RE: Volkswagen Up! GTI: Driven
Discussion
Luke. said:
andrewparker said:
Yep, heated seats and climate control are options. Not sure why anyone would go for climate control in a small car like the up!
Knowing what we know now mine would be a 3 door in dark grey with black roof, and heated seats. No other options.
Heated seats are standard I think.Knowing what we know now mine would be a 3 door in dark grey with black roof, and heated seats. No other options.
Toyoda said:
J4CKO said:
Toyota etc have been missing a trick for an Aygo GTI for years, VW have spotted the gap and are exploiting it, plenty of Misty eyed old berks like me wanting to relive their Mk1 GTI moments, just need a Charlatans/Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, Wonderstuff mix tape, "Fat Willys Surf Shack" Sticker, some Joe Bloggs clothes and a willing red headed bird from Wales to complete the re-enactment.
I agree a warmed up Aygo/C1/107 would have been nice, surely they would have scoped it out but mustn't have thought it viable. I appreciate i'm coming across as a miserable old git on this thread but don't you feel that your Fiesta offers the same cheap thrills as this new Up? I'm sure with your 140 bhp (available as standard, but in your case mildly remapped) would be more than a match for the Up? I dunno, I guess the GTi moniker is a bit of a misnomer, perhaps if it was a GTi line or R line, ha) then I'd be more accepting of it. It's worth a test drive.
Having had a Lupo as a first car the Lupo gti was something I had always yearned for. There doesn't seem to be enough to make it special from the regular car (drum rear brakes!?)
I've had an Abarth 500 SS and that was awesome. It was incredibly theatrical and felt fast in a straight line but it wasn't the best seating position and not hugely practical. I've driven RS Twingo's and they are decent but whule technically competent they couldn't quite match the outgoing swift sport which is what I currently have (albeit in 5 door form, Apologies to the purists but it's juat much more convenient and in the case of the ss ergonomically it doesn't make a difference)
I love my swift sport and it manages to tick all of the boxes in terms of being value for money, practical, fun and special. The new one incoming although it lacks an na engine, I'm sure the extra power and even less weight will only add to the car.
I'm intrigued to try the Up GTI and I commend VW for keeping the price in that hugely competitive bracket but what should have been a special car to inspire future generations of drivers seems to have become a practical white goods item.
Having had a Lupo as a first car the Lupo gti was something I had always yearned for. There doesn't seem to be enough to make it special from the regular car (drum rear brakes!?)
I've had an Abarth 500 SS and that was awesome. It was incredibly theatrical and felt fast in a straight line but it wasn't the best seating position and not hugely practical. I've driven RS Twingo's and they are decent but whule technically competent they couldn't quite match the outgoing swift sport which is what I currently have (albeit in 5 door form, Apologies to the purists but it's juat much more convenient and in the case of the ss ergonomically it doesn't make a difference)
I love my swift sport and it manages to tick all of the boxes in terms of being value for money, practical, fun and special. The new one incoming although it lacks an na engine, I'm sure the extra power and even less weight will only add to the car.
I'm intrigued to try the Up GTI and I commend VW for keeping the price in that hugely competitive bracket but what should have been a special car to inspire future generations of drivers seems to have become a practical white goods item.
As a Lupo GTI owner I'd be interested in test driving one of these. Unfortunately it'll never have the special feel the Lupo has, simply because manufacturers almost never go to the effort of making performance cars vastly different from the 'cooking' models these days as VW did with the Lupo GTI. You'll never see a Lupo GTI replica because the cost of making one is so much with all the different body panels and parts etc that you may as well buy the real thing. But that doesn't mean it should be disregarded - if it drives anything like the Lupo it'll be a whole load of fun and will probably sell well.
As previous posters have mentioned, Suzuki have owned this sector with the Swift Sport for years. Having driven one, they're a bit of a hidden gem and a sad victim of badge snobbery in the UK. Stick a VW badge on that car and they'd be a ten-a-penny, so I definitely think there are plenty of buyers out there looking for this type of car.
As previous posters have mentioned, Suzuki have owned this sector with the Swift Sport for years. Having driven one, they're a bit of a hidden gem and a sad victim of badge snobbery in the UK. Stick a VW badge on that car and they'd be a ten-a-penny, so I definitely think there are plenty of buyers out there looking for this type of car.
jm28 said:
All these people saying things along the lines of “this’ll do for the missus”. Firstly, it’s ok to come out and say “yeah, I’d like one of these for myself”. Doesn’t make you less of a man, apart from to some of the more rabid posters on here but they’ve probably never known the love of a woman so you can discount their opinions. Secondly, do you get to make all the car buying decisions independently in your household? If i went out and signed a PCP without consulting domestic line management I’d be wearing my balls as earmuffs for the rest of the winter...
