Volkswagen up!
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FUEL ECONOMY:
n/a MPG n/a L/100km
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BODY TYPE:
Coupe
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TECHNOLOGY:
Small Car
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BASE MSRP:
n/a
Volkswagen is moving forward with plans for its new minicar, the “Volkswagen up!” (Editors beware, that’s lowercase with an exclamation point.) The cute name and design is apparently intended to evoke the spirit of the Volkswagen Beetle.
When the car was presented in concept form at auto shows around the world last year, the engine was in the rear. But VW’s management overruled engineers—and moved the up!’s engine from rear to the front to allow the minicar to share components with other models. The move to a front engine will allow the company to trim costs, but unfortunately will also cut back on some interior space.
The design shift pushes back the European introduction of the VW up! to 2011, and any thought of the vehicle coming to America until 2012 or 2013.
Volkswagen is talking about an array of up! variants, including the short-wheelbase 3-door hatchback and a long wheelbase 5-door hatchback—as well as a sedan, convertible and crossover. While the concept versions featured gas, diesel and fuel cell powertrains, the production versions will likely start with gas and diesel, expected to deliver up to 3 liters per 100 km or 78 mpg. The only other variations left are hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions—and even those have been rumored.
The concept version of the 3-door Volkswagen up! was 135 inches long, while the 4-door variant was 141.7 inches. The mini minivan “space up! blue” was only 144.9 inches long, but boasted interior space comparable to a much larger vehicle. The up! will compete with the Daimler Smart ForTwo and other planned mini cars, such as the Toyota IQ.