VW has improved its electric e-up! - but what’s changed? Jack Evans finds out.

gined car. No, the bulk of the changes here have been made under the skin. As we mentioned earlier, Volkswagen has boosted the battery count in the e-up!, helping to extend its range and bolster its appeal. The firm has also added the ability to fast-charge the car - a feature more often seen in ‘premium’ alternatives - which should help to drive down the time you’ll be waiting at the plug.

UNDER THE BONNET?

Underneath the e-up! sits an electric motor linked to a 32.3kwh battery. Sprinting from 0-60mph takes the Up! 11.6 seconds and all-in it’ll do 81mph. Volkswagen claims that you’ll be able to do 159 miles between charges, while the ability to use combined charging system tech means that the car can be taken from zero to 80% charge in just an hour via a 40kw

DC charger. Use a standard domestic wallbox and that falls to a respectable four hours, while via a three-pin you’ll be looking at around 16 hours for a full charge.

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE?

Our test car came in at £20,555 after the government’s plug-in car grant, which doesn’t seem like bad value at all given the kit on offer. Cruise control, parking sensors at both front and rear and a rearview camera are all thrown in as standard, while a dinky five-inch colour touchscreen system - essentially a small ‘strip’ screen - houses Bluetooth connectivity and DAB radio. Volkswagen also - importantly - includes two charging cables, one 16amp unit for use at wallboxes and charge points and another 10amp cable for charging at the mains.