Volkswagen up! GTI

With the up! GTI, Volkswagen rekindles the spirit of shopping rockets past. Jonathan Crouch checks it out.

Ten Second Review

Volkswagen's up! GTI takes pretty much all of the hot hatch purity that marks out the Wolfsburg brand's larger Polo and Golf GTI models and distills it into something smaller and more affordable. There's a perky 115PS three cylinder 1.0-litre TSI turbo engine, agile handling, light weight and plenty of scope for personalisation. Sounds promising

Background

I don't remember the original MK1 Golf GTI of the mid-Seventies and I'm almost certain that you won't either. However, Volkswagen tells us that most of what made that iconic shopping rocket truly great is brought back to us by its smallest hot hatch model, the up! GTI.

In many ways, it's surprising that there aren't more options for buyers wanting something citycar-sized with a bit of extra zip. If that's your bag, then there's the Renault Twingo GT, the smart BRABUS forfour and.. Well not a lot else. Not a lot then for this contender, the Volkswagen up! GTI to beat. But on paper at least, it looks a pretty complete proposition anyway.

Driving Experience

The up! GTI is powered by the most potent petrol engine yet offered in this model range: a turbocharged, three cylinder, 1.0-litre TSI unit which offers 115PS and up to 200Nm of torque. This urge is channelled to the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox, and enables the charismatic newcomer to sprint from rest to 62 mph in 8.8 seconds and press on to a top speed of 122mph.

Volkswagen says that's very similar to the kind of performance that the iconic Golf GTI delivered when first it appeared back in 1976. This up! is a bit lighter than that car though, weighing in at only 1,070kg. That should make it an engaging steer, as should a sports suspension set up that sees it lowered by 15mm over the standard car.

Design and Build

Styled inside and out to be an unmistakable member of the modern day GTI fraternity, the up! GTI of course boasts the famous GTI badge front and rear, along with other details synonymous with the GTI such as the sporty honeycomb front grille, darkened side windows at the rear and bright red brake callipers. There are also red trim strips front and rear, bold 17-inch alloy wheels, a chrome tipped exhaust and sporty twin side stripes that are supposed to recall the styling of the original '70s Golf hot hatch.

Inside, this sporty up! is distinguished by both traditional and modern GTI trademarks. The recognisable 'Jakara Red' checked cloth trim on the front sports seats for example; and the GTI gear knob and flat-bottomed three-spoke multifunction steering wheel which is leather-bound and features contrasting red stitching. Plus there's red ambient lighting and a 'Red 2D Pixel' dashpad, all allowing this up! to make its style statement. As with the ordinary up!, there's a 251-litre boot. Push forward the rear bench and the 959-litre total is 50% more than you'd get in the ordinary boot of a huge Volkswagen Passat Estate.

Market and Model

If you're wondering about the price, well we'll tell you it lies within the realms of affordability - £13,750. That only gets you the three-door model; there's also a five-door version available for a little more.

Creature comforts include Volkswagen's Composition Colour radio system with a five-inch colour screen, a 4x20W output via six loudspeakers, a Bluetooth telephone and audio connection and a USB interface. There's also air conditioning, heated seats, electrically adjustable and heated wing mirrors and front fog lights with static cornering lights, all of it standard fit. Paint colours are also reminiscent of the Golf that started it all: "pure white", "red", "dark silver metallic" and "black pearl" are the options available, plus if you order your car in white, red or silver, there's the option of a contrasting black roof.

Cost of Ownership

Combined cycle fuel economy is rated at 58.9mpg - but if you get close to that on a regular basis, then you probably shouldn't have bothered buying this car in the first place. The official CO2 reading is 110g/km. The up! GTI is one of the first Volkswagen cars to launch with a close-coupled petrol particulate filter. Its use reduces particulate emissions by up to 95%. After flowing through the turbocharger, the exhaust gas gets fed directly into the particulate filter, which, with its special coating, also works in parallel as a regular catalytic converter.

And warranties? Well the standard package is three years and 60,000 miles. We can't see why Volkswagen couldn't extend that mileage limit to 100,000 miles, since that what you get on its mechanically very similar Caddy model. Doing that though, wouldn't give Volkswagen dealers so much of an opportunity to sell extended warranty packages. There's one for four years and 75,000 miles or, if you plan to see a bit more of the world in your up! GTI, there's a five year / 90,000 mile package.

Summary

We can't imagine that Volkswagen will have very much trouble shifting as many up! GTI models as it can make to bring to these shores. British buyers love a small hot hatch with agile handling, a perky feel and a bit of heritage. This car ticks all those boxes emphatically.

Ultimately, of course, it's not that fast. But on the right road on the right day, you won't care too much about that. A hot hatch should be about the smile it can paint across your face. This Volkswagen has been engineered to deliver that - just as its Golf predecessor was. Nothing changes.

FACTS AT A GLANCE

CAR: Volkswagen up! GTI

PRICES: £13,750 - £14,150

INSURANCE GROUP: TBC

CO2 EMISSIONS: 110g/km

PERFORMANCE: Top Speed 122mph / 0-62mph 8.8s

FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 58.9 mpg

STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Anti-lock brakes with brake assist, twin front and side airbags

WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height 3540/1640/1550mm