2013 Volkswagen Up! Reviews

Size translates into less cost at purchase and at the petrol station, along with less grief when shoehorning into parking spots that regular cars rightly shy away from.

It's a well-known if shakily founded maxim that diabolical results come in threes.

Apart from automatic braking the Volkswagen Up offers little that we haven't seen before. Volkswagen has built plenty of small cars in the past, it's just that we haven't seen them here like the Fox it replaces. But the Volkswagen badge at a bargain price is possibly going to exert a powerful attraction on brand-conscious teens where the look is everything.VALUEStarting price is $13,990 for the three door. Our five door test car is another $1000 and the satnav system which includes Bluetooth is another $500, bringing the total package to $15,490 before on-road costs.For that price you still get hubcaps, but a full sized spare is provided. Alloy wheels are part of the Comfort Style package, which is another $2500. The $500 satnav system tightly integrates with the car. It's a Navigon system just like your phone but you don't get speed camera warnings which is disappointing. We tried five times to transfer contacts from phone unsuccessfully (no contacts, no voice control).It's three cylinder rivals are Nissan's 1.2 litre Micra  -- which is slightly bigger, has slightly more torque but is cheaper and similarly equipped with six airbags instead of the Up's four -- and the Suzuki Alto and Holden Barina Spark, while the four cylinder Honda Jazz and Toyota Yaris just sneak in under the $15,000 mark.ENGINEIt's a 1.0-litre three cylinder engine that produces 55kW of power and 95Nm of torque, delivering that to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. Because it has three cylinders, it is by design inherently unbalanced.  While one piston is going up the other two are going down and vice-versa which means it is not going to be smooth.SAFETYIt gets a full five stars despite the fact it has only four airbags with no bags covering rear seat passengers.DRIVINGIt's surprisingly responsive -- that is, if you work the gears hard and flog the thing mercilessly. The 0-100km/h dash takes 13.2 secs but we were stunned on more than one occasion to leave the traffic at lights behind. But being five-speed manual only, it can become a chore in traffic, but includes a hill holder to make take off easier on a slope. The wheel is not reach adjustable and while the front windows are power operated, the driver does not have a switch for the passenger window.  There are no centre air vents blowing air on to your face and we predict the system is really going to struggle through and Aussie summer.Rated at 4.9 litres/100km, it doesn't use much fuel regardless of how hard you drive the car. After close to 1000km and numerous traffic snarls we were still getting 5.2 litres/100km according to the trip computer. With a 35-litre tank it doesn't cost much to fill either, but bear in mind it takes 95 Premium unleaded which takes off some of the shine.VERDICTIt's kind of cute but you can do a lot better for the money if the badge is unimportant.Volkswagen Up five-doorPrice: from $14,990Engine: 1.0-litre 3-cyl, 55kW/95NmTransmission: 5-speed manual, FWDWarranty: 3 years/unlimited kmCrash rating: n/aDimensions: 3540mm (L); 1641mm (W); 1476mm (H)Thirst: 4.9L/100km 114g/km CO2