Actually thinking about pointing Mrs Dawg at one of these when we replace her Punto. Yes, you're right, I don't have the balls to just buy her one...
chriscoates said:
As previous posters have mentioned, Suzuki have owned this sector with the Swift Sport for years. Having driven one, they're a bit of a hidden gem and a sad victim of badge snobbery in the UK. Stick a VW badge on that car and they'd be a ten-a-penny, so I definitely think there are plenty of buyers out there looking for this type of car.
They really have made the new one look ugly as sin though.andrewparker said:
LuS1fer said:
It may go well but it's still an awkwardly boxy car to look at and the looks kill it, for me. I would pay more for something more visually appealing.
Each to their own but I think it looks great, far better than the incredibly awkward looking new Swift Sport.LuS1fer said:
andrewparker said:
LuS1fer said:
It may go well but it's still an awkwardly boxy car to look at and the looks kill it, for me. I would pay more for something more visually appealing.
Each to their own but I think it looks great, far better than the incredibly awkward looking new Swift Sport.
nickfrog said:
Great but will have stiff competition against the forthcoming Suzuki Swift Sport
I have an early-2016 Swift Sport but given the choice between a new SSS 1.4T or Up 1.0T I'd choose the Up.My Swift is a size class larger than the Up and is comparable with an early-2016 Polo, yet my Swift seems to have no more internal or boot space than the Up or other really small town cars.
Nor does my Swift have the low running costs of a small town car; on a long fast run it gives roughly 25% less mpg compared (about 40 vs 50) to my wife's Vauxhall Viva despite the Viva having only five gears and nearly 4000rpm on the motorway.
So an Up GTi will probably be usefully smaller outside, just as spacious inside and noticeably cheaper to run.
Toyoda said:
J4CKO said:
Toyota etc have been missing a trick for an Aygo GTI for years, VW have spotted the gap and are exploiting it, plenty of Misty eyed old berks like me wanting to relive their Mk1 GTI moments, just need a Charlatans/Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, Wonderstuff mix tape, "Fat Willys Surf Shack" Sticker, some Joe Bloggs clothes and a willing red headed bird from Wales to complete the re-enactment.
I agree a warmed up Aygo/C1/107 would have been nice, surely they would have scoped it out but mustn't have thought it viable. I appreciate i'm coming across as a miserable old git on this thread but don't you feel that your Fiesta offers the same cheap thrills as this new Up? I'm sure with your 140 bhp (available as standard, but in your case mildly remapped) would be more than a match for the Up? I dunno, I guess the GTi moniker is a bit of a misnomer, perhaps if it was a GTi line or R line, ha) then I'd be more accepting of it. However, though it handles and goes well, it doesnt have any attitude about it, its a quick ish standard hatch, not a GTI, the ST my son has certainly does, any car you take for a blast and feel like patting when you get out is what I am on about.
Hot hatches arent just about power and 0-60, it has to be a package with that certain something, it needs to be pointier and more engaging than the normal model, the ST has it but the normal ones doesnt, despite being a really good car.
Toyoda said:
I agree a warmed up Aygo/C1/107 would have been nice, surely they would have scoped it out but mustn't have thought it viable. I appreciate i'm coming across as a miserable old git on this thread but don't you feel that your Fiesta offers the same cheap thrills as this new Up? I'm sure with your 140 bhp (available as standard, but in your case mildly remapped) would be more than a match for the Up? I dunno, I guess the GTi moniker is a bit of a misnomer, perhaps if it was a GTi line or R line, ha) then I'd be more accepting of it.
The fiesta is not a small car though. There are not many small cars around. The fiesta is the same size as the mk1 focus from only 15 years ago.To have a nippy small car would be fun. I have a Fiesta and it's got 230bhp, it's fast, but I can certainly see why people might want something smaller still and less powerful.
For under 15K this is the only new car I would consider at the moment... Maybe for under 20K.
It's a bit of a nostalgia trip for me - I ran a Black MK1 Golf GTI (1.6 110 bhp) around (unbelievably) 30 years ago and I loved it. I learned more about driving in that car than any before or since. To have one of these in black now would be so a real blast for the past. I worry though I'd look a bit of berk in such a young kid's car at my age... mind you, really, would I care - probably not.
On the UK's roads you really don't need anything faster than this IMO - especially from a hot hatch. It's been like this for years. In the 1990s I had a 205 GTI 1.9 and when I changed it for a much 'slower' Mk1 106 Rallye 1.3, that car was just so much more fun - every commute was anticipated! After the old MK1 Golf GTI it remains the car I kept the longest and did the most miles in, in all my long car history.
A small hatch with 100-120bhp and snappy dynamics and a decent gearbox will reward you day to day and makes such a lot of sense if you don't care about numbers or noise or the traffic light Grand Prix... (or you have something else in the garage for that!)
So, very tempting - but I bet there will be a long waiting list.
