Volkswagen UP! 75 Review: Moving on up!

What we like:

Cute and funky looks and character

spacious interior

peppy three-pot motor

effortless to drive in town

it’s a VW

What we dislike:

Likely to be expensive when it gets here

long gearing and widely spaced gear ratios

The up!’s funky and happy character continues inside. Higher spec models like in the up! black and up! white come with dashboard and door trims that match the exterior body colour while up! logos can be found on the leather bound steering wheel, gear lever and side sills. In typical VW fashion, the ergonomics are spot on – switches and controls can be found where you expect them to be. The dashboard boasts a simple but yet stylish design. A big bugbear though, is he lack of proper air-con vents in the middle of the dash. Instead, cold air from the air-con for rear passengers is blown through a vent located on top of the dash, hidden away behind the sat nav screen on cars with the Maps + More option. The instrument pack features an oversized speedometer that is flanked by a relatively tiny rev counter as well as a fuel gauge. The speedometer’s sheer size makes it easy to read at a glance but not so the puny rev counter.

The front seats might look narrow but they offer sufficient comfort and support for the largest of Asian body frames. Volkswagen offers a myriad of options for the seat trim – from classy black leather with contrasting stitching or funky coloured fabrics.

For its diminutive proportions and small footprint, the up! offers seriously generously proportioned leg and headroom for two at the rear – a rear passenger seated behind a fairly sized driver will appreciate the sufficient knee room. According to Volkswagen, the up!’s boot is the most spacious in its class, offering 251 litres of cargo space with the seats in place. Versatility is furthered enhanced by the split/folding rear seat backs as well as the variable height boot floor.

In Europe, up! prices start from under 10,000 euros and is offered with flexible and attractive financing options to tempt city car buyers to the new model as well as to the Volkswagen brand. Sadly, Singapore’s high COE prices will mean that the up! will not likely be as affordable as it is in Europe. Worse still though, Volkswagen could not even confirm if the up! will make it to Singapore at the end of the day as the sky high COE prices are once again marginalising small, relatively affordable cars like the up! We certainly hope that COE prices cool off a tad next year so at least small cars like the up! will have a fighting chance for their existence in the Singapore car market.

Credits: Story by Raymond Lai in Rome Photos by Volkswagen and Raymond Lai