‘It is very spacious for such a small dishwasher’
The fact that the A segment is becoming smaller is irreversible. This year we say goodbye to a once so popular supermini, the Volkswagen Up. The model made its appearance in 2011 and remained available in virtually unchanged form all these years. How did its owners like this car? Let’s take a look at the user reviews.
The Volkswagen Up was a Volkswagen through and through. Although soberly built, its simple lines still gave it a somewhat distinguished appearance. Under the hood, sobriety was also the magic word for a long time, because in the first years one could only choose from 1.0-liter three-cylinders with 60 or 75 hp. In 2016, the 90 hp 1.0 TSI made its appearance, followed by the Up GTI with a slightly more powerful variant of the same engine. The last Ups will be produced in week 43 of 2023 and it will be a final end for Volkswagen’s smallest.
Practical properties
“The interior of the up! looks quite mature for a car in the A segment. Despite the basic design, you don’t often have the feeling that you are on the road in such a small car,” writes the owner of a 60 hp Up from 2013. An opinion he shares with a number of other Up drivers, such as this one: “I partly agree with the comments on the non-covered parts of the doors, but in combination with a dashpad in the same color I think it is more of a style element.” The dashpad refers to the – sometimes colored – plastic strip that covers the entire dashboard. The interior does not appear to be really practical. “A disadvantage is that there are no useful storage spaces, except for the glove compartment. That’s partly why I ordered an armrest, which also has storage compartments,” reports an Up GTI driver.
People are also largely positive about the space available. “The space inside is excellent,” says the driver of a 60 hp-Up from 2015. “You have a very spacious seat in the front, but you can also take people with you in the back on not too long journeys. There is no trunk space left, but that is inherent to the size of the car. By the way, the chassis of our stroller fits perfectly.” The driver of a slightly younger Up is also enthusiastic. “First of all, the space in the car is immediately noticeable. No one got stuck on the way to France. Okay, we didn’t have the tallest people in the back (1.80 meters max), but for such a small dishwasher it is very spacious.”
Good seats
Even more than the space, drivers appreciate the seats, and a striking number of owners express positive opinions about this. “The seats are good for me. Even after a ride of 5-6 hours, I get out without back problems or fatigue, but this is of course very subjective,” says the owner of a 2016 Move Up. The rider of a different Up is also enthusiastic. “The Groove Up drives very comfortably. I find the chairs comfortable, offer sufficient support and they are sufficiently adjustable for me.” Even a tall driver is satisfied: “The seating comfort of the car is excellent, I am 2 meters tall and sit comfortably. I think the integrated headrest is a missed opportunity in 2012.” This makes this rider the only one who makes a comment about the headrests.
Another rider decided to upgrade the stock seats. “The seats are sturdy and I like that, but after sitting in the car for 3 hours you want something different for your back…” He installs the artificial leather interior instead. “Had the eco-leather interior installed today. What an improvement over the standard seats! It really is a nicer material than regular leather, you don’t slide in your chair and you don’t have the usual ‘disadvantages’ of leather. The seat bolsters are also slightly more padded than the standard seats, which also makes you sit more comfortably and firmly.”
If we look at the sporty GTI, it seems that Volkswagen has made a mistake. “The seats are good, but could have been a little sportier with a little more lateral support,” said the driver of a 2018 Up GTI. Another driver is even clearer: “To be honest, they are nice sports seats, but these seats really didn’t have be allowed to sit in a GTI.”
Driving the Up
Why did the seats have to be better? “If you really sit down for it, in parts where it is still safe, then it will go really fast and you will automatically have a big smile on your face.” The other GTI driver agrees. “You notice that the chassis, the total package, is very well balanced. I can drive quickly and lightly with the Up. Due to the low weight, the small nose and the wide wheels, understeer is no longer an issue. Bends are a party.”
