Volkswagen Up! 1-Liter TSI Dyno Test Reveals Actual Output is 134 HP

One of the most boring, boxy hatchbacks we've ever seen just got a whole lot more interesting. By replacing the conventional 75 horsepower 1-liter engine with a turbo, the Brazilians have made the modern equivalent of the defunct Lupo GTI.

There's a saying in the auto industry that says "German horsepower is better." This seems to be true, as the output numbers of the 1.0 TSI engine are well above those claimed by the manufacturer. Brazilian auto magazine Fullpower strapped the new Up! to a dyno and found 105 horsepower is actually 134 hp. Not only that, but the torque was also off by 21.4%.

Dyno testing is the modern equivalent of a black art, as you need to compensate for powertrain loss. No result is 100% correct, but most manufacturers claim their test equipment is accurate within 1 or 2%. It's kind of like how people improvised the ingredients when making black powder in the ye olden days.

But it makes sense that the 1-liter engine makes more power than Volkswagen claims. The same thee-cylinder turbocharged engine is also used by much larger and heavier vehicles, such as the 2015 Golf Sportsvan TSI BlueMotion. Somehow, this 1.3-ton MPV is capable of getting from 0 to 100 km/h in only 10.4 seconds, which we thought was fishy.

Audi and Porsche publicly admit some of the hp numbers are underrated. They say that the official number is a minimum you can expect. By contrast, we've seen some Renault models offering less power than officially claimed.

The 1-liter TSI engine was first announced by Volkswagen at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. It became available on the Polo when the facelift was introduced in 2014. It produces as much power as the 1.2 TSI and consumes less fuel.

All versions of the Golf already offer this engine, but Audi says it won't install it on the A3 because its customers don't want such a car.