The BBC TopGear Magazine names Two Volkswagen products as the best of models.

Volkswagen is celebrating an impressive brace of titles in TopGear Magazine’s latest issue which names the very best cars in the world.

TopGear declares the Volkswagen Golf ‘All The Car You’ll Ever Need’, while the Volkswagen up! is named ‘Best First Wheels’ by the influential motoring brand.  

Praising the Volkswagen hatchback that has dominated its class for more than four decades, the magazine said: “A Golf. Short of needing seven seats or some genuine off-road ability, those two words can answer just about any car requirement you care to throw our way.”

With comfortably more than 30 million produced over the car’s 42-year history, the Volkswagen Golf retains its classless appeal and enduring reputation for quality, reliability and effortless competence.  Upwards of two million Golfs have been sold in the UK to date, and roughly one in three new Volkswagens sold here last year bore the name Golf.

The most extreme iteration of the current Golf – the sold-out GTI Clubsport S – was recently described by TopGear thus: “There’s no denying how quick it is, but the GTI is also incredibly tactile and approachable for a hardcore front-wheel-drive hatch.”

Meanwhile the recently revised Volkswagen up! carries off the ‘Best First Wheels’ title with its potent mix of style, functionality and value.

Today’s up! remains one of the five key pillars of the Volkswagen portfolio in the UK alongside new Tiguan, Polo, Golf and Passat, and the car has been a consistent sales performer in the UK since its launch here in 2012.

In the UK, the new car is offered with a choice of two petrol engines offering three engine outputs: a naturally aspirated three-cylinder 12-valve petrol engine with outputs of either 60 PS or 75 PS, or a new three cylinder turbocharged 1.0 TSI petrol unit with 90 PS.

TopGear said of it: “The up! doesn’t really feel like a baby car: it’s refined and has supple suspension and runs true on motorways.”

Welcoming the brace of important titles for two of Volkswagen’s most popular models Alison Jones, Director of Volkswagen UK, said: “For both the Golf and the up! to be recognised in this way by the experts at TopGear is a really strong result. 

“With the prospect of the revised Golf, and much else besides, to look forward to next year I’m hopeful that we can continue to celebrate Volkswagen awards successes such as this throughout 2017.” 

Decisions, Decisions, if you have 63,000 possible variations on ONE car, how do you go about making sure yours is the special one.

• Personalisation reaches new levels in Volkswagen’s stylishly refreshed up! city car
• The new up!’s striking lines are brought to life with 13 bold body colour options
• Exciting new up! range starts from just £8,995 (RRP OTR)

Dazzling colour choices inside and out; sporty wheels and a broad variety of personalisation options make the new Volkswagen up! a kaleidoscope of automotive joy.  Customers can choose their bespoke colour and trim combination from an exceptionally broad 63,180 potential variations. 

The palette starts with a choice of 13 bold exterior paint colours, of which seven are completely new to the latest up!.  This includes Volkswagen’s eye-catching Premium Signature paint, which is available in bright Habanero Orange or rich Savanna Gold.  

The paint brings out the contours of the new up!’s revised bumpers and contrasts with the bright LED daytime running lights.

Choosing the colour of the up!’s smartly-designed bodywork is just the start of the journey, though.  Volkswagen customers can then specify a different coloured roof to fit their preferred scheme, with the options being ‘Black’, ‘White’ or ‘Grey’.  

The contrast between the roof and the bodywork can be particularly vivid, and can create a stylish combination that gives the up! a sporty finish or adds a premium designer tone to the city car’s surfaces.

The door mirrors have caps that can be finished in the same tone as the roof, or even be matched to the wheels.  In this way, the personalisation options of the up! are almost unique to each customer.  

For example, the offbeat ‘Polygon Black’ wheels can be ordered with a ‘Fortana Red’ or a ‘Sandstorm Yellow’ finish.  The wing mirrors can then be trimmed in the same tone of red or yellow to match. 

The same applies to the ‘La Boca Black’ wheels.  In this instance, the wheels can be finished in ‘Golden Beige’, ‘Hot Orange’ or ‘La Boca Grey’.  With the same colours applied to the wing mirrors, the up! becomes a city car that truly stands out in the urban environment.  Other wheel options are finished in silver, white or anthracite.

The Volkswagen up! is a cheeky city car with its own personality.  This can be further embellished with a range of six side decals, plus a roof decal which reads ‘THIS SIDE up!’ (£150 RRP).  For those that are more daring, there’s a ‘Motorway’ decal that paints a road up the up!’s bonnet and over the roof.  And if that striking style statements gets a bit too much, the decals can be simply removed.

Once up! buyers have chosen their perfect exterior design specification, they can head inside the spacious cabin to add their own personal touches.  This starts with the seat upholstery, which is available in eight colour combinations ranging from the bright ‘beats’ cloth and the savannah brown ‘Art Velours’ to a range of darker shades.

The upper dashpad is available in nine different designs, which include solid colours and a ‘Pixels’ finish.  The Honey Yellow 2D Pixels and the Red 2D Pixels dash designs are no-cost options, and also come with the chance to finish the seat bolsters in Honey Yellow or ‘Beam’ Black/Red cloth.  In addition, the up! beats models have a unique ‘beats’ dashpad finish.

Despite the dazzling array of choice the process of selecting a complete new up! design has been simplified, with Volkswagen offering customers the chance to specify pre-defined style packs. As an example, the ‘La Boca Hot Orange’ alloy pack includes 16-inch ‘La Boca Black’ alloy wheels with a ‘Hot Orange’ finish, with ‘Hot Orange’ door mirrors and side decals.  All this for £375 RRP.

The Cube White 3D design pack includes a ‘Cube White 3D’ dashpad, Black or White decals on the door panels and Black, White or Grey door mirrors.  This pack costs £110 RRP.  Additional design packs include Wood 3D Pixels and Pixels Savanna Gold 3D. 

Of course, sitting in the middle of the dashpad is the up!’s new smartphone cradle, in which the driver’s smartphone connects to give access to just as broad an array of digital features.  The smartphone becomes a part of the car, with its screen used to display features including Volkswagen’s ‘Maps + More’ app, plus offering access to the driver’s contacts and music library, and displaying data about the up!’s fuel consumption, among other useful tools.  All up!s also come with the Composition Radio system with DAB digital radio.

Customers can experiment with Volkswagen’s simple-to-use online configurator to find the interior and exterior combination that works best for them.  Crucially, they can then save a unique code that means they can take their chosen up! design to their local Volkswagen Retailer, which makes the process of ordering their car quick and stress-free.

Adding further fizz to the funky new up! package is the arrival of the new 90 PS turbocharged petrol engine.  Available to order from Volkswagen Retailers now from £11,350 (RRP OTR), this new engine shifts the High up! and the up! beats from a standstill to 62 mph in a sprightly 9.9 seconds.

Volkswagen updates the Up!, and makes it look like, the old model, can you spot the difference ??????

• Sharp new looks and more technology for Volkswagen’s popular up! city car
• Powerful new turbocharged 1.0-litre TSI engine joins the up! range
• Entry-level new up! costs from £8,995 (RRP OTR)

The exciting Volkswagen up! has been an acknowledged leader in the city car class since its launch in 2011.  Setting the pace in its segment, strong sales around the world have underlined its credentials as a lively little car that’s practical, accessible, and fun.  

A punchy yet frugal three-cylinder 1.0-litre petrol engine offered in one of two states of tune, allied to impressive packaging and smart styling, define the up! and these strengths have all been significantly enhanced in the new-look model.

Opening for order at Volkswagen Retailers nationwide today (21 July), the revised up! boasts a subtly enhanced exterior design, the option of a new 1.0-litre TSI turbocharged engine offering up to 90 PS (available to order from August), and extra equipment as standard.  A significantly broader range of exterior colours, decals and roof colours, allied to a large number of interior personalisation options, mean today’s up! can be carefully tailored to a buyer’s precise requirements, too, for the ultimate in city car individualisation.

up!-graded styling

The four-seat Volkswagen’s exterior changes focus on the front and rear of the car, which is offered in either three- or five-door configuration.  The front has a new bumper, which gives the up! a mature look and works with the revised radiator grille and bonnet to give the car a purposeful stance.  The Volkswagen roundel is now chrome-on-black, the new LED running lights are an additional styling cue – enhancing safety, too – while the up!’s angular door mirrors and rear bumper has also been redesigned to give the diffuser a dramatic look.

