UP! FOR FUN
VW’s badass baby offers full-sized thrills in pint-sized package
RIGHT then, quick English lesson.
Pay attention at the back. Repeat after me: “Exclamation marks should be used sparingly and only ever at the end of a sentence.”
Nobody told VW this. They named their up! with an exclamation mark embedded in its lower-case title. So, strictly speaking, every time I mention it I need to include the necessary punctuation. That’s not sparing. That’s ridiculous.
On that basis, consider it dumped for the rest of this piece. I’m also struggling with the fact the first “u” should be a capital letter. But that’s another lesson for another time.
This up GTI (see, it didn’t hurt, did it?) is the same weight and size as the 1970s Mk.1 Golf, and the 115PS from its 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine is about the same as the original 1.6 Golf GTi.
There’s a good reason cars have got bigger, and that’s safety. Crumple zones, air bags, ABS, ESC, pre-collision assist – you name them, they all add to the dimensions in one way or another.
Anyone who has recently driven anything from the 1970s will be painfully aware of how vulnerable you feel as a driver or a passenger by comparison with today’s standards.
And the up GTI certainly feels solid and secure. It sits 15mm lower on its sports suspension and rides on six-and-a-half inch wide 17in alloys. It’s a firm ride and to avoid any unnecessary dental work you’ll find yourself actively scanning the road ahead to avoid potholes and manhole covers. Those massive 195/40 tyres also generate a lot of noise on poor surfaces – a trade off, I suppose, for offering a huge amount of grip.
The turbocharged 1.0-litre, threecylinder engine is pretty shouty, too. Gruff and growly with a good deal of turbo hiss and woosh. But it’s a price worth paying for an amazing amount of in-gear acceleration. There are six gears with the top one offering a really leggy overdrive. But there is no real need to rev this engine hard as most of the torque lurks lower in the rev range, so it’s a very relaxed car to drive quickly without the need to chase gears or revs.
This engine is a great example of how far turbocharging technology has come on in recent years. Twenty years ago, turbo lag was a necessary evil. You would plant your foot on the accelerator and count to ten before anything happened. Now, thanks to constant development, power delivery is instant and utterly lag-free.
Small-capacity turbo engines are the future. Especially if they are this much fun to drive.
And for a car that will crack 122mph and rattle off the dash to 60mph in eight and a bit seconds, the combined fuel consumption of 58mpg and a CO2 rating of just 110g/km is another reason to believe in a small cc, turbocharged future.
The up GTI is available in a three or five-door layout with a £400 premium for the addition of another two doors. There’s space for four adults (if you’re not travelling far) and the tiny boot can be extended by using the 60-40 split rear seat. From the multiadjustable driver’s seat, the cabin feels generously sized – like a normal, grown-up car. The tartan seat fabric is a retro nod to the original Golf GTI.
Also like a normal, grown-up car you get luxuries such as a DAB radio, Bluetooth connectivity, air con and electric, heated door mirrors.
Tyre and engine noise aside, I loved my week with the up GTI. It’s a bit cheeky, very shouty but a lot of fun to drive – certainly a lot more fun than an original Golf GTI.
But it’s certainly not enough fun to warrant an exclamation mark.