Volkswagen has revealed an updated version of its Up city car, which receives a facelift, more customisation options and a new turbocharged engine.
The facelifted Up will make its public debut next month at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show and it will continue to fight for sales against the likes of the Hyundai i10, Citroen C1 and Fiat 500. The VW will go on sale in late summer and pricing will likely start at about £9,000.
Design updates
While the exterior design of the facelifted Volkswagen Up looks very similar to before at first glance, changes do include redesigned bumpers with new integrated cornering lights at the front. The air ducts are also larger and fog lamps can be fitted optionally too.
New LED daytime running lights and larger wing mirrors with integrated indicator lights are other exterior updates for the VW Up.
There are also more ways in which buyers can customise the Up’s exterior than ever before. The number of different paint jobs for the body have increased to 13. There’s also nine exterior decals, three roof colours, 10 dashboard designs and an ambient light option for higher trim models.
Inside, the VW Up’s interior is largely the same as before although a multifunction steering wheel and VW’s automatic air con system called Pure Air Climatronic are both available for the first time.
Other new options include USB and Bluetooth smartphone connectivity and a 300 watt Beats Audio sound system. The latter is part of a new Up Beats equipment line-up which will be presented on VW’s T-Cross concept car at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.
New turbo engine
The VW Up will come in seven trims, starting with take Up and finishing with the electric e-Up version. Besides the e-Up, VW’s updated city car will be available with a new 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine. This is the second VW to receive this engine, following the Golf and it delivers 89bhp plus up to 160Nm of torque from 1,500rpm. It therefore has 15bhp more than the most powerful Up prior this facelift.
Using a manual gearbox, the Up with its first ever turbocharged engine covers the zero to 62mph sprint in ten seconds. That’s over three seconds quicker than the previous most powerful Up takes to cover the same benchmark sprint.
Though it’s not the most efficient Up ever made, the turbocharged model still returns respectably low running costs with an official combined fuel economy of 64mpg and CO2 emissions at 102g/km.