And now for something completely different - yet at the same time something that’s a blast from the past. VW’s marketing gurus like the new model’s name to be spelled as up! – complete with lower-case ‘u’ and an exclamation mark. Our computer’s spelling checker hates it, but ...Volkswagen up! is the reigning World Car of the Year and is available in three- and five-door hatchback bodies, with just one equipment level but a number of option packages. More about the latter.There are a number of cost-saving cues in the up! including sealed side windows in the rear of the three-door version and hinge-out windows (only to about 10 degrees) in the five-door.Fuel consumption during our test week was generally in the six to seven litres per hundred kilometres range, on the open road it was possible to get it under five litres without using any extreme economy driving measures.There are three option packages available with the up!. The biggest seller will almost certainly be the Maps+More Package; a portable infotainment system displayed on a five-inch touchscreen monitor mounted onto a bracket above the centre console. Features include satellite navigation, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, trip computer with a fuel-saving trainer and media player. At just $500 it’s a steal.The Comfort Drive Package ($600) provides cruise control, multi-function display and rear parking sensors. The $2500 Comfort Style Package includes 15-inch alloy wheels, front foglights, leather trimmed steering wheel, parking brake lever and gearshift knob, heated front seats and carpet floor mats. A panoramic powered sunroof is available for just $1400, so is also likely to be a popular option.Power for the cute little Volkswagen up! comes from a three-cylinder 1.0-litre petrol engine. Peak power is 55 kW at 6200 rpm and 95 Nm of torque between 3000 and 4300 rpm.By their nature lower-powered cars do require a bit more thought and planning in the driving technique needed to get best out of them. For the time being, there is no automatic transmission on offer. It’s sold only with a five-speed manual gearbox.The Volkswagen up! has a cheeky shape that’s like nothing else on the road. This is a very difficult thing to achieve because the smallest VeeDub could have looked like any other low-priced hatchback. Full marks to the designers who have used a clever front grille style and a distinctive kink in the rear pillar to make their up! stand out from the madding automotive crowd.There is seating for four, although rear seat adult passengers will need to impose on those in the front seat to get comfortable legroom. If you’re buying an up! as a small family car make sure the kids are aware that they won’t be able to wind down the rear windows.There are no headroom problems in any seat and just the occasional elbow bumping between the two front seat occupants.Maximising the size of the passenger cabin inevitably reduces storage space and, at 251 litres maximum, the boot is relatively small. However it is quite deep and can take a single large suitcase with several soft bags squeezed in around it. The rear seatbacks fold down to greatly increase carrying capacity.A major safety feature of the up! Is City Emergency Braking (CEM). This uses a laser sensor mounted at the top of the windscreen to scan a space in front of the car, detect the risk of imminent collision and selectively apply the brakes depending upon the force required. It will either prevent or reduce the impact of a collision at speeds up to 30 km/h.The blast from the past we mentioned in the intro is that there’s more than a hint of the original VW Beetle in the way up! feels on the road. Not in its handling, which is infinitely better than the old swing-axle Beetle that could see the car tipped onto its roof at a moment’s notice, but in the cheeky way it accelerated and the happy way it corners and stops. The buzzy sound from the three-cylinder engine is another endearing feature.If you don’t smile from time to time while in the driving seat of an up! we feel for you. At just 3.54 metres in length the VW up! is a delight in tight city areas and we found ourselves having access to parking spots that nothing else with four wheels could fit into.

