The production version of Volkswagen’s up! small car has been officially revealed ahead of its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The up!, which has been previewed by numerous concepts over the past few years, is a small city car measuring just 3.54 m long and 1.64 m wide.
Unlike the concepts, however, the production version VW has abandoned the rear-engined, rear-drive layout in favor of a more conventional and predictably less costly to manufacture, front-engine, front-wheel drive setup.
At launch, it will be offered with a new 1.0-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine available with 60-horses or 75-horses. When opted with VW’s BlueMotion Technology that includes an auto stop/start system, the 60HP version returns a combined fuel consumption of 4.2lt/100km (55.6mpg US or 67.2mpg UK) and the 75HP model, 4.3lt/100km (54.7mpg US or 65.7mpg UK). VW said both of these 1.0-litre engines emit less than 100 g/km CO2.
A natural gas engine with an output of 68-horses (50 kW) that returns a combined fuel consumption of 3.2 kg/100 km (natural gas) and a CO2 value of 86 g/km will follow at a later date, while VW also revealed plans to offer a pure electric version, though it didn’t specify a timeframe.
Despite its compact dimensions, the up! promises to offer accommodation for four adults thanks to the long 2.42 m wheelbase and the forward mounting of the engine which maximizes interior space. Its 251-liter boot is also bigger than most cars in the city car segment while with the rear seats folded down its capacity increases to 951 lt.
VW’s new small car will be available in three different trim versions. “Take up!” is the entry level model, “move up!” the comfort oriented and the “high up!” is the top of the line version. At the model’s launch, which is scheduled for December in Europe, there will also two special edition versions of the “high up!”, the “up! black” and the “up!white”.
The German automaker noted that the up! will also be the only model in its class to offer the City Emergency Braking System. The latter is an active safety system that operates automatically at speeds under 18 mph and uses a laser sensor to assess the risk of an accident. If the driver doesn’t react, it automatically activates the brakes in order to lessen the severity of the collision.
In addition, the up! will be offered with a maps + more system, which VW describes as a mobile Personal Infotainment Device (PID). Designed in cooperation with Navigon, the maps+ more system is placed above the center console. It uses a touchscreen and effectively manages all of the car’s infotainment systems, such as navigation, audio and navigation and it even displays the parking sensors.
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