Volkswagen Up Take up! 1.0 3dr Car Review - March 2012

Inside the cabin the dash is well designed and all the controls are easy to find and use. The seats are flat and firm, providing comfortable support. Finding a good driving position is easy, even though the steering wheel doesn’t adjust for reach, and visibility is good all round.

There’s a choice of 59bhp or 74bhp 1.0-litre three cylinder 6 valve petrol engines. The 59bhp version fitted in this Take Up! model needs to be revved quite a bit to get the best out of it and although it’s adequate for city driving, it feels a bit slow out on the open road.

The up! is a small city car and it behaves like one; its agile and easy to drive, its compact size makes it simple to park in tight spaces and the manual gearbox has a nice positive feel to it. The ride is superb, with the up!’s suspension soaking up bumps without any fuss.

The up! gives a reasonably comfortable ride. The three cylinder engine is smooth and produces little noise. However, road noise and wind noise aren’t as well suppressed as in some bigger cars.

Like most of the bigger VWs, it’s certainly stylish in its design, and it’s smart and chic enough to take on its rivals in the city car class. The interior doesn’t disappoint either; well designed and smart, even though it’s quite basic.

The up! is available in three different trim levels: Take, Move and High. This Take up! version comes with basic equipment such as body coloured bumpers, power steering, daytime running lights, immobiliser, CD+MP3 connectivity, and 14-inch steel wheels.

Volkswagen also offers lots of add-ons including: central locking (£350), stability control (£400), electric front windows (£350), metallic paint (£450); and Bluetooth and satellite navigation (£275).

In general the cabin is uncluttered and there’s generous space for driver and passengers. The front seats tilt and slide forward to allow easy access to the rear. Head room is good too. The boot is ample, in fact one of the best in this class, offering 251-litres of space with the rear seat in place and a maximum of 951-litres when the rear seat is folded forward.

EuroNCAP awarded the VW Up the maximum five-star rating for safety in its crash-tests. Standard safety equipment includes ABS and four airbags. Electronic stability control and City emergency braking are available as extras to boost safety.

Anti-theft measures include an engine immobiliser.

The Take up! is well made and while some of the materials used in the interior aren’t up to the same standard as bigger VWs they are still better than you normally find in this class of car. Build quality is excellent, as you would expect from VW, so reliability shouldn’t be a problem.

Volkswagen covers the up! with its three-year, 60,000 mile warranty, and regular service intervals are every 10,000 miles.

Priced at £7,995 the VW Take up! 1.0 3-door is neither the cheapest car in this class, nor the best equipped. However, small VWs are traditionally very popular as new buys and their residual values are better than most rivals. It’s a fully fledged city car with a premium VW badge, and it is good value for money.

Fuel economy for this 59bhp engine is very good and CO2 emissions are 105g/km putting it in VED band B for Road Tax. Overall running costs are pretty low, so it should suit those looking for economical motoring.

The up! is sure to be a popular used buy in the future, so with a full service history and a bit of care, you shouldn’t have any problems selling it on for a good price.