For the 2016 model, Volkswagen's Up! is a girly city car in man's clothing. This small hatchback received its mid-life facelift, and it comes with a frugal yet powerful 1-liter turbo engine. Oh goodie!
The Up! was the first car to receive the 3-cylinder 1.0-liter engines you can now buy in on the Polo, or Fabia. They were good enough for a car this size but lacked thrill delivery thanks to their meager 60 and 75 PS outputs, respectively. But now you can buy the 2016 Up! with a turbo version of the 3-pot. It's rated at 90 PS, 160 Nm of torque, and we think the competition has been put on notice. You see, the Renault Twingo, Hyundai i10 and smart forfour all think they can make due without the turbo, but they can't.
Fitted with this engine, the Up! will supposedly do 4.4 liters per 100 kilometers (53.6 mph) and travel for up to 800 kilometers (497 miles) on one tank. We think those numbers are unrealistic, but the 1.0 TSI is a good choice with plenty of poke, so potential owners should be happy even if they get six l/100km. For now, they haven't told us anything about the performance or the gearbox fitted, but we think the DSG doesn't fit the car and 0 to 100 km/h should take around 10 seconds.
Cosmetic changes have also been made, ones that, like the Beetle, aim to attract more male buyers. There's a new front bumper with revised air intakes, tweaked headlights. Volkswagen also stole the mirrors with integrated indicators from the Polo and fitted them on the Up!. More color combinations will be available, thanks to 13 body tones, nine decals, three roof colors, ten dashboard trim types and color packs. This metallic mustard tone looks like it belongs on a Skoda, not that we are complaining.
The interior? Volkswagen has redesigned the steering wheel to match that of the Golf and Polo facelift. The infotainment system is a little sharper (probably the way Skoda wanted it) and the auto climate control system is very nicely integrated. The Up! only has a 3.1-inch color display, but connectivity has been improved, so you'll make much better use of your smartphone.
Thanks to a 300-watt Beats Audio system with seven speakers Doctor Dre, Snoop Dogg and Eminem will sound a lot better. Of course, that's an option, as are the big wheels and other features we see in these photos. Look for the 2016 Up! to arrive in showrooms this spring after it makes its debut during the Geneva Motor Show.
Fitted with this engine, the Up! will supposedly do 4.4 liters per 100 kilometers (53.6 mph) and travel for up to 800 kilometers (497 miles) on one tank. We think those numbers are unrealistic, but the 1.0 TSI is a good choice with plenty of poke, so potential owners should be happy even if they get six l/100km. For now, they haven't told us anything about the performance or the gearbox fitted, but we think the DSG doesn't fit the car and 0 to 100 km/h should take around 10 seconds.
Cosmetic changes have also been made, ones that, like the Beetle, aim to attract more male buyers. There's a new front bumper with revised air intakes, tweaked headlights. Volkswagen also stole the mirrors with integrated indicators from the Polo and fitted them on the Up!. More color combinations will be available, thanks to 13 body tones, nine decals, three roof colors, ten dashboard trim types and color packs. This metallic mustard tone looks like it belongs on a Skoda, not that we are complaining.
The interior? Volkswagen has redesigned the steering wheel to match that of the Golf and Polo facelift. The infotainment system is a little sharper (probably the way Skoda wanted it) and the auto climate control system is very nicely integrated. The Up! only has a 3.1-inch color display, but connectivity has been improved, so you'll make much better use of your smartphone.
Thanks to a 300-watt Beats Audio system with seven speakers Doctor Dre, Snoop Dogg and Eminem will sound a lot better. Of course, that's an option, as are the big wheels and other features we see in these photos. Look for the 2016 Up! to arrive in showrooms this spring after it makes its debut during the Geneva Motor Show.