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Volkswagen UP 75PS up! white road test

The up! is VW’s all-new city car with a new engine, new body, new chassis, new infotainment, new everything. It plugs the gap in VW’s range left by the discontinued Fox, and it’s up against the likes of the Fiat 500, Ford Ka, Toyota iQ and others. The up! is undeniably cute, but does it warrant the full thumbs-up?

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Performance

The first UK up! deliveries will commence in the spring of 2012 and they’ll be powered by three versions of VW’s new 999cc, 3-cyl, 12-valve petrol engine: 60PS, 60PS BlueMotion with Stop/Start and 75PS, all with 5-speed manual transmissions. (A 5-sp automated gearbox is planned for 2012, while a full electric model – the blue-e-motion – should arrive the following year.) I drove a 75PS up! and although it’s no racer – 0-62mph in 13.2secs, 106mph max – the smooth engine sounds raspy and there’s enough oomph for buzzing about town and holding its own on faster main roads. The 60PS engine puts out the same 95Nm (70lb/ft) of torque as the 75PS version but can only muster 0-62 in 14.4secs with a 99mph top speed. Still, that’s comfortably quicker than the old 1.2-litre Fox, and plenty fast enough to land you in court…

Ride & Handling

According to VW, the up’s! 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 and over some deeply rutted tarmac, the front-wheel-drive up! feels exceptionally taut and rigid. That combined with finely tuned suspension results in surefooted handling and a comfy ride, even on poor surfaces. The electro-mechanical power steering is very light and easy at parking speeds, but there’s only assistance when it’s needed so it firms up nicely at higher speeds, and saves fuel in the process. Boy racers may tick the Sports Pack option box (£450) which includes 16-inch alloys and 15mm lowered suspension.

Build Quality & Reliability

As with ride and handling, a sturdy chassis and bodyshell contribute greatly toward any car’s feeling of solidity, robustness and quietness, and on these counts the up! scores highly. The interior’s dash, instrumentation, plastics, trim, handles, switches et al are attractive, well designed and well made, and so compound the up’s! commendable togetherness. Of the 28 manufacturers in the 2011 JD Power customer survey, Volkswagen came 10th equal by scoring 80.5%, although the Slovakian-built up! should help push VW further up JD Power’s future rankings.

Safety & Security

The up! is too new to have been subjected to Euro NCAP’s crash testing, but it’s unlikely to stumble at this hurdle when it does. Standard safety equipment includes daytime running lights, ABS with brake assist and two airbags plus a side/head/thorax airbag system in the front. The optional (£400) Driver’s assistance pack features City Emergency Braking which, active at 18mph or less, uses a laser to detect the risk of impending collision and can automatically apply the brakes as required. This pack also includes ESP, EDL (electronic diff lock) and ASR (traction control). An extra £350 buys you rear parking sensors, cruise control and a multifunction trip computer. Remote central locking is standard on all but the entry-level ‘Take up!’ variant.

Space & Practicality

Though almost 2-feet longer than the tiny Toyota iQ, the up! is pretty small – just 3,540mm long and 1,910mm 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. It’s light and airy inside with good outward visibility, and there are cup holders, bottle holders and handy places for bits n’ bobs. All but the lowest spec variants have 60:40 split/fold rear seats and a variable-height boot floor, while boot space is quoted as 251 litres (seats up) or 951 litres with rear seats folded.

Ownership & Value

The entry level 60PS ‘Take up!’ variant will sell from just £7,995, while the top-level 75PS ‘up! black’ and ‘up! white’ special editions are £11,180. The ‘Move up!’, ‘Move up! BlueMotion’ and ‘High up!’ fill the middle ground in terms of price and equipment. Combined mpg figures are 62.8 for the ordinary 60PS models, 67.2 for the 60PS BlueMotion version and 60.1 for the 75PS models. CO2 is 105g/km, 97g/km and 108g/km respectively. Of greater interest to some will be the new and optional (£275) ‘Maps & More’ touch-screen/voice activated, integrated nav/radio/Bluetooth phone and music streaming portable infotainment system with SD card reader, media player, photo viewer and more. So, it is a thumbs-up for the up!? You bet it is.

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