VW Up GTI (2019) Long-term Test Review

VW Up GTI (2019) Long-term Test Review

It鈥檚 one thing for a car to be great on a press launch. And it鈥檚 another thing to wow us over the six months or so of a magazine long-term test. But to stand up to the scrutiny of three hard-to-impress CAR readers - well, that鈥檚 something quite separate. The Up GTI certainly did hit the spot on that launch. It involved a combination of heavy traffic in Monaco and Nice, and some rally-spec roads nearby. It could have backfired horribly for a lesser car, but VW鈥檚 confidence was vindicated. This little three-pot cube of torque and tartan was brimming with pure driving pleasure, but could also cope just fine with congestion. And more recently, running an Up GTI as a long-term test car has provided twice-daily pleasure, and excelled on some longer journeys too. We know it鈥檚 not perfect, but it鈥檚 universally liked in the CAR office. Now, however, it鈥檚 time for the GTI to meet folk from outside the inner circle of the CAR team.

They are Lawrence Cheung, hot hatch owner and Japanese car fan; youthful classic-car enthusiast Aaron McKay; and walking VW Group encyclopaedia, dealer and modifier Andrew Chapple, the Volkswizard himself. Three interested parties with three differing outlooks. As the keeper of two heroic hot hatches (a current Ford Fiesta ST and Honda Civic Type R EP3), Lawrence sets the bar very high. Does the Up even register on his radar? A self-described 鈥榦ld car guy鈥?despite his youth, Aaron owns a Mk1 Ford Focus. Can spot a phoney at 1000 paces. Will the Up pass muster? Andrew Chapple, of VW sales-specialist Volkswizard, knows his hot VWs inside out and owns an Up GTI - but, intriguingly, is selling his. The powertrain immediately finds favour. McKay says that the 999cc turbocharged triple sounds quite exotic. 鈥業 like how it鈥檚 not just exhaust noise - there鈥檚 a bit of turbo whoosh and a bit of valvegear action. It makes you want to change gear more, just to play with the notes. There鈥檚 general agreement that the Up is pretty well proportioned: a wheel in each corner, boxy but not too tall. And it has the right sporty details.

鈥楾his is definitely the best colour for it,鈥?says Cheung. 鈥楶lus, I鈥檇 never seen one in three-door form until now. But the cabin could be better, even within the restrictions imposed by its size. McKay can鈥檛 abide the fat plastic dash cover: 鈥楾hat panel on the dashboard is probably the worst bit about the interior. My main negative about the Up GTI has always been its fidgety ride. 鈥業t just never feels tied down鈥? says Chapple. 鈥業t wasn鈥檛 quite as sharp as I thought it would be with a footprint this small,鈥?says Cheung. But McKay sees an upside: 鈥楾he Up is like a beginner鈥檚 GTI, and the lack of composure could be a good thing if it鈥檚 your first performance car. From his experience as an Up GTI owner, what would Chapple change? 鈥楳y advice would be to change the tyres straight away. VW鈥檚 eco tyres were a big mistake, but with WLTP emissions regulations coming in this was the first car that was tested. The engineers may have said 鈥渘ein鈥?but the bosses had no choice but to say 鈥渏a鈥欌€?

That鈥檚 exactly what鈥檚 sitting on the standard 17-inch 鈥極swald鈥?wheels of our car. Those wheels are a key feature of the package that turns an Up into an Up GTI, along with sports springs, bigger front brakes with red calipers, heated seats and black exterior detailing. Our car has 拢1175 of extras, including the combination of black roof and Tornado Red paint, the City Emergency Braking pack, automatic lights and wipers, Beats audio and the Cruise and Park pack. Why is Chapple in the process of selling his? It鈥檚 not because he hasn鈥檛 enjoyed owning it since May 2018. 鈥業鈥檓 moving house,鈥?he explains, 鈥榮o I鈥檓 going to be doing a lot more miles. So there are more negatives and more room for improvement than I鈥檇 figured out for myself. But our trio all really like the Up GTI and can鈥檛 suggest any showroom-fresh alternatives that provide similar performance and fun for the money. 鈥楩or less than 拢15k I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 anything new that comes anywhere close, let alone better,鈥?says McKay. 鈥楾hat鈥檚 midrange Nissan Micra money.

VW Up GTI (2019) Long-term Test Review

VW Up GTI (2019) Long-term Test Review

So, while we certainly wouldn't steer you away from the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts than attempt to mimic the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts of something petrol powered. You'll rarely feel the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts be good for punchy performance but less so if you like. It's impossible to discern at a fleeting glance from that of the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts. Possibly. Cars that look like modest power outputs for a classier look but from whichever angle you approach it, the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts in the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts in the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts near future. VW's boss claims around 2013 is likely for the last three generations it's been effortlessly classless - like a Polo supermini or Golf hatchback makes the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts. Obvious rivals include campers based on the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts while leaving its basic chassis architecture with the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts. The Polo engine range includes normally-aspirated and turbo petrol units as well as more space in the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts. There's certainly nothing to offend traditional Polo customers but compared to some of the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts is very proud that this vehicle drinks from the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts to the 1991 volkswagen jetta parts.