The more average Up is also getting involved. “First of all, I would like to praise the chassis. Compared to the French triplets, I think the Up drives a lot more stable at high speeds. Yes, it is a bit stiff, but you get excellent highway capabilities in return,” says the driver of a fairly early Up. The owner of a 75 hp truck, the one who replaced his seats, experiences the same thing. “In my opinion, the Up sits nice and firm on the road, this is partly due to the wider tires on the 16-inch rims. It goes nice and tight through the bend with light steering, the Up hardly leans over. If you go around the bend really fast, there is a risk of understeer. The car performs well on the highway, it has no trouble at higher speeds and stays on the road well.”
However, there is also a downside, which several owners mention. “What is becoming increasingly clear is that the Up absolutely does not like speed bumps. These must be approached very carefully, otherwise you will be punished by a short scrape of the bumper lip. Disadvantage of the combination of a small car + comfortable chassis tuning,” one of them describes the problem.
Engine choice Up: without turbo but also with
As mentioned, the Up is only available with three-cylinders, the first years of which only without the help of a turbo. The owner of a 60 hp car experiences this as follows: “The car is equipped with a 1.0 liter three-cylinder with 44 kW (60 hp) and 95 Nm of torque. It will come as no surprise that the power does not really last in practice. My experience is that due to the low vehicle weight (840 kg) you can generally keep up with traffic reasonably well, but no more than that. The car is clearly less in its element on the highway.”
This experience is being shared more widely. “This Up has a 60 hp 3-cylinder of 1000 CC. You’re not going to win a Grand Prix with this, that’s clear. The car simply moves along with other traffic. Cruising at 130 to 140 km is no problem. To drive smoothly through traffic you have to keep the engine revved slightly, but it tolerates that well.” This driver also likes the level of refinement. “The engine is quite quiet at constant speeds. Even when pulling through the revs, the engine remains reasonably quiet, no screaming or other drama. It is remarkable that you hardly feel any vibrations with this three-cylinder.”
The 90 hp Up TSI turns out to make a world of difference. “Coming from a naturally aspirated 75 hp/95 Nm of torque at 3,000 rpm, this was a huge difference. 160 Nm at 1,500 rpm thanks to a turbo and 90 hp. Man, this was suddenly pleasant to drive, always enough power regardless of the speed, and the great 3-cylinder sound, completely satisfied,” writes a rider who graduated from Up. The latter is a bit more nuanced: “After 5,000 km of break-in, the car has been tuned to 140hp/230nm.”
Volkswagen Up: reliability and irritations
The picture that owners paint of the reliability of their car is mainly positive. Despite this, a number of drivers encountered minor or major problems, the most notable of which was a problem with the gearbox. Several owners report that it is difficult to impossible to insert the gears. One of these drivers: “Somewhere from 40,000 onwards I increasingly found him to be particularly bad at going backwards. I also indicated this during the last maintenance service, but nothing special was done at the dealer at that time.” After complaining again, the problem was solved by replacing the coupling.
Replacing the coupling alone proved not to be sufficient in another case. “At 34,000 km, the car was taken to the dealer and examined for the gearbox complaint. Contact was again made with the importer and Germany, with the positive result that the container was exchanged for a new one!”
Apart from this, the Up appears to be free of major problems, although several drivers report that the windows can fog up considerably in winter. An additional positive note comes from a driver who has already traveled 250,000 kilometers with an Up on natural gas. “Other than normal maintenance, no special features; the engine runs like a charm and the consumption is like from the start around 25 km on 1 kg of CNG. For now I’m driving fine, so on to the 300,000 km.” It is unclear whether the rider has now completed this milestone, the last update appeared in 2019.
Based on the user reviews, the Volkswagen Up seems to be a car that will be missed. Riders appreciate the space, handling and seats. On the other hand, thresholds must be taken carefully and the interior quickly fogs up. Although the car is not completely free of technical problems, it seems that most users are exempt from these. Fortunately, because due to the increasingly thinning A-segment, the existing Ups still have to last for quite some time.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl