Volkswagen’s Up! (complete with exclamation mark) city car combines practicality and eco-friendly engine technology in a stylish package that is set to comprise the bulk of Volkswagen’s future global sales.
Due to make its official debut at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor show, the Up! will undercut the Polo in many markets when it goes on sale in Europe by the end of the year. The Up! forms an integral part of Volkswagen’s bid to become the largest global carmaker by 2018.
The production Up! remains stylistically faithful to the original 2007 concept – featuring a simple two-box design that is shorter and higher than the Polo (3 540 mm long, 1 640 mm wide, 1 480 mm high with a 2 420 mm wheelbase) and makes provision for a practical interior in a package with the small overall footprint required of a city-going car. Despite its compact dimensions, the Up! will offer seating for four adults as well as 251 dm3 of luggage space expanding to 951 dm3 with the rear seats folded. Three trim levels, Take Up (entry-level), Move Up (mid-level) and High Up (range-topper) will be offered. In terms of on-board tech, the Up! features a removable Navigon infotainment/sat-nav system with parking assist module that slots into a dock on top of the facia.
The one area where the production car parts ways with the concept is the engine layout: the concept originally adopted a space-saving rear-engine/drive set-up while the production model utilises front-engine/drive configuration.
A turbocharged 1,0-litre, three-cylinder engine in two states of tune (44 kW and 55 kW) will be offered, as will a choice of standard five-speed manual and optional dual-clutch transmissions. While Volkswagen has not yet disclosed any performance figures, it’s fair to say that the emphasis is set squarely on economy, with the lower-powered unit returning around 4,5 L/100 km and the higher-powered unit around 4,7 L/100 km. Emissions reportedly sit below the 100 g/km mark.
At present, VWSA does not have any plans to introduce the Up! locally.
