Details Released For Another Weirdly-Named Volkswagen

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Auto Express has new details and a rendering "produced using exclusive insider information" of VW's new city car, the up! Shown in concept form at the 2007 Frankfurt IAS, the up! is a rear-engined city car, powered by a 600cc turbocharged two-pot engine in both diesel and gas form. Eco-friendly is the name of the game for the up!, which is targeting 100g of C02 per km driven and an eye-popping 94mpg. The rear-engine design is not in aid of tail-happy hoon potential, but rather improving crumple zones. A five-door MPV version is also planned, although it will likely have the same height and wheelbase as the tiny three-door. The up! will go on sale first in emerging markets like China and India, where stripped-out versions will retail for about $8k. More luxurious versions will head to Europe later, including rebadged SEAT and Skoda models that will run consumers nearly $15k. With the success of Fiat's 500, BMW's MINI, Daimler's SMART and (presumably) Toyota's iQ, the subcompact city car market is finally approaching maturity. [Ed: We resisted saying the only way is up! Because it isn't. Obviously.]

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Solo84 Solo84 on Apr 17, 2008

    And, of course, US automakers won't catch on . i can hear it now, "You don't need one of those confounded small city cars! It's a quick-passing fad! You just need a smarter engine, available in our Yukon XXXXXL!"

  • Bancho Bancho on Apr 17, 2008

    solo84 : The thing is, they'll probably grudgingly admit that they lack such a vehicle and look to Korea, or maybe even China for something smaller and cheaper than the Aveo to throw at that segment regardless if its competitive or desirable in any way.

  • Brettc Brettc on Apr 18, 2008

    I'd buy one, as long as it's affordable. Affordable to me would be about $15000 max for something like this. If it could manage close to 95 MPG and had decent crash ratings, VW would have people lined up further than the eye can see. But, I doubt they'd offer this car in North America. I could see it being sold in Canada and selling very well, but I'd be surprised if it was sold in the US. VW seems to want to keep upsizing their vehicles in the US, which is as big of a mistake as GM not cluing in on selling decent small cars. VW has small, efficient cars available in other parts of the world that could currently compete with the Fit/Versa/Yaris, but we don't get them here. I'd love to be able to go to my local dealer and buy a Polo or a Fox, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

  • Wheatridger Wheatridger on Apr 18, 2008

    We TDI drivers don't need no stinkin' ignition coils, drifter.

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