An all-new steering wheel design brings the interior of the up! bang up to date, and is combined with a revised dash that offers exceptional quality in the class.  Equipment is upgraded, too.  All up! models now include, as a minimum, Volkswagen’s Composition media system, electric front windows and remote central locking.  The up! also benefits from new seat cloth options, available in seven different colours, while a new USB port adds connectivity and convenience.

The revised up! range now also includes the new-for-2016 up! Beats model.  Created in conjunction with high-end Californian electronics company Beats Audio™, and joining the familiar Take up!, Move up!, and High up! trims, the up! Beats feature a powerful 300-watt seven-speaker sound system, including a potent subwoofer in the boot.  External styling cues include bespoke colour combinations, Beats graphics and, depending on the colour of the car, red or black door mirrors.  There’s also a subtle Beats badge on the B-pillar.  Inside, the up! Beats has a 3D dashpad design, which includes the Beats logo, and a cream coloured interior.

The number of up! exterior paint colour options has increased from 10 to 13 and, of these, seven are new colours including ‘Costa Azul’, ‘Honey Yellow’ and ‘Savanna Gold’.  The roof of the new up! can be coloured separately, via the new Roof Pack, in either black, white or ‘Urano Grey’.  The Roof Pack also adds colour co-ordinated door mirrors and 65 per cent tinted rear side windows.

The personalisation choices continue with four carefully constructed colour packs.  These bring coloured alloy wheels to the up!, and the particular hue is repeated in the door mirrors and the styling decals.  The choices are ‘La Boca Goldbeige’, ‘La Boca Hot Orange’, ‘Polygon Fortana Red’, ‘Polygon Black’ or ‘Polygon Sandstorm Yellow’.  Additional options are centred on the interior.  The High up! is available with five different dash colours, including the striking ‘Pixels Red’ and ‘Pixels Honey Yellow’.

Volkswagen has packed the revised up! with class-leading features that come as standard.  The range opens with the Take up!: a car that includes the ‘Composition’ infotainment system, remote central locking, electric front windows and driver’s seat height adjustment.  Those features alone are worth around £465 when compared to the equivalent spec on the previous model and yet the list price for the entry-level car is a mere £20 more than before at £8,995 (RRP OTR). 

The next model in the range is the Move up!, which adds 15-inch ‘Fortaleza’ alloy wheels, a colour infotainment touch-screen with the ‘Composition Phone’ system and Bluetooth connection.  Combined with four additional speakers, this is collectively worth £780.

The High up! has the ‘Calzone’ design of 15-inch alloy wheels, a navigation interface and elegant ambient lighting mounted in the dash.  The multi-function steering wheel allows the driver to access key controls – such as the radio – without taking his or her hands off the wheel.  And the multi-function computer gives information about fuel economy, journey times and expected mileage before refuelling is necessary.  All of this additional equipment is worth around £380 compared to the previous model.

up!-dated engines

The excitement around the new up! continues under the bonnet.  There is now the option to specify BlueMotion Technology engines throughout the up! range.  BlueMotion Technology, or BMT, saves fuel and cuts CO₂ emissions.  For example, when the up! comes to a halt, the engine stops and restarts automatically thanks to the now familiar Volkswagen Stop/Start technology.  BMT also includes regenerative braking, which stores energy by charging the battery as the car slows.

The engine line-up comprises two petrol engines that offer three different power outputs.  A naturally aspirated three-cylinder 12-valve petrol engine is available with an output of 60 or 75 PS, or for the first time in an up! there’s the option of a turbocharged petrol powerplant in the shape of a new three-cylinder 1.0-litre TSI engine that has an output of 90 PS.  The lower output engines are offered with a five-speed manual, or ASG automatic gearbox, depending on trim level.

This new turbocharged engine endows the 2016 up! with, broadly speaking, similar performance statistics to those of the original 1976 Golf GTI – that icon of hot hatches – with a sub-10 second 0-62 mph time and a top speed ,where legal, of 114 mph.  It’s 160 Nm torque peak, meanwhile, ensures swift pick-up and a willing nature regardless of engine revs or gear choice.  The new motor comes with a manual five-speed gearbox.  Economy* and emissions* range from 60.1 mpg (combined) to 68.9 mpg (combined) and 96 g/km to 108 g/km depending on engine and gearbox choice.

