres when they're folded down. If you can't visual space by reading numbers about it, let me tell you that this is good going for a car of this size. The Fiat 500, which is within 6mm of the up!'s overall length, has considerably less capacity, and so too do the significantly longer Ford Ka and MINI hatchback. Engine 999cc, 3 cylinders Power 74bhp Transmission 5-speed manual Fuel/CO2 62.8mpg / 108g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 13.2 seconds Top speed 106mph Price £10,390 Details correct at publication date
Our Rating
