If you thought the Volkswagen e-up! would be one of the cheaper EVs in the market, mainly because of its small size, and the affordability of the model which it’s based on, you were wrong.
Reality doesn’t come close to complimenting the previous statement, as VW has just revealed that the all-electric version of their über-compact city car will not be cheap at all, once it goes on sale in the months after its official reveal at the Frankfurt motor show, in September.
Priced from €26,900 ($34,500) in its native market of Germany, the e-up! is definitely not cheap, and there’s a good chance it will be even harder on the wallet in other markets, especially those with lower tax incentives for green vehicles.
Featuring a relatively small 18.7 kWh battery pack, it has a claimed autonomy of 160 km or 100 miles, and the makers say it costs less than €3 ($3.85) per 100 km (62 miles) to run. Performance is not terrible, with the benchmark sprint being dealt with in a reasonable 12.4 seconds, before topping out at 130 km/h (81 mph).
One thing thqt partially justifies the higher cost is the fact that in electric configuration, the up! is only offered with “a premium level of trim,” which basically is the equivalent of ticking all of the options boxes. That means it offers plenty of battery-sapping features, such as sat-nav, climate control, as well as a heated windscreen and seats.
Furthermore, the e-up! doesn’t come with a pesky monthly battery lease charge, so that’s one more thing to consider if you’re planning on going electric in Europe and aren’t quite sure if you want a Nissan Leaf (cheaper with leased battery), a Renault Zoe (only with leased battery) or one of these.
By Andrei Nedelea
PHOTO GALLERY