It's a bit of a nostalgia trip for me - I ran a Black MK1 Golf GTI (1.6 110 bhp) around (unbelievably) 30 years ago and I loved it. I learned more about driving in that car than any before or since. To have one of these in black now would be so a real blast for the past. I worry though I'd look a bit of berk in such a young kid's car at my age... mind you, really, would I care - probably not.
On the UK's roads you really don't need anything faster than this IMO - especially from a hot hatch. It's been like this for years. In the 1990s I had a 205 GTI 1.9 and when I changed it for a much 'slower' Mk1 106 Rallye 1.3, that car was just so much more fun - every commute was anticipated! After the old MK1 Golf GTI it remains the car I kept the longest and did the most miles in, in all my long car history.
A small hatch with 100-120bhp and snappy dynamics and a decent gearbox will reward you day to day and makes such a lot of sense if you don't care about numbers or noise or the traffic light Grand Prix... (or you have something else in the garage for that!)
So, very tempting - but I bet there will be a long waiting list.
Old school forced induction 3 pot
http://www.c1gti.co.uk/
and
PH people doing a TTS supercharger.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=13...
I modied my own Aygo, not with a supercharger but with lots of other stuff to make it even lighter ( goodbye, rear seats, air con, carpets, wife) and it was a real go kart on 195s and eibach springs and KW suspension.
Sadly Toyota only got the performance vibe after the original Aygo was released.
The original Aygo 3 door weighed 840kg ...... far more in tune with the original Golf GTI.
When I bought mine new I was amazed that due to cost cutting the rear parcel shelf was only pulled up by "string" on one side when you opened the rear shelf. In hindsight I realise it was due to lose weight, all 0.34g of it!
I know I am biased but if the Up can get a 3 pot sound near to my Aygo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GznTG3aavBE
then well done VW....
http://www.c1gti.co.uk/
and
PH people doing a TTS supercharger.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=13...
I modied my own Aygo, not with a supercharger but with lots of other stuff to make it even lighter ( goodbye, rear seats, air con, carpets, wife) and it was a real go kart on 195s and eibach springs and KW suspension.
Sadly Toyota only got the performance vibe after the original Aygo was released.
The original Aygo 3 door weighed 840kg ...... far more in tune with the original Golf GTI.
When I bought mine new I was amazed that due to cost cutting the rear parcel shelf was only pulled up by "string" on one side when you opened the rear shelf. In hindsight I realise it was due to lose weight, all 0.34g of it!
I know I am biased but if the Up can get a 3 pot sound near to my Aygo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GznTG3aavBE
then well done VW....
edwheels said:
For under 15K this is the only new car I would consider at the moment... Maybe for under 20K.
It's a bit of a nostalgia trip for me - I ran a Black MK1 Golf GTI (1.6 110 bhp) around (unbelievably) 30 years ago and I loved it. I learned more about driving in that car than any before or since. To have one of these in black now would be so a real blast for the past. I worry though I'd look a bit of berk in such a young kid's car at my age... mind you, really, would I care - probably not.
On the UK's roads you really don't need anything faster than this IMO - especially from a hot hatch. It's been like this for years. In the 1990s I had a 205 GTI 1.9 and when I changed it for a much 'slower' Mk1 106 Rallye 1.3, that car was just so much more fun - every commute was anticipated! After the old MK1 Golf GTI it remains the car I kept the longest and did the most miles in, in all my long car history.
A small hatch with 100-120bhp and snappy dynamics and a decent gearbox will reward you day to day and makes such a lot of sense if you don't care about numbers or noise or the traffic light Grand Prix... (or you have something else in the garage for that!)
So, very tempting - but I bet there will be a long waiting list.
This is what I would spec. it as... nostalgic black! but with 5 doors as that makes it look a bit bigger to me... shame the stripe on the bottom of the doors is not in silver when you go for the black like it used to be on the MK1 Golf GTI.It's a bit of a nostalgia trip for me - I ran a Black MK1 Golf GTI (1.6 110 bhp) around (unbelievably) 30 years ago and I loved it. I learned more about driving in that car than any before or since. To have one of these in black now would be so a real blast for the past. I worry though I'd look a bit of berk in such a young kid's car at my age... mind you, really, would I care - probably not.
On the UK's roads you really don't need anything faster than this IMO - especially from a hot hatch. It's been like this for years. In the 1990s I had a 205 GTI 1.9 and when I changed it for a much 'slower' Mk1 106 Rallye 1.3, that car was just so much more fun - every commute was anticipated! After the old MK1 Golf GTI it remains the car I kept the longest and did the most miles in, in all my long car history.
A small hatch with 100-120bhp and snappy dynamics and a decent gearbox will reward you day to day and makes such a lot of sense if you don't care about numbers or noise or the traffic light Grand Prix... (or you have something else in the garage for that!)
So, very tempting - but I bet there will be a long waiting list.
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