Move(ing) on up! in the city

The Volkswagen up! is a mischievous looking city car

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly two years since I first drove the Volkswagen up! – that three-door sensation is still fresh in my mind.

Since then a five-door version has been added to the city car family and that’s what we were in this week – the mid-range Move up! to be specific.

There’s not much waffle about the up! – except for the 15in alloy wheels – they are literally Waffle, although I suspect their name was inspired by the breakfast favourite rather than the chatterbox variety.

Our test car was a distinctive looking Cornflower Blue with Anthracite interior upholstery and a glossy black fronted dash.

While the rear doors make the five-door version more practical for families, interior space is exactly the same as in the three door.

It does feel spacious, however, and it seems like you’re in a much bigger car.

The seats are comfortable, legroom is good in the front and quite adequate for someone of my height (5ft 5in) in the back seat sitting behind a driver of similar height. The backs of the front seats are indented, giving rear passengers extra knee room.

The up! is a four seater, so back seat passengers are restricted to two.

The cabin in the Volkswagen up! feels more spacious than it looks

The Move up! spec offers front electric windows (the rear ones are the quirky pop out variety), manually controlled air conditioning, height adjustable driver’s seat, central locking and a space saving spare wheel.

City emergency brake, which prevents low speed fender benders, is standard on the Move up! trim.

The test car also came with the excellent removable Maps and More SatNav/infotainment system (€426.57 extra).

As well as a really good SatNav, which shows you which lane you should be in, you can also hook up your phone to it and play music via a micro SD card.

It also shows a trip computer and the Think Blue eco driving trainer.

Although the Move up! is the mid-level car you’ll have to spring for the optional Drive Package if you want the likes of cruise control and rear parking sensors. This will set you back nearly €500 but I think when you work out a cost per use it’s worth it.

I’d also recommend a cover for the steering wheel. It’s of the hard plastic variety and doesn’t feel very nice.

The boot in this car is another optical illusion. It has a handy adjustable floor which at first glance makes the space look really small.

However, when you take into account the hidden area it affords underneath, or if you remove it, the boot is actually quite big. We had no problem fitting a week’s worth of groceries into it, along with a weekend bag.

The adjustable floor lies flat at the bottom of the boot when not in use. The rear seats can be easily folded to give a bigger cargo area.

The boot in the Volkswagen up! is quite deep when the adjustable floor is flat

Where this car excels is in how it drives. It’s simply great fun.

The five-speed petrol model is absolutely effortless in the city, the suspension is good, it glides along and is easy to park. It’s also sprightly at the lights.

On the motorway, you do have to push it through the gears but it has no problem reaching or maintaining 120kph.

We also took this little car up the mountains – just for the fun of it – and it did itself proud.

Overall, I am a big fan of the Volkswagen up! and I think it’s still one of the best city cars around.

The Volkswagen up! is available now, with prices for the three-door Take up! starting from €11,945. That trim in the five-door variant starts from €12,650. Prices for the five-door Move up! I was driving cost from €13,960

Tech Spec
Engine: 1.0l 75hp (petrol)
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Acceleration: 0-100kph in 13.2seconds
Top speed: 171kph
Combined Fuel Consumption: 4.7l/100km
CO2 Emissions: 108g/km
Annual road tax: €190

Visit the Volkswagen Ireland website or its Facebook page for further details

Related articles
Volkswagen up! goes electric