Had the opportunity to experience the updated Up! last week, and it’s a solidly built little car indeed. It also comes in new colours, wheels as well as new interior features. The 4 door variant is much more spacious & practical than its 2 door sibling as well. The Up! is looking more sporty and comes with more standard features than in the past.

With over 4 800 units sold in South Africa since its market introduction in February 2015, the new Up! certainly is making its presence felt in its segment.

Styling

The Up! has grown up (#pun) and looks wider, more planted & definitely more sporty. The newly designed headlights with LED daytime running lights, modified bumper with redesigned front trim strips and a more contoured bonnet give it a sharper look. New wheels (measuring up to 16 inches) and wing mirrors with integrated indicators dominate the side view. The redesigned rear lights and distinctive rear diffuser create a rounded finish, and give it a sexy look..

Inside the Cabin.

Volkswagen is using printed surfaces for the dashboard styling panel manufactured using the in-mould-labelling process (IML). The newly available ambient lighting underlines the exclusive look of the interior. Leather multi-function steering and gear knob are now standard from Move up! There is more space, and four adults should fit without discomfort.

251-L boot space is well within the segments norm, and it can be folded down to give a cavernous 959 L of space.

Engine.

It keeps the 3 pot 1.0 litre engine, and with 55kw on tap, gets you where you want to go quite comfortably. A steep hill did present a challenge and we were passed by bigger, more powerful cars. It has decent torque of 95 Nm which is reached at 3 000 rpm. Ninety per cent of maximum torque is reached between 2 000 and 6 000 rpm, ensuring agile performance. From standstill to 100 km/h up! takes 13.5 seconds while it pushes a top speed of 173 km/h. This engine returns a claimed combined fuel consumption of 4.6 litres per 100km.

The drive is good, and feels smooth and bigger than the car actually is. It has minimal wind noise and the gear change is smooth and effortless. The new Up! is offered in four equipment levels: Take up!, Move up! up! Beats and Cross up!. All derivatives come standard with raft of safety features including ABS and four airbags, Electronic Stability Control. Cross up and up! Beats will be available in the first quarter of 2017.

Media

The new up! is the second Volkswagen model after Polo, to be offered with the BeatsAudio sound system. The 300-watt system comprises of an amplifier, six high-end speakers and a separate subwoofer for a concert hall feeling inside the car.

The infotainment system on board the new up! has been completely redesigned. Standard in Take up! is the 3.1-inch ‘Composition’ with monochrome display, Radio/CD, SD Card and AUX-in. From Move up!, the ‘Composition Phone’ with 5-inch colour display, radio, USB, SD Card, AUX-in and Bluetooth connectivity functionality is standard. A smartphone with ‘Maps + More’ app can be integrated with the infotainment system.

Personalising

The new up! can be customised with a number of factory fitted optional features such as 15-inch Spoke alloy wheels, Sound “Plus” package with four speakers in front and two in rear, driver package (cruise control, rear park distance control and multi-function display), winter package (heated seats and front fog lights), roof package (black painted roof and side mirrors), smartphone integration: navigation and panoramic sunroof.

EQUIPMENT AND TRIM

Here are the highlights of standard features fitted in the new up! four equipment levels: Take up!, Move up! up! beats and Cross up!.

Take up!

This derivative has the following standard features:

• Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA)
• Driver and front passenger airbags, plus side head/thorax airbags for front passengers
• Electronic Stability Control (ESC) including hill hold and Electronic Differential Lock (EDL)
• Traction control
• Front integrated head restraints
• Height adjustable steering wheel
• Speed-sensitive power-assisted steering
• Composition Radio infotainment system: 3.1-inch monochrome screen, AUX-in socket for external Source: MP3 player, SD card reader and CD player
• Full-size spare wheel (including tool kit and jack)
• 14-inch steel wheels with 165/70 R14 tyres
• Isofix child seat preparation
• Remote central locking with two remote folding keys
• Manual air conditioning
• Tyre pressure loss indicator
• Electric front windows
• Heated rear window
• Heating and ventilation with four-speed fan
• LED daytime running lights
• Halogen clear headlights with integrated indicators
• Interior light delay and luggage compartment light
• Centre console cup holder, front x1 and rear x1
Move up!

In addition to the features on the Take up!, the Move up! gains the following:

• 14-inch steel wheels
• Body-coloured door handles and door mirrors
• Composition Colour infotainment system: 5-inch colour touch-screen, Bluetooth telephone and audio connection, USB connectivity
• Variable boot floor
• Lane’ cloth upholstery
• Chrome-trimmed interior door handles
• ‘Fusion’ cloth upholstery
• ‘Black Cube’ dash pad
• Leather multi-function steering wheel
• Side mirrors electrically adjustable and heated
• Rear-seat bench with 60:40 split/folding

up! beats

In addition to the features on the Move up! model, the up! beats gains the following:

• 15-inch ‘Radial’ alloy wheels
• Red or Black alloy wheel centre caps depending on exterior paint colour
• Tyre mobility set
• Beats audio 8 channel amplifier, Digital Signal Processor (DSP), 2 x tweeters in A pillars, 2 x woofers in front doors, 2 x broadband speakers in rear, 1 x subwoofer in spare wheel well, 300 watt output
• Chrome-plated decorative strip on tailgate
• ‘Flash Red’ or ‘Black’ door mirrors with integrated indicators
• Rear tinted glass from B pillar backwards, approximately 65% tinted
• ‘beats’ decal silver foil stripe with additional colour stripe matching the exterior door mirrors, on lower edge of door panel
• Unique ‘beats’ logo on B pillar
• Carpet mats, front and rear with red stitching
• Chrome trim on air conditioning panel and light switch surround
• Door sill protectors with ‘beats’ design
• ‘beats’ cloth upholstery seat centre section with ‘beats’ logo and ‘Microfleece’ side bolsters
• 3D effect upper dashpad with ‘beats’ logo
• Multi-function display: instrument cluster with electronic speedometer, odometer, trip meter, rev counter, fuel gauge and digital clock
• Side mirror housings in black or red
• Smartphone navigation interface for smartphones up to 5.5-inch with USB connection for charging and data transfer
• Seatbelts with red stripe
• Ambient lighting
• Front fog lights
• Heated front seats

Cross up!

In addition to the standard features in other derivatives, Cross up! gains the following:
• 16-inch Cross alloy wheels
• 14-inch space saver spare wheel
• Front foglights
• Ambient lighting
• Bumpers in sport style
• Black protective side moulding – wheel arches, sills and doors
• Silver anodised roof rails
• Side mirror housings in light silver

RETAIL PRICES (VAT and emissions tax included)

1.0 MPI Take up! (55kW) R164 700
1.0 MPI Move up! (55kW) R178 300
1.0 MPI up! beats (55kW) R194 700
1.0 MPI Cross up! (55kW) R194 700

WARRANTY AND SERVICE

Volkswagen Up! comes standard with a 3 year/ 120 000 km manufacturer warranty, a 12 year anti-corrosion warranty and 15 000 km service intervals.

I really enjoyed driving this car as it has a feeling of quality not found in a lot of its competitors. Pricing in this segment has moved up significantly, but it is a good buy all the same.