Volkswagen up!

Volkswagen has introduced the up! to an expectant motoring public with a  five-door version of the up! city car following closely on the heels of the three-door version. Strangely neither are even available to drive out from a Volkswagen showroom yet! Adding even more excitement to the up! range is the up!GT and E-up!

Both three-door and five-door up!s give more than acceptable interior and boot space (251 litres boot capacity). The rear passengers in the five-door up! sit slightly higher than in the three-door in an attempt to allow the to see more of the road in front. One presumes the three-door up! is being seen more as a two seat city car  with very little rear seat use (a more practical and useful Smart if you will).

Both (in fact all internal combustion) up!s are powered by a three-cylinder engine ensuring excellent economy and emission whilst still retaining a decent level of get-up-and-go. Safety remains admirable with the Volkswagen up! has receiving a five-star rating and the Advanced Award from Euro NCAP, the European New Car Assessment Programme, the first vehicle in this class to do so.

The up! range come with front and side airbags, ABS (including Hydraulic Brake Assist), Isofix child seat preparation in the rear and standard ESP (except the entry level model).

A small range of options, including Emergency City Brake are available for the smallest Volkswagen and it has been received very well by the UK motoring press; the up! is What Car? Car of the Year for 2012 and has also been named TopGear magazine's Small Car of the Year.

First UK deliveries of the three-door up! are due this March with the five-door up! following on during the second half of the year; prices for the three-door up! start at £7,995

The up!GT remains officially unofficial but the details of the hot city car are  cast in stone, especially as pre-production models are being tested by the press on a daily basis..... 

The up!GT will have a turbo charged 3 cylinder petrol engine producing 110PS which is a little bit more powerful than the car the up!GT is readily compared to - the mark one Golf GTI. 

With a nice amount of torque for a small urban runabout (173Nm) this up! adds a little extra to the city car mould. Compared to a current hot hatch the up!GT is low on power and top speed (just under 125mp/h) but it really is high on fun, the lower ride height sharpening handling enough to be sporty without making the up!GT too much like an unsprung go-kart. Add in an effective and well made 6 speed gearbox and the up!GT can be hustled along accompanied by a wonderful induction roar.

Whilst not quite production ready the up!GT is expected to make it into UK  showrooms either very late in 2012 or (more likely) in the Spring of 2013. 

The Volkswagen up!GT offers something not see in the super-mini class since the Lupo GTI ceased production, fun! At an expected price of between £12500 and £13500 the up!GT should offer reasonable value for money too.

Another up! waiting in the shadows ready for launch is the E-up! which boasts a 82PS electric motor offering an impressive 240Nm of torque. Designed purely for city use the E-up! is limited to a top speed of 80mp/h but offers a range of around 90 miles. Tested down to -28 degrees C the E-up! seems to be a winter option for city dwellers too, although how long the battery will last at that temperature remains a little uncertain. Expect to see the E-up! debut around the same time as the E Golf. Price remains speculation but the E-up! should be around the same an up!GT with all the options added.