Manufacturer Volkswagen Production 2011–present | Also called SEAT Mii
Škoda Citigo Class City car | |
 | ||
Assembly Bratislava, Slovakia
Taubaté, Brazil Designer Marco Pavone
Walter de'Silva
Klaus Bischoff
Chris Lesmana | ||
The Volkswagen Up (stylized as Volkswagen Up!) is a city car, part of the Volkswagen Group New Small Family (NSF) series of models, unveiled at the 2011 International Motor Show Germany (IAA). Production of the Up started in December 2011 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Contents
- Production
- Up Gti
- E up
- Engines
- Safety
- Sales
- Concept models
- 2007 Up concept
- 2007 Space Up concept
- 2007 Space Up Blue Concept
- 2009 E Up concept car
- 2009 Up Lite concept
- 2010 Volkswagen IN
- Awards
- References
The production Up follows a series of concept cars, starting in 2007 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The exterior was originally designed by the Brazilian designer Marco Pavone. This design was chosen and enhanced by Volkswagen Group Chief Designer Walter de'Silva, and Head Designer of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars marque, Klaus Bischoff. Shown at the Frankfurt launch were several further Up concepts, including a 98 hp (73 kW) GT version, a natural gas-powered Eco-up! (with CO2 emissions of 79 g/km) and a four-door Cross model.
Where the Up concept used a rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, the 2011 production model has a front-engine, front-wheel drive layout, using the NSF platform, with a 3-cylinder 1.0 litre petrol engine. A battery electric version, called E-up, was launched in autumn 2013.
The Up won the 2012 World Car of the Year.
The SEAT Mii and Škoda Citigo are rebadged versions of the Up, with slightly different front and rear fascias, and are manufactured in the same factory.
In February 2014 Volkswagen introduced a modified version of the Up for Latin America. The Brazilian-built Up differs from its European counterpart in length (it is 65 mm (3 in) longer), thanks to revisions to the floorpan's rear section to accommodate a larger fuel tank (50L instead of Europe's 35L), a full-sized spare wheel and increased cargo space. All versions have revised tailgates with a painted metal section (like the Seat Mii's and Škoda Citigo's) instead of the dark glass trim used in Europe. The 5-door Brazilian Up also uses a different rear door design with sectioned glass and wind-down windows. The South American model retains the European version's safety levels with a five-star crash rating and ample use of high-strength steel elements.
In July 2015, Volkswagen introduced a new powertrain for the Up sold in Brazil, using a 1.0 L, direct fuel injection three-cylinder turbocharged engine. At the Geneva Motor Show in 2016, the model sold in Europe received a facelift and the new TSI engine, that went on sale in the summer the same year.
Production
At International Motor Show Germany IAA 2011 Volkswagen unveiled the final version of the Up based on the Volkswagen New Small Family (NSF) modular architecture. The three-door bodywork is inspired by the 2007 concept UP, the engine range is 1.0 L three-cylinder gasoline 60 hp (45 kW) and 75 hp (56 kW). Both the three and five doors are available with engines running on CNG and called eco-Up. The Up is a front-wheel drive with transverse engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox and is 3.54 metres (139 in) long has a wheelbase of 2.42 m (95 in). The cabin is configured to four seats.
The UP is available to order in the United Kingdom since October 2011 for five models – marketed as Take up!, Move up!, High up!, up! black and up! white. British television show Top Gear presenters mock the unusual name by calling the model "Up-exclamation-mark".
It was introduced on the German market on December 3, 2011. Deliveries to other European markets began in April 2012.
SEAT Mii limited production started in October 2011 for the European market, with sales having started at the end of 2011. The final version was launched in May 2012. The Škoda Citigo was launched in the Czech Republic in October 2011. The Citigo will be sold in other countries of Europe from summer 2012, as well as in Asia (except Japan and Korea where SEAT and Škoda is unavailable), possibly including Russia if it will be produced in Kaluga.
Japanese sales began 1 October 2012; it and the Polo are the only two products that comply with Japanese Government dimension regulations.
The Up launched in South Africa on March 1, 2015. Two models were offered at launch, both are the 1L 55 kW 3 door variant. The two local options were marketed as Take up! (R133,500), and the Move up! (R140,500).
