Best car

Volkswagen up!: best ultra-compact car

The Volkswagen Take up! is the best small city car around. Andrew Frankel explains why

Volkswagen Take up! 5-dr

This model from £9,010

If you can afford it and don’t need acres of space in the back, the VW up! (and its Skoda Citigo and SEAT Mii clones) is the best ultra-compact car you can buy. Not only does it tick all the most important first-car boxes by being dead easy to drive, even easier to park, dirt cheap to insure and run, and quite cool to look at, it brings a whole new dimension to the class we’ve not seen before.

For while it might look like a bargain-basement product, it feels nothing like one. Indeed, the quality of the interior, comfort of the ride and refinement at motorway speed make the up! feel more like a shrunken Golf than a car designed to be as cheap as possible. In its size category and for now at least, nothing else comes close.

Performance

  • Engine: 999cc, 60bhp
  • Transmission: 5-speed manual
  • Top speed: 99mph
  • 0-60mph acceleration: 14.4sec

Costs

  • Claimed economy: 62.8mpg
  • Insurance Group: 1 (1=low, 50=high)

RAC Drive Verdict

Practicality
4 / 5
Affordability
4 / 5
Safety
4 / 5
Fun
3 / 5