Volkswagen. The German automaker who brought us everything from the perennial Beetle to the Touareg R50, a vehicle with so much torque that I’m pretty sure it could tow several planets. At once.
VW has had its ups and downs, and you’re all familiar with the lowest of the downs, such as Dieselgate and currently closing down factories. However, in my humble opinion, one of VW’s finest ever cars had nothing to do with performance or car enthusiasts whatsoever.
It was, rather, what ended up being the automaker’s swansong tiny city car. The up! Yes, you spell that with a lowercase “u” and an exclamation mark. If you’re Jeremy Clarkson, you also say the words “exclamation mark.”
I’ve been daily driving a 2016 Volkswagen up! for almost a year, covering nearly 7,500 miles in that time, and although I haven’t owned many cars in my life, this is easily the very best one I’ve ever owned. Here’s why I think that, and why I also think it’s one of the brand’s finest hours.
How Did The up! Come To Be?
The Volkswagen up! succeeded the ill-fated Fox in VW’s lineup. Launching at the 2012 Frankfurt Motor Show, the up! became the brand’s smallest and cheapest car. Whereas the Fox was built down to a price in a somewhat detrimental way, the up! took a somewhat different approach to cost-cutting.
Being a small city car intended for trendy city buyers, the up! offered a significant amount of personalization and some fantastic trim levels and appearance packages. There was a crossover version with plastic cladding and raised suspension, and there were various exterior colors, wheel colors, and even graphics.
Based on the NSF architecture, the up! was one of three nearly identical cars that were marketed under different VAG brands. The other two were the Skoda Citigo and the Seat Mii, which, apart from minor styling tweaks, different badging, and different interior bits, were identical.
The up! was when VW finally took a page out of other established players in the European A-segment book, like the Toyota Aygo. A great example is cramming as much interior room as possible in a footprint this small. This is the first and only VW city car to offer five doors, and at the time, it had the largest cargo area in its class.
An Introduction to My up!
What about mine? It’s a 2016 model, a very late production pre-facelift car, as the facelift arrived in the second half of 2016. If the stark white paint and hubcaps were not a giveaway, mine is as basic as a base model gets.
It has power steering, ABS, a couple of airbags, air conditioning, a radio with an aux port and CD player, some wipers and lights, power windows and locks, and that’s about it. Let’s be honest, on a day-to-day basis, what more than that could you possibly need? Somewhere to put your phone? Use the cupholder in front of the shifter! Need to adjust the passenger mirror? Lean over, the car is narrow!
There are so many things about the up! that are a stark contrast to the stuff I’m used to. Because it’s shaped like a small dresser, VW was able to fit massive windows and thus give you plenty of outward visibility. The steering is absurdly light, the small number of interior controls are super easy to understand, and they all work flawlessly.
Pushing in the clutch is a little harder than it needs to be, though that’s probably because my clutch needs a replacement. The shifter is a bit notchy and loose, but it works. Then, of course, there’s the engine.
A Tiny Little Three-Cylinder
With the exception of the electric e-up!, every VW up! and co. left the factory with a 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine, which, depending on the model, could also have a turbocharger. This engine made anywhere from 60 hp to 115 hp in the hotter up! GTI.
Because mine is a base model and more than likely a former fleet vehicle, of course it has the base engine, meaning 60 hp and not a snail in sight. It actually picks up speed fairly quickly in first and second gear up to about 30 mph, and that’s it. Floor it in third gear and a whole lot of nothing happens. It also doesn’t like being driven quickly; who would have thought that a 2,200 lb car with 60 hp is affected by strong winds?
Of course, because the engine is so small, fuel consumption is nothing short of excellent. Being a very basic car, it can’t actually tell you the average real-life fuel consumption, but my highly unscientific estimates place it around 40 MPG. Not bad for city fuel economy. Oh, it also can’t show you the coolant or oil temperature, so you have to rely on the heater in the winter to know if it has warmed up or not.
Did I mention that it can (relatively) comfortably seat four people and carry a surprisingly decent amount of luggage? And despite having over 106,000 miles and making some strange noises, it just keeps going? All it has needed is some rear brake work because brake fluid leaked all over the rear drums for some reason, and a headlight bulb every couple of months because they keep going out.
The up! Was an Unsurprising Runaway Success
Almost immediately after hitting dealers, the up! started receiving praise left, right, and center. It took the whole experience of a city car and made it all grown up and practical, without any real sacrifices relative to what it is. Sadly, the up! waved goodbye to the world in November 2023. With the advent of tiny electric cars in Europe, it’s a perfect time to bring it back.