Baby bundles rarely come as cute - or as affordable - as this trio of light cars. They are archetypal city cars - born and bred with the sole purpose of fitting your life into the city. Cheap to buy, cheap to run and so easy to drive, they cope well with freeways but really come to the fore in congestion.Filed into the light-car category, each is similar in size and packaging. Though there are some differences in engine layout, they are separated by badges and the stylist's pencil.It is glaringly reflective of the competitiveness of the light car market - the segment into which 20 different makes and 44 models engage in bitter fighting for sales - that each has strong warranties and capped-price service programs to ensure maximum ownership economy for budget buyers.On the sales chart, the long-standing Mazda2 holds more than 14 per cent of the segment, followed by the Mitsubishi Mirage and Toyota Yaris. That's an amazing grip for the Mazda that launched in 2007 and is one of the oldest in the class.The new Volkswagen Up may be one of the sales minnows in the segment but its uptake is strengthening and last month it outsold its Polo sister and was only seven units behind Nissan's Micra. The Mitsubishi Mirage comes out of left-field, replacing the long-standing and recently fizzled-out Colt with a clean-sheet approach.No surprises about the Toyota Yaris. It's been a pillar of the small-car brigade since it was called the Echo and despite the years and fresh rivals, remains a favourite. The trio here are small in fuel consumption, size and weight. But far from feeling unnervingly flimsy, they are solid performers.Yes, there is a sense that their diminutive size may increase occupant injury in an accident but each is rated at the maximum safety crash standard and equipped with top-end electronic aids. The specifications here are base-model - befitting the economy of ownership - but for more pampered buyers, there's some additional trim levels and options to lift any low-rent perceptions.For example, an automatic transmission - not available on the Up - may be preferred by Mirage or Yaris buyers and alloy wheels (standard on Mirage Sport) may lift visual appeal. It's your city - it's up to you.VALUENone of these breach $15,000 (though depending on where you live, on-road costs will push that out by about $3500). Bluetooth, a minimum of four speaker audio, iPod and USB connectivity, airconditioning and electric front windows and mirrors are the basics here.Mirage adds alloy wheels. The Yaris' cabin is the best looking, the Mirage is neat but conservative and the Up reflects the cool Teutonic approach with a big list of standard features, most impressively the automatic braking at low speeds to avoid a traffic jam bingle.Each has a capped service program (see spec boxes) to save you money. Again, VW rises to the fore as offering the most comprehensive service program but the Mirage has the best warranty and has full five-year roadside assistance.WINNER: VolkswagenDESIGNMitsubishi takes the conservative line but the Mirage looks - and feels - good. Mirage's cabin is traditional though gloss plastic trim works well.The Yaris is more edgy - just look at its RAV4 and Corolla sisters - that extends to the premium look of the dash and even the weird single windscreen wiper.The Up is a clinical design exercise that maximises cabin space, even though it ends up looking like a cardboard box with chamfered corners. Inside, The Up is functional, minimalistic and only comes alive when you add the $500 optional dashtop sat-nav/trip computer unit.Yaris has the longest wheelbase - by 60mm on the Mirage and 103mm on the Up - and its overall length exceeds Mirage by 175mm. That gives the Yaris its bigger cabin space. The Yaris driver also gets more adjustment than the others.WINNER: ToyotaSPACE AND COMFORTThe Yaris wins the luggage space game with a 286-litre boot area (rear seat up) but the space-saver spare wheel is partially responsible for the extra room.The Up offers 251-litres, and has a full-size spare, while the Mirage is 235-litres with a space-saver spare. Up and Yaris have a split-level boot floor. Each seats four adults but the seating positions and facilities are markedly different. Again, the Yaris is the more accommodating for rear passengers, followed by the Mirage and then Up.The Up has an upright rear seat with sufficient headroom and adequate legroom. Both the Yaris and Up three-doors need some limbered limbs to get in the rear and are no place for a baby seat.The Mirage, as a five-door model, is obviously the best for rear passengers. The Up's front seats are firm and comfortable but there's no switch for the driver to open the passenger side electric window. There are also only two vents - one each for the front occupants - which is simply insufficient in an Australian summer. A central vent directs air to the ceiling but its barely effective.The Mirage and Yaris get four dash vents though the former's central outlets are modest performers. Mirage has three child seat tether anchors and two Iso-Fix rear seat child restraints fitted, the Yaris and Up have two anchor points.WINNER: Toyota.TECHNOLOGYAll have five-speed manual gearboxes and are front-wheel drive. The Mirage is a better drive with the optional auto (add $2250), the Yaris is fine as it is and the Up only comes with a manual gearbox, severely limiting its audience.Yaris has a 63kW/121Nm 1.3-litre four-cylinder engine and is up against a new breed of three-cylinder mills - the 57kW/100Nm 1.2-litre Mirage and 55kW/95Nm 1-litre Up. Yaris' bigger engine claims the biggest petrol thirst - though at 5.7 L/100km it's still a sip - while the Up is 4.9 L/100km and the Mirage the best at 4.6 L/100km. Up's clever low-speed auto braking is a gem.All cut body weight by high-tensile steel and compact dimensions, lightweight components and general corner cutting. As such, the rear suspensions are bare-basic torsion beams to save on price, weight and space - precisely the type of ingredients for the budget commuter.WINNER: VolkswagenSAFETYDespite their size, these are five-star crash-rated cars. Electronic stability control, brake assist and ABS brakes are standard. Yaris will automatically stop if the brake and accelerator pedals are pressed simultaneously. Up has class-leading automatic braking to avoid low-speed dingles and auto flashing brake lights in emergency braking plus is the only one with a full-size spare wheel. No model has park sensors or a reverse camera.WINNER: VolkswagenDRIVINGAll are fun and each lures with its intrinsic ability to delight the driver, generally at the expense of the passenger. But they are different animals.The Yaris' four-cylinder engine needs a solid right foot and complains noisily, but the fact it has one more cylinder than the others makes it smoother. The gearbox is a bit vague but the box feels solid.The Mirage and Up introduce the odd-ball three-pot beat into the cabin almost as a boast. Both are as quick as the Yaris and as responsive - especially the Up that loves a rev - but the Mirage has a reluctant gear shift action and the Up's change tends towards the rubbery.Electric-assist steering suits the car's target market and each works well, as does the stopping power despite all having rear drum brakes. Under acceleration, they all are relatively noisy. But for general city-suburban routes, it's not an issue.Even ride comfort is similar though the Yaris suited me better while the Up felt a bit “tinny”. Handling and lane-changing is more secure in the Yaris and Up, while the Mirage was let down by some steering vagueness.WINNER: Toyota