At the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2011, the Volkswagen Company held a presentation of the three-door urban compact car under the name “up !”, which has replaced another compact model of the Brazilian origin “Fox”. Six months later in Geneva the debut of the five-door body version took place.
In March 2016, again in Switzerland, an updated version of the subcompact was presented to the world public. The novelty got a prettier outfit, transformed from the inside and has acquired the “adult” equipment and a new turbo engine.
The upgraded Volkswagen up! looks funny and quite modest at the same time. “Up” is a European hatchback of A-Class with a three- or five-door body, and its length equals 3540 mm, height – 1478 mm, width – 1641 mm. The size of the wheel base of the German subcompact fits into 2420 mm and the clearance under the “belly” counts 144 mm.
The interior of Volkswagen up! unmistakably belongs to the German brand. In general, inside the city car looks nice and pleasant, but slightly austere – the front panel in the central part is crowned with lackluster blocks of air conditioner unit and audio system, and a “shield” of devices with large speedometer is simple and informative. You will not find soft plastics inside the car, but the quality of performance is at a decent level.
Despite its compact dimensions, the interior of “Up!” is surprisingly spacious. The front seats of the hatch are attractive in appearance and good profiled in practice, and the rear seats are quite suitable for short trips for a couple of adult passengers.
Luggage carrier of Volkswagen up! is pretty roomy: in the four-seater configuration, its volume amounts 251 liters, and in a double – 951 liter. Double bottom of the “hold” allows to receive an equal platform with a folded “gallery”, and in the underground based a set of tools (“reserve wheel” is available as an option).
Under the hood of the German subcompact installed three units on a choice – two of them are gasoline and one is able to run on natural gas. The steering system of the compact is of rack type with electromechanical power, which comes into operation only when necessary. In the front of the hatch axes applied 280-mm disc brakes with ventilation, and on the back – 228 mm drum devices (plus ABS).
The European market will see the updated version of Volkswagen up! in the summer of 2016, and its initial price will remain unchanged. Standard equipment of subcompact is equipped with 14 inch steel wheels, tire-pressure monitoring system, cloth trimming, dual airbags, ABS, ASR, EBV, MSR, power steering and audio package.
The “Top” version will also have 17-inch alloy wheels, fog lamps electric windows, leather steering wheel, air conditioner, full-time “music” with two speakers, daytime running lights, and other advanced equipment.