RE: Volkswagen Up GTI - official

[MarshPhantom]

I'd say the Up has been a bit a flop, this is nothing more than a reminder that they are still for sale.

[5harp3y]

MarshPhantom said:

I'd say the Up has been a bit a flop, this is nothing more than a reminder that they are still for sale.

They sell about 100,000 of them a year in Europe which is a third of how many polo's they sell but i would call it a flop!

[anonymous-user]

Looks ace and if it's as light as they say then should be a winner. Was thinking about buying another 205 Gti but if it's as good as predicted this would fit the bill perfectly, and you might stand half a chance in this in an accident.

Getting bored of driving big power cars. My current car is around 450bhp and is just so damn capable that it's difficult to stretch it's performance on a twisty A or B road. Yet I hired a transit van the other week and WOW, how much fun was that - hustling a vehicle with not much power along the same twisting B road, preserving momentum and planning overtakes. Much more fun than big power and probably not really any slower A to B in the real world.

So this Up looks perfect, enough power to be fun, yet not so much that you can't use it's full performance most of the time.

[daveco]

Surely the currently available Toyota Aygo/Peugeot 108/Citreon C1 with 1.2T engine will be a cheaper and lighter alternative?

I think those weigh about 850kg and have about 100hp...but they're still too fuppin' expensive

[SFO]

I hope the engine/exhaust sound generator can be turned off

[Adz The Rat]

I bet that will be great fun!

But its 3 years too late. They should have launched it shortly after the up was introduced.

[culpz]

tankplanker said:

great_kahn said:

£15k?! How are VW getting so little power out of there 1.0 triple tubby?

This is my thoughts on it as well, seems like it is deliberately down on power to not impact Polo GTI sales. I would expect a half decent remap to get a safe 150 BHP out of the same engine as long as VW haven't gone marginal on the stock clutch.

115 BHP and much closer to 1000kg in GTI spec with nice seats and other (heavy) electric goodies to plump out the GTI spec makes it just about warm hatch levels. Seems to be way down on power compared to the hot Fiat 500s.

I suspect VW are doing similar with this as they did with the MK7 Golf GTI, when that was first released. It only had 220 bhp, which was a fair bit down on it's competitors, but it had the same amount of torque, which made it just as quick and gave it basically the same 0-60 figure.

So, this little UP has less BHP but the same, if not more, torque than it's rivals. I think this will be more than able to keep up with the rest and could be a bit of a dark-horse.

Here's to hoping.

[clonmult]

swisstoni said:

A lot closer in concept to the original Golf version than any current Golf.

I did wonder that too, but its still heavier, taller, wider (but shorter) than the Mk 1 Golf. So closer, but not that close.

[culpz]

Dr G said:

VW launch a light, cheap, quick, simple, fun car.

Pistonheads: It isn't light enough, cheap enough, quick enough, simple enough, or fun enough

...and it isn't as good as my 10 year old 3 grand AMG/MX5/M5/RS

You guys

I'm pretty sure an algorithm could be written to replace about 80% of comments on these forums and nobody would be able to tell the difference

I'm not exactly one to defend some of the similar rubbish that does get spouted on here, but i'm pretty sure no-one has actually said anything of that regard about this car?

[underphil]

the engine has a power:torque ratio of 0.78, not exactly my idea of a sporty engine

..almost in diesel territory

[Toyoda]

Let's hope it kicks off a trend of similar bhp in other city cars like the Aygo/C1 etc. I'd suspect there's plenty of folk who don't do many miles and spend little time on NSL roads and would like something cheap/light/back to basics but with a little more poke to bring some entertainment to the daily commute.

[MarshPhantom]

J4CKO said:

That is going to be sensational, that class has been crying out for something like this, as the articles says, very near to a MK1 Golf GTI stats wise, but with a load more torque and working brakes ! 115 may sound a bit puny these days but will be plenty in something that size and weight, also sounds very like a R5 GT turbo kind of deal, coudl this be the answer to old school hot hatch yearnings, but without the generally horrific reality of dealing with 30 year old.

No, the original GTi was 8.5 to 60, the Renault 5GT around 7.5, this is going to be 10+ so things have not improved in the intervening 40 years. Seems all you need to make a GTi is something vaguely sporty looking.

[J4CKO]

Toyoda said:

Let's hope it kicks off a trend of similar bhp in other city cars like the Aygo/C1 etc. I'd suspect there's plenty of folk who don't do many miles and spend little time on NSL roads and would like something cheap/light/back to basics but with a little more poke to bring some entertainment to the daily commute.

Yeah, for me it sounds like it has the brilliant town ability of my C1 and a bit of fun for the country roads round here, CLS I currently drive is great but crap at both of the things I tend to use it for, like a lot of cars, it is a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

As myself and another poster mentioned, bets its a remap away from 140 bhp, maybe even 150 bhp.

It has more torque and the same power as an R5 GT turbo, a bit more weight granted so suspect it will feel a bit more like one of those if we have to compare to old school stuff, will be 0-60 in just under 8 I reckon, quick enough to make it feel like its making an effort.

