The Volkswagen Up is now on sale in Ireland, with a starting price of €10,995.
The Up is a three-door sub-compact, powered by a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder 75bhp petrol engine, that boasts good fuel economy figures and low-emissions. The Up arrives here as a three-door model, but it will be joined in the second-half of 2012 by a five-door version.
There are three trim grades of the Up starting with the Take Up, costing €10,995, which comes with standard equipment that is notable for this class of car, including ESP, the city emergency braking system, which uses laser to detect the risk of impending collision at speeds of less than 30km/h and can apply braking accordingly and four airbags. These features helped the Up to an impressive five stars in the Euro NCAP safety tests as well as Euro NCAP’s advanced award for the car’s innovative city emergency braking function.
The Move Up, costing €11,895, adds manual air conditioning, body-coloured mirrors and handles, and the variable boot floor. The High Up, costing €12,895, gains leather trimmed three spoke steering wheel, gear knob and handbrake grip, 15” alloy wheels, front fog lights, heated front seats, a dashpad in black pearl with black pearl inserts, and electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors.
Available for €370, the Maps and More system is a portable, multi-functional infotainment system which includes a navigation system, hands-free bluetooth telephone unit, vehicle information displays and a media player. Special apps can also be added to this via the Navigon Fresh store online.
The Up is ultra frugal, returning 4.7 l/100km (60.1mpg ) on the combined cycle and, with emissions of 108g/km, it resides in the lowest motor tax band, Band A, with annual motor tax of €160.
Despite its diminutive size, the Up will seat four adults in comfort and, with a luggage capacity of 251-litres, this is the best-in-class for cargo capacity which can extend to 951-litres with the rear bench folded down.
“We feel the Up is a game-changer in this segment,” John Donegan, head of sales and marketing Volkswagen Ireland, told the Advertiser. “Downsizing shouldn’t mean compromise and with the Up you are getting big car build quality in a compact package. There is no compromise on safety either and we are delighted to include the full arsenal of safety features as standard in the Up, which should mark it out against the competition.”
