With the up!, Volkswagen can offer small-car buyers a very competitive proposition. Jonathan Crouch checks it out.
THE up! is the very essence of a small, affordable Volkswagen, a high-quality, class-less car very much in the mould of the original Beetle.
One of the lightest small runabouts you can buy, it still manages to feel solid, a triumph of design that's streets ahead of any city car the brand has brought us.
Highlights include superb space efficiency, a brilliant detachable infotainment system and a city braking function that'll pay for itself in peace of mind. All very clever and in execution, all very German – which might have delivered to the showrooms a very impressive but essentially rather soul-less result.
Fortunately, the up! has enough character to make you like it as well as admire it – and that'll be crucial in an increasingly fashion-led market segment.
Most will be content with the base version, capable as it is of 0-60mph in 14.4 seconds on the way to 99mph. I'm not sure I see the point of finding more money for the 75PS variant, given that performance gains are relatively slight (13.2 seconds and 106mph).
Two statistics sum up the real thinking behind this design – a length of around 3.5m yet a wheelbase that takes up nearly 2.5m of that. Which is why, though an up! is no longer than a Fiat 500, it offers far more room inside, space for the four adults who could never comfortably fit in the apparently space-efficient Italian car.
How has this been done? By shortening the front and rear overhangs as much as the designers dared. The result is a tardis-like interior just as big as Volkswagen's far pricier Polo supermini.
In terms of the outlay, well, you're probably looking at between £8,000 to £11,000 for the mainstream normally aspirated 60PS and 75PS 1.0-litre petrol models we're looking at here, offered in three main trim levels – Take up!, Move up! and High up! There's a choice of either three- or five-door bodystyles and the option of a semi-automatic robotised clutch-less five-speed gearbox as an urban alternative to the usual five-speed manual.
Bear in mind that the bottom end of the pricing spectrum gets you a basic car indeed, so most will want to find an extra £1,000 to get themselves into mid-spec Move up! trim, which for an extra £360 or so also gives you the option of specifying a useful package of BlueMotion Technology fuel-saving tweaks to the 60PS engine.
A few rivals can better the running costs – but not by much. And the SEAT and Skoda versions of this car are a little cheaper but you'd likely lose what you gained in the probable trade-in value when the time came to sell.
Overall then, the up! is the embodiment of friendly functionality behind a badge you probably thought you couldn't afford and offers cleverness you almost certainly won't be expecting from something city car-sized.
For more details, visit the Parkway Volkswagen dealership in Locomotive Way, Pride Park, Derby (DE24 8PU), or call 01332 268800.
