Volkswagen Up! 2013 Review

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.

VALUE

Starting 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.

ENGINE

It'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.

SAFETY

It gets a full five stars despite the fact it has only four airbags with no bags covering rear seat passengers.

DRIVING

It'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.

VERDICT

It's kind of cute but you can do a lot better for the money if the badge is unimportant.

Volkswagen Up five-door

Price: from $14,990
Engine: 1.0-litre 3-cyl, 55kW/95Nm
Transmission: 5-speed manual, FWD
Warranty: 3 years/unlimited km
Crash rating: n/a
Dimensions: 3540mm (L); 1641mm (W); 1476mm (H)
Thirst: 4.9L/100km 114g/km CO2