Getting into Volkswagen’s
award-winning up! city car is
now easier than ever, with the
introduction of the new
five-door model.
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Pictured here for the first
time, the five-door up! has many
of the same virtues as its
three-door sibling: a 2.42 m
long wheelbase that makes for
impressive interior space, a
capacious 251-litre boot, an
efficient three-cylinder engine,
new-to-the-class safety features
and an innovative infotainment
system. |
Rear passengers in the five-door
up! benefit from exactly the
same space as those in the
three-door model, with 947 mm of
headroom (versus 993 mm in the
front) and 789 mm of legroom.
The rear seat base is set
slightly higher than that in the
front, at 378 mm (versus 306 mm)
giving passengers a clearer view
of the road ahead.
As
well as front and side airbags,
ABS with Hydraulic Brake Assist,
Isofix child seat preparation in
the rear and standard ESP (on
all but the entry level Take up!
model), the up! can be ordered
with an optional City Emergency
Braking system. This uses
sensors to scan the space ahead
of the vehicle, applying the
brakes automatically if it
detects that the car is about to
hit an object in front, and
costs from just £225. The up!
has received a five-star rating
and the Advanced Award from Euro
NCAP, the European New Car
Assessment Programme. It is the
first vehicle in this class to
receive these awards.
The Maps & More infotainment
system is a mobile Personal
Infotainment Device that was
developed to organise
navigation, telephone,
information and entertainment.
It is removable, but unlike many
other similar systems of this
type, it melds with the car’s
network of systems and can be
used to view vehicle
information, such as the display
of the parking sensors (where
fitted). The system is standard
on the High up! model and above,
and optional on the rest of the
range.
The up! has already received top
honours at the prestigious
What Car? awards, where it
was named Car of the Year for
2012, and has also been named
TopGear magazine’s
Small Car of the Year.
First UK deliveries of the
five-door up! are expected to
start in the second half of the
year; prices are yet to be
confirmed. The three-door up!
is available to order now, with
prices starting at £7,995 (RRP
OTR) and the first models
arriving in showrooms in March.
