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They say good things come in small packages, and at only 3.5m long Volkswagen’s new city car is certainly small. To put that into context it is 28.5cm shorter than the unloved Fox it replaces and only 53.5cm longer than the original Mini. Volkswagen Up VW's done a good job with the styling There’s no denying VW has done a …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How is the VW "by far the best looking"? All three are virtually indistinguishable. You can make a judgement about the Aygo/107/C1 at least.

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  2. Boris S.

    OK for city use only

    In Europe these pregnant roller skates are OK for city driving only but if you venture outside the city you are a rolling accident looking fo a place to happen. I have seen the not so Smart cars in Germany hold up a line of cars on rural roads because they could not accelerate up to 100 kph with two passengers in the vehicle. This makes these vehicles suicide rides as they infuriate everyone else on the roadway and a large lorry can blow them into the ditch when passing by.

    In the U.S. where they have grossly sized SUV's, these things along with the not so Smart cars are death traps when hit by a huge, oversized and overweight SUV.

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What a charming language

    Bonnet mascot? Is that Blightian for hood ornament?

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  4. Richard Jukes

    hmm

    I think the more pertinant (fuck off grammar nazi's!) question regards the engine mounts, are they the same and in the same position as other nice engines that VW make. Such as the 1.8 turbo petrol engine they produce?

    That could be interesting :-)

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    1. MJI Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: hmm

      It has a half engine. Do VW make an equivalent full engine?

      I like going to Halfords and asking why they only sell spark plugs in 2/3rds of an engine boxes!

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  5. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    I loved it

    Until I saw those red panels.

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    1. MJI Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: I loved it

      Looks very cheap. Haven't been in a car with body colour inside since I fitted the door trim into my old 1978 car about 20 years ago.

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  6. rascal.
    Thumb Down

    Have you been sponsored by Volkswagen?

    I'm following a lot of german car magazines.

    Usually they are extremely positive about any car that comes from the Volkswagen group.

    But when you read the user comments the picture is very different.

    German motor press is sponsored by Volkswagen.

    I really really hope that isn't the case with you.

    Ok its a decent small car, but i'm sorry it's not that good.

    There are many better alternaitves

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Have you been sponsored by Volkswagen?

      The UK motoring press is also mostly sponsored by VW group and BMW.

      Just look at most UK motoring publications - the news, reviews, scores, articles and what marques they cover.

      Also take a quick tally of advertisers throughout the publications....

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  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Read up on DPFs. http://www.stocksy.co.uk/articles/Cars/diesel_particulate_filters_dpfs_and_rising_oil_levels_the_uk_government_demonstrates_the_law_of_unintended_consequences/). I did when I noticed my engine oil was increasing and I was forced to draw approx 1.2l of oil out via the dipstick to prevent engine meltdown! This is on a car which gets a 60 mile motorway thrashing 5 days a week i.e. not a city car with a blocked DPF.

    I will never buy another diesel car and cars like this are the future as far as I'm concerned. The only problem is the waiting list. Won't get mine until September at the earliest.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      there have been a lot of adverts in Farmers Weekly recently for the last generation of tractors with Stage 3A compliant engines for similar reasons. Means you don't get issues with EGR (and having to occasionally rev the nuts off the engine to clear it out every now and then according to a JD dealer I've heard) or having to use AdBlue with the extra cost of topping that up.

      Don't get me started on biodiesel... of all the things to waste land and real diesel making...

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    2. Cosmo
      Reply Icon

      Do you have a Mazda 5 by any chance? I've heard of this problem of engine oil rising past the magic 'X' mark with these

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    3. MJI Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      DPFs - Scarey

      Thanks for letting me know I am staying petrol engine. But will be be Prinz, Romano or something cheap DIY fitted next time.

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  8. This Side Up

    "only 53.5cm longer than the original Mini."

    You mean "over half a metre longer than the original Mini."

    The Mini is only 3.05m long so the VW is over 17.5% longer.

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  9. Raz
    FAIL

    <<Despite the piddly little motor, the Up can get quite a move on. The 0-62mph sprint is dispatched in 13.2 seconds>>

    0 to 100 km/h in 13.2 is truck territory. Where's the fun when all other cars are passing you by, even if that wiper motor that passes as an engine in this car is screaming (whining?) at full speed.

    VW makes a really economical car that is actually useful: Passat Diesel.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      And a new one is between 3 and 4 times the price, it is also twice the size, which is not always practical for everyone, fair comparison FAIL!

      Vehicles >3.5t are electronically restricted to 90Km/h in the UK, so given the truck will never get there your analogy = FAIL.

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  10. This Side Up
    Flame

    The trouble is

    local council policies of building road humps here there and everywhere force you to use a big SUV or 4x4. In particular the small "cushions" (nothing could be more badly named) discriminate against small cars.

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  11. Richard 51
    Thumb Down

    WTF

    Eh, is it just me or has the question why are we getting a top gear report in what is supposed to be a technology news site?

    If I wanted car reviews I would have gone to Top Gear or Autocar...

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  12. Ken 16 Silver badge

    Where can I get a laser reflector for my bumper?

    I want to extend the range at which this car will brake when I am in front of it.

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  13. Mugwump

    Wow, a small car that makes a virtue of cheapness

    What's wrong with you people - an £80million UK marketing budget is meant for you to forget this has all been done before!

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  14. Alex-L
    Stop

    Honey, I shrunk the Golf?

    What do you mean "Honey, I shrunk the Golf" it's pretty much a new Lupo.

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  15. Chz
    Thumb Down

    It's not a diesel, people!

    Seems like it's better than the new Micra in small city car territory, but not a lot else. I can't understand the reviewer's love for it, bar that he got to thrash it about on someone else's dime for a bit. Which really is the best thing about these sorts of cars! I've had to family-size up to a Note from the old Micra and I sort of miss just leaving the pedal planted to the floor the whole time.

    As for fuel consumption, this is a petrol car and not a diesel one. Modern diesels are not appropriate to the "city car" concept like the old ones were. The paraphernalia required to stop the fumes killing us all clogs up too easily under those conditions. Also, in my personal experience, the smaller engines may deliver a higher optimal MPG but they go south in a very big hurry with even a slight over-use of the right foot. My bigger, heavier 1.6L Note doesn't deliver real-world mileage much below the 1.2L Micra it replaced. A lot of that is in the fact that it's perfectly happy to schlep along in 4th in town, which would make the Micra choke and die. It's also partly that it's now dangerous to just drive around with my foot on the floor. :)

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  16. MinkiesMum
    Thumb Down

    Should Have Retained The Lupo

    There was nothing wrong with the Lupo nor the SEAT Version, the Arosa, and they had decent sized engines too. These new ones of which SEAT have a version and I believe Skoda too are way too piddling !!

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  17. Herby

    Now for the IT angle...

    Is this "UP!" car from some people here in sillycon valley. I thought that Yahoo! was the only brand that had a '!' in its name.

    Now for a comparison: The original VW Bug had a 36 HP engine until about 1960, and then it went up to a whopping 40 HP. All with a 1200 cc engine. I drove a 1964 one, and 'upgraded' it to a little peppier 1400 cc. It found hills a little easier after that. Of course in the 60's VW Bugs sold for $1995 (they put it on a billboard).

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