Volkswagen e-up review

The exterior has been lightly refreshed with a nose treatment similar to the current e-Golf, but it is its taut lines and chunky proportions that make it arguably Volkswagen’s most charming design.

The key mechanicals outside of the battery pack itself remain as before, with the electric motor delivering 54bhp continuous and 82bhp peak power, with 156lb ft of torque available from rest. The single-speed transmission offers four engine braking modes, while new to the revised e-Up is the choice of three drive modes, with Eco and Eco+ scaling back performance and climate control outputs in the name of energy saving.

The more capacious battery pack is only 15kg heavier than before, but that makes it over 200kg heavier than the lightest regular Up. The good news is that much of that weight is low down in the chassis as before, while the strong torque from low speeds makes it easy to forget about the additional mass.

Right now there’s a case for a car like the Up being perfect to get the most out of electric propulsion. Driven in its natural city habitat it’s even easier to pilot than a petrol version; no need to fret about gears or whether you can make that gap, and the lower noise levels make you more aware of what’s going on outside. The acceleration is brisk rather than Tesla-bothering, but the throttle action and motor linearity is just right, leaving you in complete control of how you use the available power.

Although the brake pedal switches seamlessly between regen and mechanical intervention, flicking the gearlever between modes means you can get into an effective one-pedal mode with just a little concentration – a good habit for boosting the range. During our initial drive the e-Up covered 45km for a loss of only 26km indicated range, with little effort given to saving energy.

The rest of the package fits in well with the electric drivetrain too. The ride quality is generally very good, being soft enough to soak up urban lumps but not so compliant that cornering becomes a bracing affair. On our test route across polished Valencian roads there was fun to be had too, with the extra mass allowing some additional yaw before the ESP had its say. 

At motorway speeds the small-car levels of insulation and additional wind noise make themselves felt, but chiefly because of the lack of noise from everywhere else. This may be the cheapest Volkswagen model but it still follows the sacred tenets of refinement, quality and solid design.