VW Up! GTI 5 Door

[Shadow R1]

Seen a few out in the wild now.
Red one looks good.

[Mezzanine]

Glad to see the supply is finally coming through, hurry up and get bored of them so us second hand buyers can pick one up!

Did you get anything from VW as compensation for having to wait so long? Free service? Some merchandise? Cash?

[andrewparker]

Mezzanine said:

Did you get anything from VW as compensation for having to wait so long? Free service? Some merchandise? Cash?

I was treated to an incredibly efficient collection, in and out in 30 minutes

In truth I didn’t ask for anything. I was disappointed in the 9 month wait but that was only really due to periods of impatience on my behalf. I’ve heard of people getting anything from a bottle of Champagne to an Autoglym cleaning kit.

[Mezzanine]

andrewparker said:

Mezzanine said:

Did you get anything from VW as compensation for having to wait so long? Free service? Some merchandise? Cash?

I was treated to an incredibly efficient collection, in and out in 30 minutes

In truth I didn’t ask for anything. I was disappointed in the 9 month wait but that was only really due to periods of impatience on my behalf. I’ve heard of people getting anything from a bottle of Champagne to an Autoglym cleaning kit.

Given the wait, I wouldn't even be expected to ask, they should just give you a token gesture to sweeten the deal IMO!

Glad it's finally arrived, now hurry up and get bored of it

[The_Doc]

andrewparker said:

Mezzanine said:

Did you get anything from VW as compensation for having to wait so long? Free service? Some merchandise? Cash?

I was treated to an incredibly efficient collection, in and out in 30 minutes

In truth I didn’t ask for anything. I was disappointed in the 9 month wait but that was only really due to periods of impatience on my behalf. I’ve heard of people getting anything from a bottle of Champagne to an Autoglym cleaning kit.

I got a box with a VW pen and umbrella in it.

Umbrella blew inside out yesterday on first deployment and is now in the wheeliebin

Pen still going strong

[DaveTheRave87]

Wish I got a pen.

I got a cleaning kit. I also had a very efficient handover with no "pulling sheet back" nonsense.

[LB14]

Good to see these finally getting delivered, they’re looking good

My son picked his up today having ordered it the week it was announced:

[andrewparker]

LB14 said:

Good to see these finally getting delivered, they’re looking good

Indeed, though when I looked a few weeks ago there were still less than 400 registered in the UK. First year allocation was supposed to be 750 cars.

[daniel-5zjw7]

Great to see a car on this thread! good to see others getting delivered too. Its a cool looking little car but does look significantly overwheeled!

[Birdster]

Saw these in the loca dealer. Going back for a test drive. The cars here look lovely.

Looked on drive the deal and there are discounts. I’m guessing a long wait is to be expected.

I really liked the look of the 3 and 5 door but think the 5 door just edges it into useable space.

Started playing with the spec and even with cruise and panoramic roof it’s coming up around £15K.

Might drop the roof but think it really suited the white one. Not sure if it adds much weight?

Anything you wish you had/hadn’t added?

[LB14]

Been out for a drive with my son today, these really are great little cars!

A real hoot to drive and the noise is hilarious! His has the panoramic roof and it really brightens up the interior with the light it lets in .... I’d definitely spec one if I was choosing now.

[The_Doc]

Birdster said:

Saw these in the loca dealer. Going back for a test drive. The cars here look lovely.

Looked on drive the deal and there are discounts. I’m guessing a long wait is to be expected.

I really liked the look of the 3 and 5 door but think the 5 door just edges it into useable space.

Started playing with the spec and even with cruise and panoramic roof it’s coming up around £15K.

Might drop the roof but think it really suited the white one. Not sure if it adds much weight?

Anything you wish you had/hadn’t added?

All I went for was Cruise and Park
You don't need the uprated stereo, the factory one is really good. Aircon doesn't seem to get rave reviews, I just leave mine (non-AC) on fan speed 1 and constant temp.
Sunroof looks great, so I could have gone for this,
Black roof, if you want this then fair enough.

Bottom line, the basic spec is very good for £13. 5k, don't ruin the weight and price by ticking too many boxes. 995kg is its best feature

[andrewparker]

Birdster said:

Anything you wish you had/hadn’t added?

My 3 door has everything bar the Cruise & Park pack. Some thoughts below -

Beats Sound System (£370) - not sure about this to be honest. Sure it sounds great, but I’m not convinced it sounds significantly better than the standard system. Bass isn’t amazing, but then the sub is small and is buried down in the bottom of the boot.

City Emergency Braking Pack (£380) - I only really added this for the convenience of auto headlights. Insurance is actually more expensive despite the auto braking.

Climate Control (£265) - Much prefer the look of the dashboard with the climate control unit, and I’ve found it very easy and effective to use.

Panoramic Sunroof (£710) - My favourite option, and a late addition to my order. Makes the interior much lighter and the kids love the view up through the roof from the back seats.

[DaveTheRave87]

Birdster said:

Saw these in the loca dealer. Going back for a test drive. The cars here look lovely.

Looked on drive the deal and there are discounts. I’m guessing a long wait is to be expected.

I really liked the look of the 3 and 5 door but think the 5 door just edges it into useable space.

Started playing with the spec and even with cruise and panoramic roof it’s coming up around £15K.

