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Volkswagen up! revealed VW has unveiled its new £8,000 city car – its the new Fiat 500 rival, with the space of a Polo

These are the first official pictures of the new Volkswagen up! – an entry-level model that is anything but. Combining space, luxury and efficiency, it will cost from £8,000 when sales start next April.

The up! effectively replaces the Fox, but it’s much more than that. This upmarket Fiat 500 rival will eventually spawn a new range, including a five-door MPV and an electric version.

This three-door arrives in the spring. It promises similar space to a Polo, CO2 emissions of less than 100g/km and big car luxuries such as automatic braking, plus plug-in iPad-style sat-nav and music streaming.

The up! was seen for the first time at the Frankfurt Motor Show back in 2007. But the rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive concept car has been transformed into a front-engined, front-wheel-drive model. VW couldn’t make the original’s layout work for cooling and on-road stability.

However, the prototype’s clean, stylish looks have been carried over. The production car has short overhangs, a long wheelbase and a simple, strong shape with the brand’s latest family face. Neat touches include a glass tailgate.

Inside, the designers have followed a similar approach, with a simple, high-quality layout that can be specified with body-coloured panels.

The up! is around the same size as a 500, at 3.5 metres long, 1.6 metres wide and 1.5 metres high. However, it’s much more spacious, thanks to a 2.4-metre wheelbase. VW claims there’s plenty of room for four people, while the rear seats fold flat to increase the generous 251-litre boot to 951 litres; the Fiat offers only 185 and 550 litres.

The long wheelbase has been made possible by mounting the tiny 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine as far forward as possible. This new unit will offer 59bhp or 74bhp, and the low emissions – plus 67.3mpg fuel economy – are possible due to BlueMotion technology such as stop-start.

Other innovations include City Emergency Braking – a first in the class. This brakes the car at 18mph or below if it senses an imminent crash and no response from the driver. There’s also an iPad-style Personal Infotainment Device (PID). This incorporates sat-nav and phone functions, plus Bluetooth music streaming, and plugs into the centre console. A host of new apps exclusive to the up! will be offered.

 

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