Volkswagen up! revealed

Awesome

I have never a city car that looks as amazing as this! And for £8,500, it should well and truly give all premium superminis a run for their money... all can say the only way is UP for VW!

By JPW2010 on 21 August, 2011, 10:35am

?????

And why would I want this over a Polo?

By ducatinova on 21 August, 2011, 11:10am

A good effort, but I'll wait for the Skoda!

It's certainly an improvement on the Fox which looked good before it was introduced to the UK, then didn't live up to expectations. The model photographed [which is SO obviously not the basic spec £8,500 model] does look good. However, I'll reserve judgement until the Skoda sibling is introduced, the reason being that it'll probably be cheaper for what is, basically, the same car.

By n50pap on 21 August, 2011, 1:14pm

Over the Polo or a Skoda?

I own the previous generation Polo and don't fit in the current generation Polo. By all accounts I should fit in the Up! The Skoda version will not even need to change the tail lights on the Up! pictured. Mind you, I suspect that the Seat version might be good value, too. This car won't have space for a GTI drivetrain version like the Lupo/Arosa did. I bet the electric version will cost several thousand pounds more, but it's the one that interests me the most.

By alanjenney on 21 August, 2011, 10:07pm

Impressed

I must admit, this looks a lot more interesting than I was expecting. However , I think it will cost nearer to £9k for a base model by the time it hits the showroom. You'll need to pay £10k plus for one with a half decent spec.

By erly5 on 21 August, 2011, 11:58pm

Hot Hatch Material?

Any chance of an "R" version? Might buy it if they did...

By koupekid on 22 August, 2011, 1:12am

Luxury??

Pictures of inside make it look very basic and not a rival for Fiat 500. The whole car looks cheaper than a cheap thing on national cheap as chips day....will probably sell bucket loads at 8k though so who cares right?!?

By Yorkslad on 22 August, 2011, 8:29am

So behind the times

The new Kia Picanto already does the same MPG, looks better and is on sale now.

By Arrowsmith on 22 August, 2011, 4:10pm

Looks good

It's quite refreshing to see a new car that's concentrating on practicality and running costs rather than trying to be retro-trendy or faking some kind of 'quality' image (despite what the article says, this car doesn't look like it's pretending to be anything other than a purpose built runabout). If the figures are on the money for economy / emissions / performance, it will be a winner.

But I have to agree concerning the Skoda version mentioned above which will probably be cheaper, better equipped and more likely to be a more pleasant customer experience (Skoda always performs a lot better than VW in reliability and customer satisfaction surveys).

The pictures also suggest that visibility around the A-pillars looks pretty bad - and the thought of automatic breaking fills me with dread should the system malfunction on a road such as a motorway. I still shiver when I see the test of a similar system on the Volvo S60 failing spectacularly!

By gavsmit on 22 August, 2011, 9:27pm

Didn't want to...

like this, a volkswagen. I'm usually bored with VW's carful evolution (they're doing great with the formula I know, so why stop) but this is really refreshing, many city cars try to be what they're not yet this little car somehow manages to look simple and sophisticated at the same time; I am genuinely surprised and would consider one for my next car, BTW, any news on the next Panda?

By JFalck on 22 August, 2011, 9:49pm

Awesome????

Lol.... i think a few of the posters need to visit Specsaver very quickly.

By wmtmarine on 23 August, 2011, 11:21am

"It's quite refreshing to see a new car that's concentrating on practicality and running costs rather than trying to be retro-trendy or faking some kind of 'quality' image" I'm sorry but this did make me grin because "faking some kind of 'quality' image" is exactly wwhat VW do on every car they make!

By Correcting_Reports on 23 August, 2011, 11:42am

Boring

It may be a good car but it looks utterly boring for a Fiat 500 rival.

By baris_purut on 23 August, 2011, 12:00pm

Dont like this...

Looks like a really boring small hatchback to me - I would rather have a Toyota IQ or a new Kia Picanto.

By cousins11 on 23 August, 2011, 12:39pm

Clean/neat-looking, reasonably close to the concept and still called up! But it doesn't move small car packaging on much does it? And (on a trivial note) I bet it won't come in many other colours apart from typical VW silver, grey and deep blue. Would like to see a version in acid yellow, bright orange, baby blue or Viper Green (like big brother Scirocco).

By Anorak17 on 23 August, 2011, 3:36pm

Bring back the Brazilian Fox

Not sure of the point of this. Sure, the Fox was never quite as stylish as it could have been, but the Fox has been facelifted in Brazil with a new Polo style front end and whole new interior, considering how great it drives, how spacious it is and relatively cheap, I don;t see why VW didn't just bring this new car here and gave us something that was value for money instead of the Up! which will no doubt cost the same as a Polo anyway

By JamesRiley on 23 August, 2011, 3:44pm

VWs are known for making cars of high perceived quality...

...but this one doesn't seem to shout it. True the comments from Correcting_reports may apply to other VWs but if this does sell for 8 grand and is reasonably spec'd, with such a functional interior and detailing its not exactly pretending to be an overpriced A1 or Mini is it?

By gavsmit on 23 August, 2011, 5:25pm

500 rival?

I like the look of the Up but I'd have said the Toyota Aygo, Renault Twingo and Fiat Panda were more natural competitors than the 500. These and the Up don't have the 500's attention to detail and fashion accessory shape, the 500 doesn't have the others' practicality. They seem to target rather different priorities. The Up looks like being a fairly thoroughly engineered, robust, handsome and hopefully engaging little car with some smart design details - more like the original Golf than just about any car VW has made since the 80s. Looks-wise it might not be a 500 but it's certainly better than the frumpy Fox.

Think it says something about modern computer technology that at first glance I thought these rather over-processed looking photos were CG renderings...

By cakewalker90 on 23 August, 2011, 11:16pm

Intelligent Design

This car will please the connoisseur, has a no-nonsense, form follows function approach, typically German Bauhaus in style. You can tell this car has really been designed to the last detail. I really like the cheerful interior with the use of red colour, a big improvement over the drab and austere predessor the Fox. I disagree with AE about the Fiat 500 being a direct rival, I would have said the new upcoming Fiat Panda will be it's direct rival because they both follow the same design philosophy.

By JTravolta77 on 23 August, 2011, 11:56pm

But it won't be under £8,000, will it? More likely £8995!

I think this looks great, just like the pre-production Lupo did at the motor show before launch but the production version was so much tamer and not as good. Hopefully this will be as good as it promises. I wish car makers (and magazines) would stop mis-leading the public and claiming "sub-£000" prices for up coming models... the Cinqecento was going to be "sub £5000" when it came out, it wasn't, and the Lupo was considerably more than touted, even in the most basic spec.

By alex34197 on 26 August, 2011, 12:51pm

£8K or 12K!!!

I see the AE road test for this car shows a fantastic car (wouldn't expect any other kind of report from AE on a VW!!) but also gives the price as £12K!!!!!!!!

By Correcting_Reports on 6 September, 2011, 1:58pm

not so up

probably limp is a better name for it

By liverpool on 14 September, 2011, 7:12pm

Name it Lupo?

VW should just drop the drab "Fox", and name the "Up!" as "Lupo", people grew to love that name. Why don't they just name the Seat Mii as "Arosa"? 1. People know and grew to love that name, 2. "Mii" just translates into English as "My!" not exactly original or of any relation to Spain. Then I come to the Skoda "CITIGO", maybe it could be called the "Felicia" as by today's size standards the original "Felicia" would be a city car if it was new now.

By danielcrawford on 5 October, 2011, 2:30am