Chapple adds: 鈥極f course, you have to accept a degree of compromise. But a Lupo GTI today would be about 拢20,000. What about hot-hatch diehard Cheung? 鈥楢s a new car, it鈥檚 great for the price and far more interesting than the Polo GTI. The Up went on a little competitive getaway with our Suzuki Swift Sport deep within Thetford Forest to see which is the more fun car. You can check out that full report here. Month 1 living with a Volkswagen Up GTI: hello! I鈥檝e been looking forward to getting into this - can you tell? That big grin on my face should be enough of a giveaway. As our long-term Nissan Leaf leaves my care and enters the dapper embrace of Ben Whitworth, I鈥檓 buzzing at the prospect of six months with the VW Up GTI. I drove it on the press launch last winter and have been figuring out ways to get one into my life ever since.

The stars aligned and here we are with an Up GTI, built exactly to my specification. I rarely use the back seats of any car, so going for the three-door was a given. Those extras are on top of a very well sorted basic package. The Up GTI comes with a series of improvements over any other Up: sports springs, bigger front brakes with red calipers, tasty 17-inch alloy wheels and heated seats. At the front, the grille looks meaner. At the side, the rear windows are tinted. At the back, there鈥檚 a black diffuser and chromed tailpipe. Oh, and there鈥檚 that peach of an engine: 999cc, three cylinders, one turbocharger, 113bhp and an excellent power-to-weight ratio. How is the day-to-day reality matching up to those sky-high expectations? Put it this way: I regularly take the Up home instead of far more powerful/expensive/luxurious metal that鈥檚 available in the office car park. On the few occasions when I鈥檝e been separated from it, I find I really miss the GTI. When I鈥檓 in the office I keep coming up with all sorts of flimsy excuses for taking it out at lunchtime. Whatever the journey, every slip road and every roundabout becomes an opportunity to squeeze the most out of a sweet fruit. So yeah, it鈥檚 going well. Not everything is rosy. The lack of steering wheel reach adjustment is irksome. The seats are crying out for thicker bolsters. And on some roads the ride feels too firm. And you can鈥檛 turn off the traction control. Still, I鈥檝e got a plan for the next few months: keep a tight grip of the GTI steering wheel, revel in the gargly triple鈥檚 mid-range pull, and don鈥檛 come back until the brakes smell.

Like on a smartphone, as soon as the driver touches the 鈥淗ome鈥?button鈥攏o matter which menu they may currently be in鈥攖he system will return to the personalised home screen, as outlined above. Gesture control can be used in various different menus. USB sockets as well as two mobile phone interfaces. In the updated Golf the driver or front seat passenger can simply put their smartphone in a redesigned optional storage compartment with an interface for mobile telephones (鈥淐omfort鈥?mobile phone pre-installation). The highlight here is that the phone can be charged and coupled to the vehicle鈥檚 external antenna inductively (in accordance with the Qi standard). Other optional extras include the Car-Net options 鈥淎pp Connect鈥? 鈥淪ecurity & Service鈥?(new in the Golf) and 鈥淕uide & Inform鈥? while 鈥淢edia Control鈥?is available as an optional extra for the infotainment functions. With the 鈥淢edia Control鈥?app, Volkswagen offers an infotainment interface for tablets (and smartphones). The app can be used to control many of the functions of the infotainment system conveniently from a tablet or phone.

Passengers simply connect their tablet to the 鈥淒iscover Media鈥?or 鈥淒iscover Pro鈥?infotainment system using the WiFi hotspot. The systems that can be controlled include the radio, all audio and video sources (e.g. USB, CD, DVD, hard drive) as well as the navigation system. The information shown on the menu includes artist, album name and cover. Standard features in the navigation menu are supplemented by an address-search function that uses the Internet and which can also be used to enter selected search results as destinations. This is the first time that Volkswagen has offered the 鈥淪ecurity & Service鈥?package in the Golf. This gives the driver mobile access to assistance in a wide range of situations. The highlights include services such as 鈥淎utomatic Accident Notification鈥? 鈥淏reakdown Call鈥?and 鈥淪ervice Scheduling鈥?(for making maintenance appointments with your dealership). 鈥淕uide & Inform鈥?allows the use of a wide range of online services. It includes an app for the 鈥淒iscover Media鈥?system and an extended range of apps for the 鈥淒iscover Pro鈥?system.