Volkswagen up! details
Monday 22 August 2011
• Smaller than a MINI
• Bluemotion Tech version covers 67.3mpg
• 251-litre boot
The first official pictures of the Volkswagen up! city car have been released ahead of its Frankfurt Motor Show unveiling in September.
Measuring just 3.5 metres from tip to tail, it’s similar in size to the Toyota AYGO and 15 centimetres shorter than a MINI One Hatch.
Despite its small size, Volkswagen claims there’s room for four adults and a 251-litre boot, stretching to 951 litres with the rear seats folded down.
The up! is a completely new model for Volkswagen. It replaces the Volkswagen Fox, but many will see it as the spiritual successor to the popular Volkswagen Lupo, which was on sale between 1999 and 2005.
Fitted with either a 59bhp or 74bhp three-cylinder petrol engine, the up! is designed with economy in mind, but should have enough performance for city driving.
A BlueMotion Technology version with stop and start will be available, with average fuel economy of 67.3mpg and CO2 emissions below 100g/km – making it free to tax and exempt from the London Congestion Charge.
Volkswagen is also planning a zero-emission electric up!, although this won’t arrive in time for the petrol model’s December on-sale-date.
There will be three trim levels, called take up!, move up! and high up! and two special editions called up! black and up! white.
The interior has a more youthful feel than other VW models, with a body-coloured strip across the dashboard. A new portable device is available with the car called ‘maps + more’, incorporating navigation, telephone, information and entertainment into a mobile phone-sized unit which snaps into place above the centre console.
Once docked it will connect to the car’s speakers and will even display rear parking distances, in models equipped with rear parking sensors.
The up! will also be offered with the option of VW’s City Emergency Braking system, which can detect obstacles in front of the vehicle at speeds below 18mph and automatically apply the brakes.
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By Andy Goodwin, senior web journalist