Volkswagen’s new city car really adds up!

Although it looks tiny from the outside, the cabin in the Volkswagen up! is quite roomy

The Volkswagen up! is perhaps the only car on the road at the moment with an exclamation mark in its name, and that punctuation point could stand for all the surprises the teeny tiny little city car has to offer.

First off, it’s much roomier than you’d expect. And, it’s also much faster than you’d expect – leaving smug-looking bigger cars standing at the lights.

The up! is a great little looker, garnering lots of interest from passers-by. A dinky looking car from the outside, its glossy black flat rear and snazzy lights give it an almost toy car appearance from the back.

The red dash pad in the Volkswagen up! really adds to the happy feel of the car

Inside, the four-seat cabin feels much larger than it looks. Legroom in the front seats is great, and while the rear legroom looks small, it’s comfortable for someone of my height (5’5”). The height adjustable driver’s seat offered a nice high driving position.

As well as the larger than expected cabin, the up!’s boot is also deceptively large, with the storage space gained from its depth making up for that lost in width. The rear seats also fold for extra luggage space.

I really liked the glossy red dashboard with black gloss instrument surround. The 1.0l three-door petrol model I was driving had a CD/radio, heated front seats, air conditioning, SatNav, and electric mirrors. Lights and wipers are manual. I also liked the anti-spill bottle holders in the front doors.

I absolutely loved driving the Volkswagen up! It’s a perfect city car, allowing you to just squeeze in, while clearing the yellow box/pedestrian crossing before the lights change. There’s also no issue with parking. The up! also does great on the motorway, having no problem reaching 120kph. It isn’t a very big fan of winding country roads, however.

The rear of the Volkswagen up! gives an almost toy car look to the city car, a five-door version of which will be available in Ireland later this year

Acceleration in the five-speed manual model is great on the open road when you work it and there’s a lovely sound from the engine as you push through the gears. We left many a driver’s jaw on the floor when we pulled away at the lights much faster than they expected us to.

There’s very little to dislike about the up! I did miss cruise control though, which is available as an extra in the Drive pack. I think, at €475, it’s worth paying for.

Overall, I thought the Volkswagen up! was a beautiful, cute looking, happy little city car that’s great fun to drive and will definitely put a smile on your face. I really enjoyed my time with it.

The Volkswagen up! is available now, with prices starting from €10,995. The top of the range High up! I was driving costs from €12,895.

Climatic air conditioning; 15” alloy wheels; heated front seats; city emergency brake function; leather trim steering wheel; gear shift knob and handbrake are just some of the features which come as standard in the High up!. The SatNav and dash pad were extras, bringing the cost of the test car to €13,265.

Tech Spec:
Engine: 1.0l 75hp (petrol)
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Acceleration: 0-100km/h in 13.2seconds
Top speed: 171km/h
Combined Fuel Consumption: 4.7l/100km
CO2 Emissions: 108g/km
Annual road tax: €160 (Band A)

Visit volkswagen.ie or the Volkswagen Ireland Facebook page for further information.