Autosportfoto

To the point: up! four-door

- City specialist makes its debut as a four-door vehicle: Second body version of the up! launches in March
- Four-door up! share will be about half of production volume up! to be launched this spring with automatic gearbox

The two-door up! by Volkswagen is one of the most important automotive highlights of the past year. All signs point to a big future for the small car. In Germany, for example, the up! immediately garnered first place in its class in registration statistics. Now, in 2012 Volkswagen is raising the bar by presenting, alongside the eco up!, the four-door version of the city specialist. In May, the four-door version will arrive at dealers in Germany; market roll-out of the four-door car will be complete by early summer for all of Europe. The four-door has the same engines (44 kW/60 PS and 55 kW/75 PS), equipment versions (take up!, move up!, high up!, black up!, white up!) and dimensions (3,540 mm long, 1,641 mm wide without mirrors, 1,478 mm high) as the two-door cars.

Independent side profile. Naturally, the car's four doors have changed the look of its side profile. While the lower window line of the two-door rises towards the rear near the C-pillars, it forms a straight line on the four-door car. This gives the new body version a high level of independence. The crisp and short body overhangs are also distinctive on the four-door. The front and rear sections are identical on both body versions. This also means that buyers of the four-door version will get to enjoy a bootlid whose outer skin consists of a continuous glass surface; this gives the bootlid the high-tech and high-end look of a smartphone. Beneath the bootlid, there is a boot with a volume of 251 litres; cargo capacity can be extended to up to 951 litres by folding down the rear backrest (60:40 split bench from the move up!).

Comfortable driving with four persons. The rear doors open wide and offer comfortable entry - including for adults. The four-seat, four-door car offers the same good interior space as the two-door, and the amount of space is remarkable given the vehicle's size. Headroom in the rear is 947 mm, while it is 993 mm in front. Legroom in the second row is a comfortable 789 mm. The seat height on the rear bench has a pleasant effect: the height of the so-called H-point - the vertex where the seat surface and backrest meet - is 378 mm in the rear, which is higher than in front (306 mm). This higher seat position gives rear passengers a better view over the shoulders of the driver and front passenger. Just as important: there is plenty of space under the front seats for the feet of the rear passengers.

Braking automatically. It is only logical that Volkswagen would offer the same optional features in both the four-door and two-door up!. They include clever systems such as City Emergency Braking. The up! is the first car in its class that can be automatically braked by such a function in a tight situation; the function is active over a speed range from 5 to 30 km/h.

maps+more. Also available as an option is a portable navigation and infotainment system with touchscreen. It contains a navigation system, hands-free telephone unit, display of various vehicle parameters and media player. In addition, apps can be used to customise maps+more to personal requirements. maps+more is snapped into place on the dashboard and then it is networked with the electronic systems of the up!. A rare treat in the segment of small cars is the enormous panoramic tilt/slide sunroof that Volkswagen decided to include in the up!.

Standard version is well equipped. Outside, the small Volkswagen in the basic version, the take up!, is equipped with 14-inch wheels, body-coloured bumpers and green tinted heat-insulating glass. As on all up! models, the body is partially galvanised. Inside, details such as the folding rear bench seat, colour contrasting air vent surrounds (in the colour 'white'), carpeted floors and a fabric-lined bootspace cover are used. Convenience features distinguishing the take up! include a rear windscreen wiper, electromechanical power assisted steering, height-adjustable steering column, convenience direction indicators (1 press = 3 flash cycles) and daytime running lights. Sophisticated: the gloss black panel in the middle of the dashboard. When it comes to passive and active safety, standard features include front airbags and head-thorax side airbags plus a seatbelt fastening reminder for driver and front passenger, belt tensioners in front, ABS with ASR, ESP electronic stabilisation programme (in Germany), ISOFIX fixtures and top-tether fittings for mounting suitable child seats in the rear and a deactivation function for the front passenger airbag (when using a child seat there).

Engines and gearboxes of the up! Fuel economy and driving performance values are identical for both up! body versions. They are powered by three-cylinder petrol engines with 44 kW/60 PS or 55 kW/75 PS; both engines fulfil the Euro 5 emissions standard and drive the front wheels. The combined fuel consumption as a BlueMotion technology version (with such features as a Stop/Start system, battery regeneration and tyres optimised for low rolling resistance): 4.1 l/100 km (60 PS) and 4.2 l/100 km (75 PS). Both 1.0-litre engines satisfy the 100 g/km CO2 emissions limit. As an alternative to the standard 5-speed manual gearbox, for the first time Volkswagen will be offering these two petrol engines with a new, automatic 5-speed gearbox as an option over the course of the year. In the 'D' automatic mode, the gearbox selects the optimal switch moment in terms of consumption, thus lowering consumption again compared to the manual version.

Notes:
TDI, TSI, DSG and Twincharger are registered trademarks of Volkswagen AG or other companies of the Volkswagen Group in Germany and other countries.
Features and technical data apply to models offered in Germany. They may differ in other countries.

Photo gallery Volkswagen up! (Four-door version)