Friday 16th December 2016

VW Up GTI prototype: Driven

Small hot hatches a thing of the past? Not if VW has anything to do with it!

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A GTI with 116hp? Powered by a three-cylinder, 1.0-litre engine? That kind of power might have been enough for 1976 when VW launched the original Golf GTI with a 110hp 1.6, but its modern equivalent has at least double that, some rivals three times more. Never mind the tech and gizmos to put it to the road. Saying that, the comparisons between this VW Up GTI prototype and the genre-defining Golf bear a moment of contemplation...

Crying out for a set of BBS

For the Up GTI is not far removed from that original Golf - 3,600mm of length versus 3,705mm, 1,627mm width to 1,610mm, 2,415mm wheelbase to 2,400mm and 1,020kg to 880kg. That last figure might make you question the comparison - it's an inevitable result of what they call progress, chiefly around safety and technology - but the power-to-weight ratio of the two cars is not so far removed.

Torque figures remain something of a secret - this is a prototype drive and the car won't go on sale for a year - but this manual Up GTI will do 0-62mph in 8.8 seconds, compared to the Golf's 9.2. If it's offered with DSG - a big if - the Up GTI's would come down further, too.

Back in the day
And, of course, VW has dug deep into the GTI handbook to ensure an authentic experience. Black stripe down the bottom edge? Tick. Tartan seats? Naturlich. Red-stitching on the steering wheel? Present and correct. Six-speed gearbox with reverse up and off to the left? But of course. Chunky steering wheel to grip. Get comfortable, make yourself at home. Entry-level GTI or not, the styling department hasn't been messing with the heritage.

Nor have the team behind it, putting a modern twist on the Mk1 GTI's sense of extra curricular fettling by enthusiastic engineers. And the engine is by far the most impressive feat. Running 1.5bar of turbo pressure (the same as a 911 Turbo, and about half as much again as more everyday turbo engines) and a 10.5:1 compression ratio, there's also a water-cooled intercooler. The engineers believe they could have pushed closer to 125hp, but they've erred towards the best balance of power, torque and response.

Saves the kids putting smoked lights on it anyway

The Up GTI also sits 15mm lower than standard and has a heavily reworked MacPherson strut front and torsion beam rear suspension. Highlights include stiffened top mounts, new lower suspension arms and dampers tuned for improved control at lower compression speeds. There are also heavily modified parts from the Polo, ranging from the steering rack to the ventilated brake discs.

Boosted expectations
The result - even with 12 months to launch - is really rather engaging. You won't get a G-induced nosebleed, but that little motor is eager as anything, bar for a short period in second gear where economy concerns seem to have overridden performance ones. It'd be a shame if they didn't bite the bullet on that one. The manual 'box shift is slick and, even in sixth, it keeps on pulling up towards the 119mph top speed.

Now, of course you want to know how the Up GTI handles. And while I'll do my best to tell you, I should caveat it by saying that the test route roads were very straight, to the extent planners appear to have preferred going through hills rather than around them. The few opportunities there were to actually steer the car suggested it is set up with decent weight through the wheel and a balance that leans towards neutral, before dipping into safety first understeer. Boo, I hear you say. Welcome to the modern world, I reply.

Pushed on the subject, engineers concede you can make it oversteer if you really try but, you must suspect from the look on their faces, you'd have to be driving like a complete hoodlum to manage it. PH likes a challenge...

The signs are good; very good in fact

Ride comfort is impressive, soaking up low frequency ripples and damping down bigger bumps despite its sporty leanings. In fact, there's a grown-up side to this car that is a credit to the depths it's being developed to - even when it's wound right up, the engine and turbo are quiet to the point of being overly hushed.

But if you've finished choking at the idea of a three-cylinder GTI (and rumours abound that the next Fiesta ST may well be powered by a boosted triple too) then the reality is well worth considering. The price is expected to somewhere around £15,000, which is pretty sticky for the young market it's aimed at even before you factor in running costs and insurance. But, compared to the Twingo GT/SmartForFour Brabus or Abarth 595, it looks like a reasonable price for a car that fizzes with intent. The GTI family is having a new baby, and on this evidence it's going to fit in just fine.

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VW UP GTI PROTOTYPE
Engine: 999cc, 3cyl, turbocharged petrol
Transmission: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 116@N/A rpm
Torque (lb ft): TBC
0-62mph: 8.8sec
Top speed: 119mph
Weight: 1,020kg
MPG: TBC
CO2: TBC
Price: £15,000 (est)

[Jim Holder]

 

[Mr Peel]

Love it. You'd have more fun wringing the neck of this thing than trying to keep on the right side of the law in a Golf R.

[Krikkit]

Sounds like a very appealing little thing, I presume they're really making it?

[Kawasicki]

Mr Peel said:

Love it. You'd have more fun wringing the neck of this thing than trying to keep on the right side of the law in a Golf R.

I'm pretty sure wringing the neck of this thing will put you well into the wrong side of the law.

[Roy m]

Been waiting for this for years! Bet it's a fantastic car and,as said, all the fun without the licence loss issues

[SevenR]

I owned a Kia Picanto 1.0 3 cylinder and it was begging for more power and the bits to go with it. I would have bought a hot version (if they'd made one) without question. So much fun as it was, a faster one would be a hoot. But they didn't so got a Fiesta ST.
Interesting top speed stats for the Up, as we had the Kia at 116mph indicated on satnav in Germany. Took a while to get there mind you lol I loved it to bits.

[s m]

3-cylinder Gti? Been a while since the old Charade Gtti - they used to sound pretty good when being wrung out through the gears

Doubt this up will be as lairy handling-wise as the old Charade was though with modern chassis and safety nets

[SuperchargedVR6]

Mr Peel said:

Love it. You'd have more fun wringing the neck of this thing than trying to keep on the right side of the law in a Golf R.

How do you know that? Any car can break any UK speed limit. I don't understand this PH concept of thrashing little buzz boxes around at the limit being acceptable on a public road, but doing the same in a more powerful car is crass and pointless.

So do you mash the pedal to the floor off the lights, get to 30mph and say to yourself "Right that's 30mph, off the gas I come"? Of course you do

[ukaskew]

Been waiting for a small warm hatch for years, pleased this is apparently finally happening. I absolutely love our Skoda Citigo, unbelievably practical and a good steer. Every single person who has sat in it couldn't believe the interior space or room in the boot.

This looks a bit over-wheeled, though.

[Dave Hedgehog]

about time, this car has been begging for some performance tweaks since day one

[Onehp]

Always though the Up! was a good drive and also love the 1.0 ecoboost which does 125bhp with 1,2bar. So am wondering where that 1,5bar comes from, lots of torque?
Water cooled intercooler is very premium and should make throttle response blistering (for a turbo)

[Motorrad]

Why they didn't make this in the beginning I'll never know. I seem to remember it being touted at the time.

Seat should have pissed on their chips and released a hot Mii ages ago.

[MajorMantra]

SuperchargedVR6 said:

How do you know that? Any car can break any UK speed limit. I don't understand this PH concept of thrashing little buzz boxes around at the limit being acceptable on a public road, but doing the same in a more powerful car is crass and pointless.

So do you mash the pedal to the floor off the lights, get to 30mph and say to yourself "Right that's 30mph, off the gas I come"? Of course you do

You're not going to reach PH nirvana in a 30 zone but on a 60mph limit country road with bends there's plenty of fun to be had in low-powered cars. And revving an engine out can be part of the fun, which is something you simply can't do in a truly high-performance car unless you're willing to risk your licence. (Or drive everywhere in 1st.)

[bungz]

Was quite interested till it mentioned 15K

[dxg]

They've completely missed the boat with this. The Up is now very tired and the market for them saturated, I feel.

Had they released this when they first teased it, what, three or four years ago then it might have been different.

And as for the performance figures? Well, it's quite a lot slower than the original, let's leave it at that. I guess I'll just hold onto my original for another ten years...

[daveco]

As I get older and more fed up with how clogged and policed our roads have become cars like this have become far more interesting to read up on.

Attainability + light weight + reasonable power = FUN

[jonosterman]

Onehp said:

Always though the Up! was a good drive and also love the 1.0 ecoboost which does 125bhp with 1,2bar. So am wondering where that 1,5bar comes from, lots of torque?
Water cooled intercooler is very premium and should make throttle response blistering (for a turbo)

... and the 1.0 EcoBoost 140 runs at 1.6bar

[ayman82]

This looks interesting.

Is anyone else thinking if they make this, Renault might make a renaultsport Twingo on the Mk3?

A rear engined, rear-wheel drive with 120hp could be a lot of fun.

[tim milne]

Still think the Up!'s biggest problem is the grammatical minefield its name lays out. It feels one of the rare times when the endless meetings you imagine VAG holds when it designs cars somehow didn't think it through.

The only other question is what took them so long?

[anonymous-user]

Sounds ace, lets hope they do it in a 3 door and put some nicer wheels on it. If so then I'll consider one.

[s m]

ayman82 said:

This looks interesting.

Is anyone else thinking if they make this, Renault might make a renaultsport Twingo on the Mk3?

A rear engined, rear-wheel drive with 120hp could be a lot of fun.

Hmm, I think it might need a lot of RenaultSport input into it to make it a driver's car. Was reading a write up on the sporty Twingo last week and it read along the lines of its biggest asset was its turning circle. Not much to get excited about on account of the layout ( rwd etc ) as it was well reined-in and set up for safety.

Could be done though - see what BMW did with the E30 to make the M3 and Ford SVE did with the Mk5 Escort to make the RS2000 - plenty of silk purses lurking in sows' ears with a few spring/damper/arb/geo tweaks