Skip advert
Advertisement

New Volkswagen e-up! 2020 review

The new e-up! will be the cheapest all-electric car from Volkswagen, but is it any good?

Overall Auto Express rating

3.5

How we review cars
Find your Volkswagen e-up
Compare deals from trusted partners on this car and previous models.
Or are you looking to sell your car?
Value my car
Fast, no-nonsense car selling
Value my car
Advertisement

The Volkswagen e-up! is certainly more appealing given its vastly extended range. It means that more people than ever can consider this a serious option for daily electric driving and It’ll cost more or less the same as before. That’s all though - elsewhere, nothing changes. Sister versions from Skoda and SEAT will offer 99.9 per cent the same experience for less money, but monthly costs on a PCP deal may negate that.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Far from being on its way out, the little Volkswagen up! has been given an important task as it charges towards its ninth year on sale. 

Next year Volkswagen will begin to roll out its family of ID. badged all-electric cars, all built using a purpose made electric platform and designed to become genuine alternatives to conventionally powered models like the evergreen Golf. However, the entry-point and cheapest way into VW’s new-look electric line-up will be this: the latest incarnation of the battery powered e-up!

Best electric cars to buy now

It doesn’t receive a new identity under the ID. umbrella as it’s not based on the group’s MEB platform. Instead, this is a facelift that showcases just how fast battery technology is developing. It’s still based on a modified combustion engine platform, but within the same space as the previous version of this electric city car now sits a more energy dense 36.8kWh battery  - that’s almost double the capacity, and it means maximum range leaps up to 162 miles under WLTP rules. 

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

That’s plenty for a car designed mainly for nipping around towns and cities and for daily commutes, and while UK prices have not been confirmed, £20,000 after government incentives won’t be far from the mark.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Aside from alleviating some range anxiety with the much-improved maximum distance on a single charge, little else really changes. The addition of a few more airbags, lane keep assist and changes to the selection of body and roof colours mean that on the surface, the package remains broadly similar.

In practice it means that you’ll find the e-up! to be a pleasant small electric car to drive. The controls are light, visibility is great given the boxy shape and big windows, and there’s a sure-footedness to the way you can weave it around. Performance is good too - discount that 11.9 second 0-62mph time. Off the line you get that trademark hit of instant torque you’ll find in nearly every electric car, so at low speeds nipping around cities it’s quick. It gets up to its electronically governed top speed of 81mph very easily too, so on shorter motorway journeys you won’t find the e-up! lacking the speed needed to cruise alongside the rest of the traffic. Fiddle with the gear selector, and you can alter the strength of the brake regeneration too.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

Flick it into one of its two battery saving ‘Eco’ driving modes, and it’s still capable of 75mph. The electric motor emits a faint whine at low speeds, but when you get moving only the wind noise penetrating the small cabin is what you’ll experience. Road noise is supressd quite nicely, given the skinny little tyres.

Advertisement - Article continues below

The interior itself remains a foot in VW’s past rather than the brand’s future, and it’s still a low-tech affair given that a proper infotainment unit remains absent from the e-up!’s dashboard - instead you get a smartphone cradle atop the radio. You can rely on a third party mapping app of your choice, or VW’s Maps & More dedicated app for navigation. Given the price point, the materials inside aren’t some of VW’s best, but the cabin is logically laid out with decent room up front. 

As for charging, VW hasn’t matched the larger battery with a faster recharging capacity. Topping the battery up at 40kW from a CCS plug remains the quickest way, and a 0-80 per cent recharge will take around an hour. A 7.2kW AC wallbox for home charging will be offered as an option, enabling a four hour recharge, while from a standard three-pin plug expect a full charge to take around 16 hours. The We Connect smartphone app enables remote control of the vehicle’s charging status and also means pre-conditioning of the car’s climate control, allowing owners to set the temperature of the cabin before they get in.

• Could you live with an electric car? The pros and cons

Perhaps the only major downside the rejuvenated e-up! will face comes from within the VW Group fold. Both Skoda and SEAT will soon launch updated versions of the Citigo and Mii city cars with the same new extended range battery, and both for less money. The Skoda, with a little less standard kit, will undercut the VW considerably given it’s already been announced with a price of £16,995 after the government grant. 

Skip advert
Advertisement

Our latest car deals

Volkswagen Polo

Volkswagen Polo

RRP £21,210Avg. savings £1,862 off RRP*Compare Offers
Nissan Juke

Nissan Juke

RRP £23,500Avg. savings £4,311 off RRP*Compare Offers
Skoda Kodiaq

Skoda Kodiaq

RRP £36,645Avg. savings £2,892 off RRP*Compare Offers
Hyundai Tucson

Hyundai Tucson

RRP £31,535Avg. savings £3,985 off RRP*Compare Offers
* Average savings are calculated daily based on the best dealer prices on Auto Express vs manufacturer RRP
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Car Deal of the Day: new MG4 long-range EV for a ridiculously low price
MG4 - front cornering

Car Deal of the Day: new MG4 long-range EV for a ridiculously low price

The MG4 is one of our favourite EVs on account of its sheer value for money. It’s our Deal of the Day for 11 December
News
11 Dec 2024
ZEV Mandate to spoil Christmas for 1,000s of petrol and diesel car buyers
Nissan Cube

ZEV Mandate to spoil Christmas for 1,000s of petrol and diesel car buyers

Got an ICE car on order? Don’t bet on collecting it before the New Year…
News
10 Dec 2024
Car Deal of the Day: Kia Sportage SUV is stunning value at just £260 a month
Kia Sportage - main image

Car Deal of the Day: Kia Sportage SUV is stunning value at just £260 a month

The Kia Sportage is a top-selling car and it’s easy to see why. It’s our Deal of the Day for 10 December
News
10 Dec 2024