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Volkswagen Up! 1.0 TSI 90 PS Acceleration Test

Volkswagen has been at the forefront of turbocharging and downsizing since the 1.2 TSI was launched. However, there was always one model that didn't want to play by the rules, the Up! city car.
Volkswagen Up! 1.0 TSI 90 PS Acceleration Test 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
We are talking about the smallest and cheapest car they offer in Europe, part of a partnership with Skoda and SEAT. The Up! is the first of the triplets to receive its mid-life facelift and also the first to have a turbocharged engine.

For it, it's not so much a question of downsizing, as much as gaining power and about 50% more torque.

We'll let you in on a little secret. You see, over in Brazil, the Up! received a turbocharged engine a while ago, complete with even more power than the European model. We're not saying that 90 horsepower isn't enough, just that they could have tried a little harder.

Down below, you'll find a short video of the Up! 1.0 TSI performing the famous acceleration test. It performs pretty much like the Volkswagen Polo with the same engine, which is what you'd expect.

The specs suggest this 1,002 kg Volkswagen is capable of reaching 100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.9 seconds and reaching a top speed of 185 km/h (115 mph). That would make it faster than the Renault Twingo and even something like a Megane 1.6-liter or Peugeot 308 with a base diesel engine.

But is it worth buying? In a word: yes. We looked at the German market configurator and found a top-spec high Up! with this turbocharged engine is only €13,700, making it cheaper than a naturally aspirated model with the ASG automatic gearbox. It's also quite rare that German cars are so cheap, plus this is a conventional alternative to the quirky new Twingo GT.

Fuel efficiency is supposedly unaffected by the addition of a turbo to the 1.0-liter 3-cylinder block. However, a heavy right foot is not advised.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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