Liking the Up!

A FEW years ago
Kia introduced a car with an apostrophe in the name, the cee’d. Now Volkswagen
is infuriating grammar experts by using an exclamation mark in the title of
their new small car the Up! I am not a fan of people who overuse the
exclamation mark when writing, but that didn’t put me off liking the Up!

It seems strange to keep using an exclamation mark
every time I mention the car so from here on it will be a plain Up. Still you
have got to admire the marketing people in VW who came up with the names.

The entry model is the Take Up, then there is the Move
Up and the top of the range High Up.

I drove a red coloured top of the range model and it
was really cute with a black boot. Inside the red and black theme is continued.
There was a shiny black anthracite surface on the dash and that’s complimented
by generous touches of the red on the two doors. Only a two-door model
available for now, but there will be a four-door edition later in the year and
an electric version is expected at the end of 2013.

The small car sector is very competitive right now and
the VW group has two more similar cars on the way later this year, the Citigo
from Skoda and Seat’s Mii. Then you have the Ford Ka, Fiat 500 and a new
edition of the Fiat Panda is also in showrooms now.

The Up is a tall city car with room for four people,
well maybe five at a squeeze. Legroom in the back will depend on how far back
the front seats are pushed back, but there is plenty of headroom in the rear.
As I said earlier the black anthracite on the dash is very attractive as is the
sporty-looking steering wheel. The dash itself is well laid out and there are
decent controls for the radio. In most cars the driver can open or close the
electric window on the passenger side, but not in the Up.

On the road the 1.0 litre engine is lively and you
won’t be left behind at the traffic lights. But while it’s fast enough there is
a bit of road noise, but then nothing that the excellent radio won’t drown out.
There is also a city emergency brake function where the brakes are applied if
somebody walks out in front of you in slow moving traffic.

Apart from the hassle of getting out to allow a back
seat passenger in or out, the other problem with a two-door car is the wide
sweep you get when opening the doors; be careful or you will scratch that car
near you in the supermarket car park.

Prices start at

?¬160 per annum.

Volkswagen is expecting to grab at least ten per cent
of the small car market with this model. VW also provide finance from their own
bank and you can get an Up for

?¬99 per month for 36
months.