The up! includes a host of features that make driving a relaxed experience.  Cruise Control maintains speed, while ParkPilot utilises ultrasonic sensors in the rear bumper to make manoeuvring in tight spaces simpler.  This is further enhanced by the use of a rear-view reversing camera that is available with the ‘Composition Phone’ system.

Smartphone integration has taken a significant step forward in the new Volkswagen up!.  The ‘Composition’ system features a 3.1-inch monochrome display, DAB radio and a CD player.  This is standard in the entry-level Take up! trim.  Meanwhile all other trims come with the ‘Composition Colour’ system as standard. 

This features a five-inch colour display screen and uses Bluetooth connectivity for audio.  With the ‘Maps + More’ Volkswagen App, all smartphones with iOS or Android operating systems can be clicked into the USB-enabled docking station above the dash and the smartphone is then turned into a handy extension of the infotainment system.  This enables access to navigation, speakerphone, trip computer and other features.

At the cutting edge of this technology is the new up!’s handwriting recognition system.  It is used when the driver or front passenger is searching for names, phone numbers, addresses or music titles.  Each letter entered refines the search, and large icons simplify the intuitive input. 

The revised up! is packed with safety features.  ESC is Volkswagen’s Electronic Stabilisation Control, and it helps to reduce the risk of skidding.  It’s backed up with ABS (Anti-lock Braking System).  Additionally, driver and front passenger airbags and an early crash sensor, which activates the seatbelt tensioners, feature in the car.  The two rear seats are fitted with the ISOFIX system to make child seat installation simple, and City Emergency Braking predicts frontal impacts and primes the brakes.  If the driver doesn’t intervene, the brakes are then applied, reducing accident severity or even avoiding a collision entirely.

The new up! range will grow later this year with the addition of the electric e-up!, with full details to be announced in due course.  

Volkswagen up!
Model	Engine	Gearbox	Doors	Power	CO2 (g/km)	OTR RRP
Take up!	1.0-litre	Manual	3	60 PS	101*	£8,995.00
Take up!	1.0-litre	Manual	5	60 PS	101*	£9,395.00
Take up!	1.0-litre BMT	Manual	3	60 PS	96*	£9,295.00
Take up!	1.0-litre BMT	Manual	5	60 PS	96*	£9,695.00
Move up!	1.0-litre	Manual	3	60 PS	101*	£10,025.00
Move up!	1.0-litre	Manual	5	60 PS	101*	£10,425.00
Move up!	1.0-litre	ASG	3	60 PS	100*	£10,625,.00
Move up!	1.0-litre	ASG	5	60 PS	100*	£11,025.00
Move up!	1.0-litre BMT	Manual	3	60 PS	96*	£10,325.00
Move up!	1.0-litre BMT	Manual	5	60 PS	96*	£10,725.00
High up!	1.0-litre	Manual	3	75 PS	101*	£11,580.00
High up!	1.0-litre	Manual	5	75 PS	101*	£11,980.00
High up!	1.0-litre BMT	ASG	3	75 PS	97*	£12,480.00
High up!	1.0-litre BMT	ASG	5	75 PS	97*	£12,880.00
High up!	1.0-litre BMT	Manual	3	75 PS	96*	£11,880.00
High up!	1.0-litre BMT	Manual	5	75 PS	96*	£12,280.00
High up!	1.0-litre TSI	Manual	3	90 PS	108*	£12,055.00
High up!	1.0-litre TSI	Manual	5	90 PS	108*	£12,455.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre	Manual	3	60 PS	101*	£10,400.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre	Manual	5	60 PS	101*	£10,800.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre	ASG	3	60 PS	100*	£11,000.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre	ASG	5	60 PS	100*	£11,400.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre BMT	Manual	3	60 PS	96*	£10,700.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre BMT	Manual	5	60 PS	96*	£11,100.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre	Manual	3	75 PS	101*	£10,875.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre	Manual	5	75 PS	101*	£11,275.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre	ASG	3	75 PS	103*	£11,475.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre	ASG	5	75 PS	103*	£11,875.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre BMT	Manual	3	75 PS	96*	£11,175.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre BMT	Manual	5	75 PS	96*	£11,575.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre TSI	Manual	3	90 PS	108*	£11,350.00
up! Beats	1.0-litre TSI	Manual	5	90 PS	108*	£11,750.00