Are you Up for a city car with style?

ROADTEST VOLKSWAGEN UP! (HIGH UP GRADE):OPEL'S PETROL-ELECTRIC range extender, the Ampera, may have won top prize in the coveted European car of the year competition this year, but the top-rated conventional car in the running was VW's Up. It's cold comfort perhaps for the German brand, but a very credible ranking when you consider the calibre of those ranked below it on the overall scoring charts. This is, after all, a small city car that out-scored the new Ford Focus, the glamorous Citroën DS5 and the gorgeous Range Rover Evoque.

Driving around for a week in the Up it provoked a lot of interest from other motorists.

It seems the Up is in tune with the public appetite for downsizing. Strangely, many of the comments included credit to the German brand for finally creating a car smaller than the Polo.

Many forget that Volkswagen has been building city cars since 1998. It entered the city car market back then with the Lupo, followed in 2005 by the Fox. Neither car caught the public’s attention in Ireland, partly because of the onset of the credit-hungry celtic tiger era and our SUV fixation. VW didn’t help matters with its pricing policy for such cars. The end result was that the Fox was nearly as rare a sight as the Ferrari. Yet it was a great little car and the Up is an evolution on that theme, whatever promises of revolution were made during the concept phases. The concept version that first appeared at motor shows in 2007 boasted seating for four adults, and flat-folding air inflatable seats. It also had iPad-like monitors on the dashboard and the engine was in the back.

No air is needed for the front seats in the production version unfortunately and the engine is up front as normal, but on the plus side the car can indeed carry four adults. The exterior looks are also largely retained from the concept car. The front might be merely an evolution on the Polo’s look, but the flat rear with its funky taillights is a smart move.

Part of its interior spaciousness is down to the glass. It might not seem overly-glazed from the outside, but that’s part of the design trick. Sit inside and you notice just how big the side windows are.

In terms of power output, the little l-litre three-cylinder block might kick out just 75bhp, but it does so with gusto. It’s matched to a nicely packaged five-speed manual gearbox.

It’s a relatively refined engine, unlike rivals such as Fiat’s two-cylinder TwinAir, and there’s a nice little extra blip of power above 3,000 revs. It’s not going to push you back in your seat, but it’s enough to give you confidence when overtaking. Fuel economy is not best in class but at 4.7 L/100km (60.1mpg) average and 5.9 L/100km (48mpg) in town, it’s not going to hurt the purse too badly. The emissions come in at 108g/km, which is good, but we would like to see a sub-100g/km version given the potential changes in the motor tax rules from next year. The Kia Picanto, for example, manages 99g/km from its 1-litre powertrain.

The Up’s handling is arguably one of the most impressive features of this car, feeling light but mechanical, reflecting some of the DNA that we admired in the larger Polo when it launched two years ago. It offers a firm and solid ride as well. As part of an earlier testing session for the Car of the Year awards we took the seven shortlisted cars to a private test track outside Paris, used by various car brands for their own pre-production testing. During a day driving the various models, we pitted the cars against a cobbled stone track, designed to replicate the worst surfaced city roads of an Italian city. It was the sort of surface that rattles bones and loosens teeth, and it was remarkable how well the little Up coped. For a €11,000 supermini it was remarkably adept.

The smartly styled cabin is also impressive, better than some of the larger superminis, with comfortable seating and decent legroom. Bootspace is an issue for all city cars and with 251 litres on offer in the Up, we found that some midweek restocking, resulting in a half-filled shopping trolley, meant the backseats were needed for the overflow. Potential buyers might be won over by the look, the easy parking, and even the seemingly airy cabin, but they need to consider their weekly space requirements as well. Rear seat passengers won’t complain in the Up, but you will not be taking four in the car for a family shopping trip.

Three grades are on offer, but its hard to see how it might be worth an extra €1,900 to move from entry-level to top-end, while the mid-level grade (€900 extra on entry model) doesn’t offer anything more than a few trivial features such as a rear passenger vanity mirror and a bit more body-colouring on the door handles and mirrors. In the city car segment there are better ways to spend your cash.

The Up ticks the boxes in terms of looks, spaciousness for a city car, eager performance and comfort. However, its going head-to-head with some well-established success stories in the city car segment. For a start there’s a new Fiat Panda on the way, the Koreans have smart little city cars on their fleets and the French and Japanese have all created well-regarded city cars in the last decade.

Yet the Up’s fun driving characteristics, handling and seemingly sturdy build quality should see it secure a sizeable chunk of the market. It’s better than its rivals and for us only the Kia Picanto would give us pause for thought before purchase.

If you’re up for a city car, then put the Up on your shortlist.

Factfile

ENGINE

999cc three-cylinder petrol engine putting out 75bhp @ 6,200rpm and 95Nm of torque PERFORMANCE

0-100km/h in 13.2 seconds (top speed 171km/h)

ECONOMY

4.7 L/100km (60.1mpg).

EMISSIONS

108g/km (Band A: €160 tax).

PRICE

€12,895 (prices start at €10,995 for Take Up version and €11,895 for Move Up)

RIVALS

Fiat Panda(new) 1.2 Easy 5dr €12,995 (€160 motor tax);

Renault Twingo1.2 Dynamique €12,850 (€160 motor tax);

Hyundai i10 Deluxe€11,995 (€160 motor tax);

Kia Picanto 1.0 EX(5dr) €12,810 (€160 motor tax)

OUR RATING

8/10

Smart and fun to drive