Might drop the roof but think it really suited the white one. Not sure if it adds much weight?

Anything you wish you had/hadn’t added?

I added the cruise and park pack, it made sense for the short motorway run to work.

The car was very close to the top end of my budget so I had to think really carefully about options. I didn't like the sunroof enough to justify the price and I think the standard sound system's great and didn't find the need to upgrade it. I'm not a fan of climate control and I prefer the ability to adjust the temperature myself. Auto headlights and wipers would have been nice but not the sort of thing that I needed.

I was showing the car to my cousin, he's 19 and he's just bought an old Polo. He was suggesting that I do YouTube videos on 5 things I love and 5 things I hate. I fear he may have come down with "social media influenza." Still, a good idea...

I pretty much love everything about the car so here's 5 things I love more than I thought I would.

1. The sound. It's great when you put your foot down to have a listen to it but the best time for it is when you're concentrating on driving and the revs rise as you're accelerating out of a junction. Puts a smile on my face every time.

2. The ease of driving around town. A few months ago I had to borrow my mum's i10 to go to work in for a week. It was a revelation in that it was so easy to drive in town and how you could confidently fit it in those narrow gaps between double parked delivery lorries and buses coming the other way. This is what sold me the idea of getting a city car. The up! is probably easier to drive as there's probably a better view out of it and I've got a decent bit more power if I need it.

3. The interior. Space inside is brilliant, I've had 3 adult passengers in the car with no complaints. By the time I'd read a few reviews and seen a few photos, I had resigned myself to the fact that the "red pixel" dash, the body coloured door tops and the red mood lighting would look naff. It's the complete opposite. I think they combine brilliantly and make the car feel like something special. The GTI touches let you know what you're driving, the tartan seats are a bit much but the car somehow gets away with it. If you showed a petrolhead the interior, they'd tell you straight away that it's a VW GTI. I'll try and get some right way up pictures to illustrate my point later.

4. The seat heaters. The lower seat back and are are both heated. They start at level 2 and switch themselves down to level 1 after 15 minutes. I couldn't take much more heating, they properly cook you. It was 1 degree outside this morning so they were very much appreciated.

5. The way it looks compared to a standard up! It may be those subtle things but the bigger wheels, the side stripes, the slight lowering, the GTI badges combine with the gloss black mirrors, bumpers and roof spoiler all add up to make the car stand out compared to others in the range. I was talking to the owner of a Move up! on Friday and the two cars looked world's apart sat next to each other in a Tesco car park.


I wouldn't buy a car that had 1 thing I hated, never mind 5 but here's 5 things that I'm not too fussed about.

1. The infotainment. It's a good idea to have a smartphone app serve as the infotainment but it has a few compromises. You mount the phone in the dock, plug in the unsightly charging cable, open the app. It tells you there's no Bluetooth connection, you start the car and press Retry, same thing. It takes a few presses of that retry button before you're connected. It works well enough but the main screen's a bit cluttered, the radio section has 7/8ths of its area devoted to a mute button with only a tiny portion to aim for if you're trying to change stations. You can use the car's buttons to open menus on the app but you have to press the back button on your phone to bring it back to the home screen. At least it can be updated through the Apps Store.

2. The rear badge. It's massive and looks crammed in between the wiper and the boot release. It would be an awful shame if it were to "fall off." :wink:

3. The wheels. Sometimes they look a little too big. I keep imagining what the up! would look like with those Mk6 Golf GTI "phone dial" wheels and think these in 16" would just look better.



4. The black tailgate. I think it looks well but it doesn't half attract dirt. I was hoping to get my cleaning kit out at the weekend but it seemed to only rain when I had time to myself.

5. The colour choice. I think this is the dashboard's fault. I'm guessing VW are unable to offer much of a choice of paint colours as the door tops would clash with the red pixel dash. It's a shame because I think the car would look great in blue, especially that light blue you see Polo's in:


Wouldn't look half bad in this kind of green either:



Apart from this, there's not much of a update. Still running well and we're past the 350 mile mark. I'm still trying to keep it below 3/4 throttle and 4,000rpm. I'll need to fill up soon, so the range estimate of 275 miles to a tank seems about right.

[ManicMunky]

andrewparker said:

Couple of photos of my GTI that I picked up this morning.

MUCH better as a 3 door I have to say!

[DaveTheRave87]

ManicMunky said:

andrewparker said:

Couple of photos of my GTI that I picked up this morning.

MUCH better as a 3 door I have to say!

Until you try to get into the back.

[andrewparker]

DaveTheRave87 said:

ManicMunky said:

andrewparker said:

Couple of photos of my GTI that I picked up this morning.

MUCH better as a 3 door I have to say!

Until you try to get into the back.

Access to the back isn't bad, but returning the seats to their original position after folding them forward is quite annoying. Although they remember the position of the base, they don't remember the position the seat back was in, so every time you use them you have to reset the position of the seat back.

[A500leroy]

will these become the new golf r?

[andrewparker]

A500leroy said:

will these become the new golf r?

In what way? I have both if that’s what you mean...

[ManicMunky]

DaveTheRave87 said:

Until you try to get into the back.

Nah I'm 6'1 and "powerfully built" and have no problem getting into the back of a 3dr up

And anyway, I'd be driving it so it's not my problem