Cheeky up-and-about comes to the party

However, the three-door version will, for starters, most certainly cause enough of a ripple in the subcompact segment of the market. Three doors on any but a sports car, have always in my mind, been totally impractical. The excessively long and often heavy doors make getting into and out of the car, especially in tight spaces, equivalent to a gym session. But that’s just my opinion.

A walk-about is in order
Available in two derivatives – the entry-level, Take and slightly more kitted, Move. I just drove the entry-level VW Up. When I saw this little car the first time, the bumper design made me think of someone in a straight-jacket. Since I have driven it, I can assure you that there is nothing straight-jacket about the Up. But the front bumper certainly is the focus point on the little car and for the rest (exterior-wise) it takes on many of the inherent brand design style features visible in the Vivo and Polo range. The five-door version Vivo also being the main reason why VW will not sell the five-door Up range in South Africa.
The rear end is uncomplicated, still stylish though and offers enough cheekiness to demand the attention of every other driver of every other car on the road. I would further suggest that once the Up owners start to individualize his/her Up – and there are plenty of accessories available – the little car will be even more visible.

Surprisingly spacious
This is not an understatement – the interior of the Up is surprisingly open and inviting. The first element which made me feel totally at home, was the narrow but comfortable front seats.
The second was the ergonomically and practical layout of the dashboard and centre-console design.
The latter, which does not extend right up into and between the front seats, opens up the driver’s part of the interior. The dashboard is very much a flat design – practical to the extreme and offers easy access to all the features like the radio and so forth.
The feel of and around the steering and instrument panel, although not as tight as in many other cars, does confirm VW successful in terms of creating a confident drivers position in the Up. Visibility is good and so is headroom. I love the D-shaped steering too.
I did find it strange though that Up lacks all the Google-generation stuff – no USB or Bluetooth connection – a serious oversight in this day and age of constant connectivity.
Legroom in the rear is good and the deep luggage space – I was quite surprised – may even be class-leading. So generally, the finish and fit is on a par with VW’s other products.

Another three-cylinder
Yes indeed! This one produces no less than 55kW@6200r/min and 95Nm@3000Nm with a fuel index of around 4,7litre/100km and it is linked to a very smooth changing five-speed manual gearbox. And I must confirm that the Up’s performance was nippy and surprisingly easy to live with.
It offers confident road holding and cornering with excellent suspension response to whatever the road surface presents. The combination of short gear changes, high-revving engine with its growl so characteristic of three-cylinder engines, will please many owners to no end.

Conclusion
The Up certainly offers the best of both worlds (so to speak) when compared to its rivals and I would urge you to test drive it before you make any final decision – specially if you plan to buy in this segment.