The Volkswagen Up! as reviewed by a guy who borrowed one.

"Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge)" (thejonnyedge) 02/22/2014 at 17:24 • Filed to: Volkswagen, Up!

9

12

With the Skoda needing a minor teething issue sorting out under warranty, I took it into my local dealership and as usual received the excellent standard of care Skoda is so famous for over here in the UK. 'I wonder what car I'll get to borrow while it's being repaired' I thought to myself as I sat in the service area sipping on a fresh cup of coffee from the machine. 'Oh, I do hope it's an Up! I hear those are fantastic.' I was interrupted suddenly by the service manager...

"I'm afraid we can only offer you an Up! today Mr. Edge as some of our other models are out, it's not much fun compared to what you are used to, is that OK?"

"YES! er, I mean yes I suppose so, thank you." Brilliant! I was going to be able to see what all the positive reviews were about at last. A smidgeon of concern then took over. "He said it wasn't very good though... surely it can't be a bad car after all the positive press that's been out there, no... surely not." Not wanting to wait around to find out, I grabbed politely took the keys and skipped calmly walked outside to the car.

Taking my position in the drivers seat I was immediately aware of how basic it was, but was pleased to find a good old fashioned 5-speed manual and a nice simple steering wheel with a good feel and shape. It had no toys as such but it's a car that doesn't need toys. Why? Because the whole car is one. It's tiny, but you don't feel uncomfortable in it. The driving position is decent for a diddly-car and the pedals feel just right under your feet, it's a very welcoming car, one might say inviting. But what was it inviting me for? I was soon to find out.

It was inviting me to drive it absolutely flat out everywhere I drove. This car wants to be driven. The engine is small enough to fit on a pinhead with room for a few more, it's a 1.0l 3-cylinder unit producing a measly 60bhp. But that's not really a bad thing, this car doesn't feel as terribly slow as you might expect it to and the Up! doesn't under perform. You can chuck it around a bit and the real focus when driving it is keeping up momentum. You'll want to keep your speed high so you don't lose any of it because you have to work so damn hard to get it up to a high speed in the first place. The engine is not turbo charged, it is what it is, you don't get anything to help you go faster. So it's 'Up!' to you to bring the best out of it.

As you can see from the picture above, I live in a beautiful but rural area. I drove this car around a lot of small twisty roads and even down some single track lanes out to the coast where this image was taken. It was fantastic down those roads, a genuinely fun experience, light, nippy and cheerful despite my constant thrashing of it. I covered around 100 miles during that day, and the fuel consumption was excellent too. That was despite me driving it around like a lunatic pretty much from the moment it left the forecourt. The fuel gauge did drop of course, but I didn't have to top it up and you all know what a measly amount of fuel dealerships keep in these cars. The only time this wonderful little car found itself lacking was on the A-road when it was overtaken by just about everything. But do you know what? I still had fun. I was jumping up and down in my seat shouting 'POWERRR' just like Clarkson trying to keep up with everybody passing me while my girlfriend looked over from the passenger seat with a mixture of humour and concern upon her face. She secretly loved it too, I know she did.

In an age where accessible and easy power is found in nearly all of our cars, I can't tell you how refreshing it suddenly was to be made to work for every single MPH I could get on that speedometer. I loved how the steering wheel was just a steering wheel, not a glorified stereo remote that can occasionally be used to make a car change direction, and I loved having just 5 gears again. We shouldn't be too quick to judge these cars for being too small, too slow and too dull. Instead, we should be getting out there and driving one for ourselves and reacquainting ourselves with the simple joy of driving a car. No computers, no fiddly buttons, no extras we don't really ever need or use. Just a little car with a little engine, and a great big personality.

WorldRallyBlog > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 02/22/2014 at 17:33

1

Up! really is a great little car, much fun for such a small package - they should shave some of its price off and it would literally be everywhere.

I hope you don't mind me touching your photo up a bit. Lovely scene, what do you regularly drive there?

EDIT: Meh, uploaded 1000 pixels wide but I don't think it can be expanded in comments. Can it?

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > WorldRallyBlog 02/22/2014 at 18:19

0

Not at all, please feel free to touch anything of mine up (don't snigger) as I don't know much about photo editing! My daily driver is the Mk.3 Skoda Octavia vRS which i've also done a short piece on recently but i'm contemplating expanding it and getting more pictures for you all.

The Up! Is fantastic fun, a very refreshing little drive and I really recommend it, I had a cracking time in it with my girlfriend driving around that day.

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/02/2014 at 14:26

1

Great article. I know all too well how a little car with a tiny engine can give you a big thrill, I wrote about a Citroen 1.6 Diesel, check it out if you have a chance. Keep up the good work!

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez 03/02/2014 at 14:30

1

Thank you very much for your kind words, I must check out your Citroen article! If you wish to see any more of my work check out my page. I've done quite a few recently, although I doubt that all of them will reach the front page!

Shiftright > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/02/2014 at 22:05

1

There is lots of joy to be derived from driving a small, simple car. We've all gotten so drunk on horsepower that small pleasures like this are often forgotten

CaptAFR > WorldRallyBlog 03/02/2014 at 22:18

0

Reminds of my ol' '77 VW Rabbit (Mk1 Golf), my first car.
You never forget your first car.

vc-10 > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/03/2014 at 05:12

1

I'd love an Up, although if I was spending my own money I'd go for the Skoda version, as they're a bit cheaper for the same thing.

My current Polo is a bit like this though. No options- manual windows, no AC, no central locking, and currently no radio. Just a 65PS 1.2 3-cyl engine, and 4 very skinny wheels. It's great fun.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > Shiftright 03/03/2014 at 07:42

0

That's exactly it. What the Up! does so well is get you back in touch with those early days when you first started driving and your car was much slower (certainly in my case anyway!) and much smaller and it reminds you how you felt back then. It gave me a bit of nostalgia. It's a really great car, if you can go out and drive one.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > vc-10 03/03/2014 at 07:47

0

The Skoda would be a fine choice, same car for less money and a better dealer experience, in my other piece I wrote comparing VW group cars I actually recommend just that.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

It sounds like I'd like your Polo too, there is definitely something about small, low power, basic cars that is really rather charming. They truly have a great little personality.

vc-10 > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/03/2014 at 09:58

1

My parents have recently bought a Superb. The estate, with the slightly anaemic 1.4 TSI engine, in basic 'S' spec. The only option they went for is parking sensors.

It's fantastic. The dealer was brilliant, really nice, and they got the 0% + free servicing deal, and they love it. I'm a big fan of Skoda.

What I will say is that in your other article, I'm not sure I agree about the Polo being bland. It's more supposed to be a mini-Golf, and not a 'zany' supermini like the Ibiza. That's the great thing about VAG- no matter what you want from a car, they've got it.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > vc-10 03/03/2014 at 10:43

0

I found the Polo to be lacking a bit of character. But that's just my personal opinion, I'm sure the Polo is loved by many more people than the odd one of two who found it to be bland!

I'd love to drive a Superb. I might have to soon actually...

Gavin > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 12/28/2015 at 19:57

0

Great article! I have a 75bhp Up with all the options and I absolutely love it! None of my friends get why I bought it instead of a bigger car but your article nails it, I can drive it at its limits and keep within the law plus I have all the luxuries of a larger car but without a bank loan. The beauty of a small car is one of life’s best kept secrets.