Cant believe people moan its not light enough at just under a tonne, that isnt bad for a modern car, 115 bhp per tonne is decent, I have always said that fun starts at > 100 bhp/ton.

Not sure why its not as good as a 15 year old Lupo GTI, surely you would need to drive them back to back to decide ? this may well be rubbish but I doubt it based on the stats and how good the base car is.

I suppose that perhaps its like the GT86, go on about what we want and wouldn't it be wonderful if they made this car, then they make it and we treat it like cats who mither to go out, you open the door and they just sit there

[loudlashadjuster]

nbetts said:

Not as good as the Lupo GTi of 2001.

Oh, you've already driven it?

The Lupo GTI, excellent as it was supposed to have been, was famous also for being very expensive and therefore making VW barely any money, hence the poundshop Fox which followed it.

The Up is no Fox and even the 60hp versions drive well so I can't imagine why the GTI won't be a good drive too.

MarshPhantom said:

Sub tonne kerbweight? Where has all this BS about lightweight cars come from? One minute on Google shows the current Up weighs up to 1250kg.

Your Google-fu is weak I saw the same results but this page seems to be extracting a maximum gross vehicle weight from somewhere. All but the most specced-up Ups come in under a tonne, with base models starting about 930kg even according to independent tests like Autocar's.

[GranCab]

FN2TypeR said:

Dave Hedgehog said:

potentially could be fun

but my 15k would go on a 595 abarth

Can you get a new one for that? I was given a boggo 1.2 Fiat 500 Pop as a courtesy car a while back and out of curiosity I looked at their online configurator for a price, it was really, really expensive for such a basic car, and they're everywhere! They must be absolutely raking it in.

But yes, I'd almost certainly have an Abarth before this too, it still seems pretty cool though!

You can buy a new (pre-reg) FIAT 500 Pop for eight and a bit thousand ....

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

... or a new 595 Abarth for £13,475

Edited by GranCab on Friday 19th May 12:24

Edited by GranCab on Friday 19th May 12:25

[MarshPhantom]

loudlashadjuster said:

Your Google-fu is weak I saw the same results but this page seems to be extracting a maximum gross vehicle weight from somewhere. All but the most specced-up Ups come in under a tonne, with base models starting about 930kg even according to independent tests like Autocar's.

Busted.

[MOBB]

Could be an interesting car if priced ok.

My last car was an F10 M5, currently drive a Leon Cupra, and whilst both cars are superb, I quite fancy something fun/small that I can thrash, next time. Was thinking MX5 but maybe this will be a good option too.

Does make me laugh "not enough power" "not as good as XYZ" etc etc when no-one has driven one yet. It might be not as good as a Lupo GTI but it might be better.

[J4CKO]

GranCab said:

FN2TypeR said:

Dave Hedgehog said:

potentially could be fun

but my 15k would go on a 595 abarth

Can you get a new one for that? I was given a boggo 1.2 Fiat 500 Pop as a courtesy car a while back and out of curiosity I looked at their online configurator for a price, it was really, really expensive for such a basic car, and they're everywhere! They must be absolutely raking it in.

But yes, I'd almost certainly have an Abarth before this too, it still seems pretty cool though!

You can buy a new (pre-reg) FIAT 500 Pop for eight and a bit thousand ....

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

They are good value at that but its a 1.2 pop, the most basic with the engine that isnt keen on hills, Abarth supply is much more limited and prices much higher, as is anything that isnt a base spec one, we looked as my wife has had classic 500's but ended up with a Fiesta, a much better all rounder, just not as funky/cute, the flappy paddle batst Abarth special edition we drove was a hoot but day to day would be like driving a hyperactive Jack Russell that had found an inexhaustible supply of Blue Smarties washed down with Monster Energy.

[Alfa Pete]

My current car is a Golf GTD and I borrow an Up as a courtesy car when mine gets serviced. I really like the little Up and have always mused what it would be like with more power as even the basic car handles really well. Hopefully my local dealer will get one of these as a courtesy car..........

[Dyl]

loveice said:

What's more instead of a body kits like this Up GTI, Lupo GTI had its own unique aluminum front and rear wings which have four wider wheel arches to accommodate the wider front and rear tracks. At the front, it also has its own headlights design which is different from standard Lupos, that also applys to front bumper and the aluminum bonnet. One other thing most people don't know is that It has a magnesium rear hatch which is borrowed from Lupo 3L model.

Inside Lupo GTI it has its own dash/dial design which again is different from any other Lupo models. It isn't some fancy material replacement like what M cars or AMG cars compare to normal BMWs or Mercs. It was a completely different design only for the GTI model...

The problem with having lots of unique components on such a niche car is that replacements are expensive, pushing up insurance rates in the process. By keeping fairly stock, then as well as keeping the purchase price down, the running costs are lower as well.

FWIW, I have a 2016 Polo GTI at the moment but I'm toying with downsizing next; 99% of my mileage is commuting, and I rarely get to use all of the power, so this could be just the solution!