In 2014, at the Geneva Motor Show, Seat presented the 2014 Seat Mii by Mango model designed just for ladies, made in collaboration with the Spanish fashion company Mango.
Volkswagen has announced the Up range will be extended to include a production version of the GT Up concept, which will launch in 2013. This will feature a turbocharged version of the 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine producing 110 hp (82 kW) and will look similar to the concept version. An electric hybrid Up — which will be badged Blue-e-motion — will follow.
Along with the other two rebadged models, Up is the first car in its class to offer an automated braking system, called City Emergency Braking. The system is automatically activated at speeds below 30 km/h (19 mph), when a laser sensor identifies a danger of collision and activates the brakes. In the SEAT model, the system is called City Safety Assist and in the Škoda model it is called City Safe Drive.
Up Gti
In mid-December 2016, Volkswagen allowed journalists to test the prototype of the Up Gti. The car came with one hundred and sixteen horsepower from the 1 litre three cylinder from the 90 horsepower variant. In order to add the extra twenty six horsepwer, engineers had to fit a high- pressured turbo and increased compression ratio of 10:5:1. The car has a top speed of 119 miles per hour (192 km/h) and could get to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) in 8.8 seconds. The car isn't on sale until 2018.
E-up
In July 2010 VW announced the production version of the e-up! electric car, with sales scheduled to begin in 2013, and was subsequently unveiled at the September 2013 International Motor Show Germany.
The production version has an 18.7 kWh lithium-ion battery able to deliver 160 km (99 mi) on the NEDC cycle, and top speed of 130 km/h (81 mph). The E-up can be charged with 2.3 kW plugged into any standard 230V socket, with 3.6 kW via a home-installed wall box or with up to 40 kW plugged into a DC fast-charging station via the optional CCS (Combined Charging System), which allows the battery to charge up to 80% in under 30 minutes. The production version has the same dimensions as the 5 door petrol model with seating for four.
Retail deliveries began in Germany in October 2013, followed shortly after by Denmark, Sweden, France, Norway, and the Netherlands, and the UK at the end of January 2014. Pricing in Germany starts at 26,900 € (~US$34,500), about 10,000 € (~US$12,800) more expensive than the conventional sibling.
A total of 1,465 E-Up cars were sold in Europe during 2013. An additional 398 units were sold in January 2014 for cumulative sales in the region of 1,863 units. The market leader is Norway, with 921 units registered through February 2014, followed by the Netherlands with 588 units sold through December 2013. Sales totaled 81 units in France through February 2014, and a total of 40 e-Up! cars were sold in Sweden through December 2013.
Engines
Both engines are also available with BlueMotion technologies (SEAT: Ecomotive, Skoda: Green Tech), which incorporates a start-stop system and regenerative brakes to reduce carbon emissions. Depending on markets, some 60PS and 75PS models are available with optional five-speed automatic transmission.
Safety
In 2011, the SEAT MII was evaluated for its safety performance under the Euro NCAP assessment scheme and it achieved a 5-star overall rating:
In 2014, the Latin-American Volkswagen Up was evaluated under the Latin NCAP assessment and achieved a 5-star security rating for adults and 4-star security rating for children:
Sales
The Up ranked third place in the European Minicar segment in 2012, 2013 and 2014 behind the Fiat Panda and Fiat 500.
Concept models
From 2007 through to 2010 Volkswagen showed a number of concept versions of the Up prior to the launch of the production ready version in 2011.
2007 Up concept
The two-door Up concept debuted at the 2007 IAA International Motor Show Germany in Germany, with a rear-wheel drive, rear-mounted, boxer engine and 18 inch wheels.
The interior is designed to accommodate four adults, and features flat-folding, air inflatable seats. It also has two monitors on the dashboard, one showing vehicle statistics and the other controlling the in-car multimedia system. The car measures 3.45 metres (11 ft 4 in) in length and has a width of 1.63 metres (5 ft 4 in).
2007 Space Up concept
The four-door four-seater mini MPV styled space up! concept car debuted at the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show in Japan.
