If it was up to me...
Volkswagen has a nice model here, so why not give it a proper name?
GOD be with the days when cars came in simple grades – the likes of S, SE and SX. Now, they all vie to get the cleverest names, and usually rather dreadful puns (the grades and colours of the Opel ADAM take the medal – Jam and Glam, for heaven’s sake).
The latest version of the Volkswagen up! is no exception, with the entry-level model known as the Take up!, the mid-grade the Move up!, and the top of the range the High up! At least the last one nods at standard VW grade nomenclature, and sounds like the Highline.
There’s a special version available with an enhanced 300-watt, eight-speaker stereo system from the people who make those headphones you pay through the nose for, called the up! beats and, no doubt, if they ever bring out a GTI version, they’ll call it the Giddy up!
The one they missed is the Make up!, because they’ve done a lovely job here on the cosmetics, especially in the five-door version I drove. Now if only they would just go the whole hog and ditch the silly styling of the name, and just spell it as ‘Up’, with a capital U and no exclamation mark, I’d be very happy. Typing it as up!, I feel like a child transcribing a poem by ee cummings.
As small cars go, it really is rather pretty, more so than its SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo cousins, built on the same platform but not as chunkily stylish. It’s a very short car, at just 3.6 metres, so your granny could park it safely after drinking a small sherry, and just 1.64 metres wide. Amazingly, that doesn’t seem to impact on the available space in the shoulder department, but it does mean you do without the likes of a box between the front seats and have to settle for just a cupholder.
My test car was a High up! five-door model, costing €17,840 compared with the €11,875 entry-level price. It boasted the 90hp version of the cracking 1.0-litre, threecylinder engine, and very lively it was too, propelling the car to 100km/h in under ten seconds, a rarity in the small car segment.
Like all cars now, connectivity is very important, and this comes with a dashmounted cradle for your iPhone or Android (maybe I was looking in the wrong place, but I couldn’t find a USB port, mind you). You can download an app called up! maps + more (have these people no uppercase shift on their computers?), for a raft of enhanced features.
Not only can you listen to music, you can select digital radio stations, navigate offline using 2D and 3D maps, and perform destination and station searches. A multifunction display shows fuel consumption, range, journey times, mileage, speed, rpm and coolant temperature. You can also use handwriting recognition to search your telephone book, call lists and music files, while the Think Blue Trainer helps you to drive efficiently in order to save fuel.
As for the drive, well, the up! is surprisingly agile, and a doddle in city driving, especially when you see a very small parking space. Even so, on my test car, there still was a rearview camera, which honestly seemed about as necessary as a handbrake on a canoe; if you can’t safely park a 3.6m car, it’s time to hand back your licence.
As for convenience, well, the three-door model probably would best be suited to an older buyer. The five-door is more practical for those who have to get kids in and out of the back seat, especially very young ones in child or booster seats. The cargo space is adequate for a car of the size.
Features in the High up! included 16-inch ‘triangle’ alloy wheels (don’t worry – it’s a pattern, not the shape of them!), leathertrimmed multifunction steering wheel, fabric seat covers, cruise control, tinted rear windows, interior white ambient lighting, front fog lights, six speakers, halogen headlights, and climatic manual aircon. The car came in a nice honey colour with contrasting black roof. The up! is available only as a 1.0-litre petrol, but fuel consumption is on a par with diesel once you get outside the city, and there certainly would be no advantage paying a diesel premium, because you’d never make your money back.
It’s a fine car and safe too (five-star EuroNCAP). I just wish they’d end all the nonsense with lowercase but that’s probably not going to happen, so I think I’ll just Give up!