VW Up GTI (2019) Review: Big Performance On A Little Budget
We鈥檝e had to wait a long time for this, haven鈥檛 we? Volkswagen鈥檚 Up city car has been on sale since 2011 and ever since then it鈥檚 been crying out for a hotter version. VW has finally answered the call for one, so this is it: the Up GTI. Yes, you read that right: G. T. I. Calling the hottest Up yet a GTI sets a precedent and an expectation for it to be good. First things first, what do you get in your new VW Up GTI? Bespoke 17-inch alloys, 15mm lower sports suspension, a subtle body kit and some stripes for starters. The cars we drove in Monaco and the south of France were equipped to European specifications rather than UK, but regardless of market all GTIs will get bespoke alloys, a subtle body kit and some stripes. Inside, GTIs come with a five-inch infotainment system, DAB and Bluetooth, air-con and some unique detailing. Biggest news inside, though? Classic GTI tartan seats and the chunky, flat-bottomed steering wheel from a Golf GTI.
Surprisingly heated front seats are standard, as are electric, heated door mirrors. And how much does the VW UP GTI cost? VW announced UK pricing during the launch; a three-door version starts from 拢13,750, while the five-door one kicks off at 拢14,150. As with all German cars, though, expect to add thousands to that total if you lose control when speccing up your up. Yes that sounds cheap, but the 113bhp Mazda 2 GT Sport is just 拢183 per month and an Ibiza FR with the same engine 拢186 per month (both with the same contract terms) - and they鈥檙e much bigger cars. On paper, no. Calling the 113bhp Up GTI a hot hatch sounds like you鈥檙e stretching the phrase a bit, especially if you consider the 8.8-second 0-62mph time and 122mph top speed. But, we assure you, that really isn鈥檛 the point. Front-wheel drive, manual gearbox and a manual handbrake for, er鈥?never mind.
Come on then, what鈥檚 the UP GTI like to drive? It鈥檚 an absolute hoot. As mentioned, 113bhp doesn鈥檛 sound like much but you鈥檙e not left wanting for more shove when you鈥檙e actually driving it. The Up GTI is a small car, remember, so it鈥檚 all about nippy fun and thrashing it for all of its worth. And when you do, it just puts a huge smile on your face. Pulling away or hoofing it at low speeds forces the fronts to scrabble for traction like an excitable Terrier running to the front door to greet your arrival home. A bit of electronic trickery is half the reason why you want to rev it out anyway; there鈥檚 an engine noise synthesiser. Like any other fake engine noise creator, it embellishes the truth but we鈥檇 argue that the Up GTI would feel a bit lost without it. How does the VW UP GTI handle?
The weeny dimensions and light kerbweight just give it endless chuckability, allowing you to throw it around any corner, without needing to trouble the brakes half of the time. That鈥檚 thanks partly to it not being super-quick anyway, but also because of the innate grip in the chassis. You have to be entering corners at stupid speeds to get it to wash wide. Beefier brakes than a regular Up feel strong and even when you get them smoking after spending a bit too long on a French Riviera switchback, they don鈥檛 lose too much bite. The ride, however, was quite a surprise. Despite being on lower, firmer springs and on 17-inch alloys, the GTI deals with huge bumps with aplomb. It鈥檚 a firm set-up, but the damping is superb - enough to put a rounded edge to the deepest of potholes. Control-wise, the set-up feels like it hasn鈥檛 changed from any other Up, which can be seen both ways: accessible to a lot of drivers but not hardcore enough for a select few. The steering weights up the more lock you put on, but it鈥檚 direct enough to make the car easy to place, and the late-biting clutch is light. These little dynamic points, though, shouldn鈥檛 be seen as annoying - see them as small hoops you have to jump through to be more involved in driving it swiftly, properly. Performance car bargain of 2018? Well it is only January, so a little early to say right now. What we will say is that the Up GTI is fun to chuck around but not in an inaccessible, hardcore kind of way, it looks the part and is as fast as you could ever really want.
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