Buyers in Britain now have the option of ordering the Volkswagen Up! city car with a new automated manual gearbox (ASG).
Priced at £595, the five-speed semi-automatic transmission is available on both three- and five-door (60PS) Move up! and (75PS) High up! models, excluding the BlueMotion Technology versions.
The driver can use the ASG as a regular automatic or change gears up or down manually using the lever. Steering wheel paddle shift is not available on the up!.
Volkswagen says that the ASG tips the scales at 30kg (66 pounds), only three kilograms (6.6 lbs) more than the manual version, while offering improved fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions when compared with its manual counterpart.
In the European cycle, the Move Up! ASG returns a combined fuel economy of 64.2mpg UK (53.5mpg US or 4.4 lt/100km) compared to the manual gearbox model’s 62.8mpg UK (52.3mpg US or 4.5lt/100km).
According to the German automaker, the Up! with ASG is available to order now, with first deliveries expected to start in October.