The Space Up concept had all the features of the first concept, but with four-doors and 23 centimetres (9.1 in) longer at 3.68 metres (12 ft 1 in) (15 centimetres (5.9 in) shorter than the Volkswagen Fox). The 'butterfly' doors open in a similar manner to those on the Mazda RX-8; the front doors conventionally hinged at the front, whilst the rears are hinged at the rear from the C-pillar, eliminating the B-pillar. Its wheelbase is also larger at 2.56 metres (8 ft 5 in) but retains the same width as the Up at 1.63 metres (5 ft 4 in).
Also for the first time Volkswagen showed images of its internal combustion engine, a Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) petrol engine.
2007 Space Up Blue Concept
The four-seater space up! blue concept, the third variant of the Volkswagen Up concept series, debuted at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show.
The Space Up Blue was visually the same as the Space Up and shared its length and width, but it included a different roof with a 150 watt solar cell which recharges the batteries. This means its height increases to 1.57 metres (5 ft 2 in) and the curb weight is a 1,090 kilograms (2,403 lb).
Twelve lithium-ion batteries give the Space Up Blue 45 kilowatts (61 PS; 60 bhp) of power and a 65 miles (105 km) range. Combined with Volkswagen's world's first hydrogen high temperature fuel cells (HT-FC), range is extended by 155 miles (250 km) giving total range of 220 miles (350 km).
2009 E-Up! concept car
The two-door Volkswagen e-up! zero-emissions concept debuted at the 63rd International Motor Show Germany in 2009.
The 3.19 metres (10 ft 6 in) long all-electric E-up uses a 3+1 seater configuration. It uses a 60 kilowatts (82 PS; 80 bhp) (continuously rated at 40 kilowatts (54 PS; 54 bhp)) all-integrated drive electric motor, mounted at the front and drives the front wheels. This electric motor generates a torque turning force of 210 N·m (155 lb·ft) from rest. Power is sourced from 18 kilowatt-hours (kWh) lithium-ion batteries, which will give a range up to 130 kilometres (81 mi). Quick charging will charge the battery up to 80% in an hour, while a regular 230 volt plug will take five hours. The roof of the E-up has a 1.4 square metre solar cell which supplies power to the vehicle's electrics, and when parked can power ventilation fans to help cool the interior when parked in bright sunlight on a hot day. The solar cells can be increased in size to a total area of 1.7 square metre by folding down the sun visors.
With a curb weight of 1,085 kilograms (2,392 lb), it can accelerate from rest to 100 kilometres per hour (62.1 mph) in 11.3 seconds; and should reach a top speed of 135 kilometres per hour (83.9 mph). The e-up! concept is 3.19 metres (10 ft 6 in) long, 1.64 metres (5 ft 5 in) wide, 1.47 metres (4 ft 10 in) high, and has a wheelbase of 2.19 metres (7 ft 2 in).
Interior equipment includes a touch-screen human machine interface (HMI), one notable feature allows the charge to be delayed within the HMI programming, utilising cheap-rate night-time electricity—and this can also be remotely programmed via an iPhone or similar device.
2009 Up Lite concept
The Volkswagen up! Lite was revealed on the Los Angeles Auto Show 2009. It is a four-seater hybrid concept car based on Volkswagen L1 technologies. The Volkswagen Up Lite concept car has a hybrid powertrain with one 0.8 litres (48.8 cu in) two-cylinder Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) diesel engine and one 10 kilowatts (14 PS; 13 bhp) electric motor, using a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Its technical dimension is about 3.84 metres (12 ft 7 in) in length, 1.60 metres (5 ft 3 in) in width and 1.40 metres (4 ft 7 in) high. It weighs 695 kilograms (1,532 lb), has a top-speed of 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph), and CO2 emission not more than 65 g/km.
2010 Volkswagen IN
The Volkswagen IN is a design study created by Brazilian interns of Volkswagen do Brasil which carries a significant resemblance to the Up concept cars. It is a two-seater plus luggage sub-compact capable of adopting a variety of powertrains, including a fully electric one using in-wheels electric engines. The mock-up in 1:1 scale was presented to the press on January 29, 2010.