‘Nothing new comes close for the money’
We think the VW Up GTI is a great hot hatch that punches well above its weight, and astonishing value too. But what do these CAR readers think? By Jake Groves
It’s one thing for a car to be great on a press launch. And it’s another thing to wow us over the six months or so of a magazine long-term test. But to stand up to the scrutiny of three hard-to-impress CAR readers – well, that’s something quite separate. But that’s the treatment we’re giving to the VW Up GTI, subject of this first in a new series where our test cars get examined by three different members of the great British car-buying public, each with his or her own perspective and agenda.
The Up GTI certainly did hit the spot on that launch. It involved a combination of heavy tra c in Monaco and Nice, and some rally-spec roads nearby. It could have backfired horribly for a lesser car, but VW’s confidence was vindicated. This little three-pot cube of torque and tartan was brimming with pure driving pleasure, but could also cope just fine with congestion.
And more recently, running an Up GTI as a long-term test car has provided twice-daily pleasure, and excelled on some longer journeys too. We know it’s not perfect, but it’s universally liked in the CAR o ce. Now, however, it’s time for the GTI to meet folk from outside the inner circle of the CAR team.
They are Lawrence Cheung, hot hatch owner and Japanese car fan; youthful classic-car enthusiast Aaron McKay; and walking VW Group encyclopaedia, dealer and modifier Andrew Chapple, the Volkswizard himself. Three interested parties with three differing outlooks.
The powertrain immediately finds favour. McKay says that the 999cc turbocharged triple sounds quite exotic. ‘I like how it’s not just exhaust noise – there’s a bit of turbo whoosh and a bit of valvegear action. It makes you want to change gear more, just to play with the notes. With a snappy gearchange, you change for the sake of it, dancing on the pedals even though you’re just driving between 20 and 40mph.’
There’s general agreement that the Up is pretty well proportioned: a wheel in each corner, boxy but not too tall. And it has the right sporty details. ‘This is definitely the best colour for it,’ says Cheung. ‘Plus, I’d never seen one in three-door form until now. It looks so much better than the five-door silver one I tried once – that rear window line makes a big difference.’ They’re all pleasantly surprised that there’s something resembling room in the back: better than the Up’s ancestor, the Lupo, Cheung observes.
But the cabin could be better, even within the restrictions imposed by its size. McKay can’t abide the fat plastic dash cover: ‘That panel on the dashboard is probably the worst bit about the interior. It’s the opposite of what I like about the door panels, where VW quite rightly decided that not everything needed covering with trim.’ And the instruments make curious use of space, with a ludicrously large fuel gauge that ⊲
could easily be cut in half to make way for a coolant gauge that would tick a retro hot-hatch box.
My main negative about the Up GTI has always been its fidgety ride. ‘It just never feels tied down’, says Chapple. ‘It wasn’t quite as sharp as I thought it would be with a footprint this small,’ says Cheung. But McKay sees an upside: ‘The Up is like a beginner’s GTI, and the lack of composure could be a good thing if it’s your first performance car. The traction control might interfere, sure, but you can feel like you’ve got some drama to enjoy.’
From his experience as an Up GTI owner, what would Chapple change? ‘My advice would be to change the tyres straight away. VW’s eco tyres were a big mistake, but with WLTP emissions regulations coming in this was the first car that was tested. The engineers may have said “nein” but the bosses had no choice but to say “ja’’. You can get a great compound from Pirelli, but most tyre makers have a better one – just avoid Goodyear.’
That’s exactly what’s sitting
on the standard 17-inch ‘Oswald’ wheels of our car. Those wheels are a key feature of the package that turns an Up into an Up GTI, along with sports springs, bigger front brakes with red calipers, heated seats and black exterior detailing. Our car has £1175 of extras, including the combination of black roof and Tornado Red paint, the City Emergency Braking pack, automatic lights and wipers, Beats audio and the Cruise and Park pack.
Why is Chapple in the process of selling his? It’s not because he hasn’t enjoyed owning it since May 2018. ‘I’m moving house,’ he explains, ‘so I’m going to be doing a lot more miles. It would basically kill the
value if I stuck a load of miles on it.’
So there are more negatives and more room for improvement than I’d figured out for myself. But our trio all really like the Up GTI and can’t suggest any showroom-fresh alternatives that provide similar performance and fun for the money.
‘For less than £15k I don’t think there’s anything new that comes anywhere close, let alone better,’ says McKay. ‘That’s midrange Nissan Micra money. It’s a very impressive package for how much it is.’
Chapple adds: ‘Of course, you have to accept a degree of compromise. But a Lupo GTI today would be about £20,000. That gave you wide arches and aluminium panels but, as a driver’s car, it wasn’t very good.’
What about hot-hatch diehard Cheung? ‘As a new car, it’s great for the price and far more interesting than the Polo GTI. The biggest problem I would face is that I’d look at a secondhand Fiesta ST for that money.’
@_jakegroves
‘It’s great for the price and far more interesting than a Polo GTI. But what about a used Ford Fiesta ST?’ LAWRENCE CHEUNG
‘The Up is like a beginner’s GTI, and the lack of composure means you’ve got some drama to enjoy’ AARON McKAY
‘It just never feels tied down. And the eco tyres are a big mistake – I’d change those straight away’ ANDREW CHAPPLE