Volkswagen is famous for its small, city slicker, day-to-day type of vehicles. With traffic always being a problem in the main cities of South Africa, a smaller, more fuel-efficient car is often preferred for the daily bumper to bumper traffic.
The Volkswagen up! might be the car you need for that daily commute as it falls in the mini-car range available in South Africa. The hatch’s small size makes it easier to get in and out of tight spaces and parking will also never be an issue.
Not long after its launch in 2015, Volkswagen revealed its facelifted version in 2016, which was launched in South Africa in 2017.1,2 This launch introduced four new variants to the up! range including the Take up!, Move up!, up! Beats and the Cross up!. When launching the new range, all the derivatives were based on the 5-door and not the 3-door variants anymore.1,2
What can one expect from the Volkswagen up!?1,2
If you are looking for space, the up! may not necessarily be the car you are looking for. This car may not be suited as a family car. The up! is more inclined to sell in the student market as their first set of wheels, or perhaps somebody that is a city dweller and needs to get in and out of tight spaces, or for the person that is on a tight budget, that requires a low running cost car and very fuel-efficient as well, which the Volkswagen up! is without question.
The up! is powered by a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine and has a power output of 55 kW and 95Nm of torque. Although the up! does not deliver big on the power output, but its low weight helps in making it quite zippy. The engine is paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox and has a claimed fuel-efficiency of 4.6 L/100km, making it very fuel economical for the typical day to day lifestyle.
With the new 5-door up! it makes getting in and out of your car pretty easy for passengers. In saying this, the 5-door doesn’t offer much more space than its 3-door predecessor. The boot space is quite modest as it offers 251-litres of space; if more luggage space is needed one can fold down the rear seats.
The facelift up! comes with new 15-inch alloy wheels, this is an optional feature, meaning there is more tyre rubber for the up! to handle and absorb the road with not much effort. With the facelift version up!, it came out with a few cosmetic changes to its look and feel. It now has daytime LED running lights, and the tail lights have also been refreshed. The interior dash has also had some tweaking, most of the range will come standard with Bluetooth and USB ports, but most of the gadgets and extras will be available as an optional extra. The steering wheel has also been changed, which now features mounted controls to it.
The up! can also be chosen in 8 different colours including Candy White, Pure White, Teal Blue, Honey Yellow Metallic, Tornado Red, Dark Silver Metallic, Edelweiss Metallic and Deep Black Pearlescent.
What is the pricing on the Volkswagen up!?2,3
The up! comes in the higher end of the price point in its category, but in saying so, the build quality is the highest quality compared to other cars that fall in the same category, which makes it more difficult for other manufacturers to compete with the Volkswagen up!
The new up! price starts at R180,900.00. The hatch comes standard with a 3-year/120 000km warranty and an optional 3-5-year service and maintenance plan.
So, whether you are a city dweller or a student, the up! is a car worth considering?
Perhaps you want to buy the Volkswagen up!? Comprehensive car insurance is a requirement if you want to finance an up! or any other new car. Comprehensive car insurance doesn’t have to be expensive. Perhaps consider purchasing affordable, comprehensive car insurance with Prime South Africa, which includes unique benefits such as fixed premiums* if you don’t claim and a reduce-to-zero excess*. *T and Cs apply.
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