Volkswagen up! GTI (2017-2023) review
The VW up! GTI is the smallest car to wear the fabled badge, but it produces the biggest grin
This is a review of the 2017-2023 Volkswagen up! GTI. If you are interested in information about a used Volkswagen up! please follow the link provided.
The Volkswagen up! GTI is the antithesis of the bloated and overpowered performance cars that are almost unusable on UK roads. It provides proof that it’s possible to have fun while sticking to the speed limits, with a vibe that puts us in mind of the original Golf GTI.
Having been removed from sale to help it comply with the latest emissions standards, it’s back with the same eagerness to entertain, albeit with a slightly higher price. It remains a thoroughly compelling package.
About the Volkswagen up! GTI
The performance version of the up! sits below the Polo and Golf as the smallest new GTI you can buy. Power is sourced from a 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine producing 113bhp, which might not seem like a lot, but it’s plenty in a car weighing a little over a tonne.
The low kerbweight and sports suspension lowered by 15mm combine to create a car that’s entertaining in the city and huge fun to drive on a B-road. Extracting the best from the three-cylinder engine via the six-speed manual gearbox is a rewarding experience, especially because it’s accompanied by a raucous soundtrack, albeit one that’s digitally enhanced via the stereo.
Thanks to 17-inch alloy wheels, GTI styling upgrades and an interior overhaul, the sporty up! also looks the part, while a price tag of £16,000 gives it broader appeal. It’s not quite the bargain it once was, but it still represents tremendous value for money.
Following a subtle facelift, the up! GTI is better than ever, with a long list of standard equipment and fuel economy of 53.3mpg. This is a pocket rocket you can buy with your head and your heart.
Rivals are few and far between. The larger Suzuki Swift Sport costs £22,000, while the Ford Fiesta ST-Line Edition costs £20,000. In fact, its biggest rival is the standard up!, which is cheaper and nearly as much fun to drive.
Engines, performance and drive
The GTI’s 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine delivers 113bhp and 200Nm of torque. These figures might not seem impressive in an era of hot hatchbacks producing 300bhp, but the car weighs a featherlight 1,070kg.
This means performance is lively enough and there’s plenty of fun to be had extracting the best from the three-cylinder engine using the slick six-speed manual gearbox. If anything, it puts us in mind of the Mk1 Golf GTI, albeit with the latest tech and some added safety nets.
It’s arguably the perfect GTI for Britain’s tight and congested roads. It’s as much fun to thread the up! GTI through a succession of mini-roundabouts as it is to tackle a series of bends on your favourite B-road. The digitally enhanced engine note simply adds to the theatre.
It’s not perfect. The stability control is too keen to interfere when you’re having fun and there’s no way of turning it off. The gearbox is fine, but it can be a little notchy when you’re pushing hard. These irritations, along with the slightly lifeless steering, stop the up! GTI from being an all-time great.
But don’t let any of this put you off, because the Volkswagen up! GTI is a fabulous car to drive and a welcome tonic to the lardy SUVs and performance cars.
Engines, 0-60 acceleration and top speed
The up! GTI will accelerate to 62mph in 8.8 seconds before hitting a top speed of 122mph. Brisk rather than rapid, then, but you’ll have plenty of fun testing Volkswagen’s claims. The Suzuki Swift Sport manages the same benchmark in 9.1 seconds, although is capable of a 130mph maximum.
MPG, CO2 and running costs
A three-door up! GTI costs around £15,700, but there’s a £400 premium if you fancy the more practical five-door version. This makes the GTI around £2,000 more expensive than the R-Line model and £4,000 dearer than the basic version.
Aside from the electric e-up!, the up! GTI is actually the most efficient up! you can buy. Turbocharging helps the 1.0-litre engine to deliver an impressive 53.3mpg on a combined cycle, which is around 3mpg more than the non-turbocharged version.
You’ll be having too much fun to achieve such great fuel economy in the real world, but CO2 emissions of 110g/km provide a first-year tax rate of £155, dropping to £150 in the second and subsequent years.
Insurance groups
Most versions of the Volkswagen up! slot into insurance groups 2 and 3, which makes them incredibly cheap to insure. But a group 17 rating makes the up! GTI will be more expensive, which could rule it out for young drivers.
Depreciation
The VW up! GTI remains in high demand, so used values are very strong. It’s expected to retain 46% of its value over three years, while the Suzuki Swift Sport can only manage 41%.
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Interior, design and technology
The Volkswagen up! might be approaching its ninth birthday, but the GTI model still looks clean and fresh. The transformation from humdrum to hero comes courtesy of 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, suspension lowered by 15mm, chrome exhaust tailpipe, red detailing, a deeper front bumper, a larger rear spoiler and some strategically positioned GTI badges.
Having decided whether you want the practicality of a five-door or the authentic hot hatch vibes of the three-door, there are five colours to choose from. Tornado Red is the no-cost option, but the GTI is also available in Pure White, Pure White with a black roof, Tornado Red with a black roof and Tungsten Silver with a black roof.
Inside, the up! GTI gets heated sports seats finished in Jacara Red cloth upholstery, a flat-bottomed leather-trimmed steering wheel with red stitching, GTI detailing and a unique GTI gear knob with red detailing.
The interior quality is excellent, with the major controls feeling reassuringly solid and hard-wearing. Standard equipment includes air conditioning, red ambient lighting and electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors.
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
The up! GTI doesn’t feature a conventional infotainment system. Instead, drivers can download a Maps + More smartphone app, which takes care of the navigation and media function. The phone sits in a neat dash-mounted cradle above the rather rudimentary five-inch colour screen. Bluetooth, a USB port, six speakers and a DAB digital radio complete the package.
Practicality, comfort and boot space
The Volkswagen up! GTI is as practical and spacious as the regular up! city car. Thanks to its boxy dimensions and wheel-at-each-corner packaging, there’s plenty of interior space, along with a boot that’s reasonable for a car of this size.
Three- and five-door versions are available, with the latter making the most sense if you intend to carry passengers in the rear seats. That said, the three-door version looks better.
Dimensions and size
The up! GTI is 3,600mm long and 1,641mm wide – 1,910mm including the door mirrors. Amazingly, it’s remarkably similar in size to the original Volkswagen Golf GTI.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
It might be small, but clever packaging means there’s enough room inside for four adults. Even tall adults will enjoy plenty of headroom and shoulder room in the back, although their knees may be pressed against the front seats.
It’s a strict four-seater because there’s no central seatbelt in the back. It’s also worth noting that height adjustment for the front passenger seat is an £80 option.
Boot space
The 251-litre boot is only slightly smaller than that of the supermini-sized Suzuki Swift Sport and larger than many city cars’. Although there’s a significant boot lip, the false floor means the luggage area is completely flat when you fold the rear seats down.
Reliability and safety
The standard VW up! didn’t feature in our 2020 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, but Volkswagen finished a disappointing 19th out of 30 manufacturers. That said, reliability shouldn’t be an issue, with the 1.0-litre petrol engine seeing plenty of action in a range of cars, while the up! has been on sale for nearly a decade.
Euro NCAP downgraded the car’s safety rating when it was re-tested in 2019, with the up! dropping from five to three stars. While scores of 81% and 83% for adult and child occupant protection are impressive for a city car, scores of 46% for vulnerable road users protection and 55% for safety assist technology are less encouraging.
Standard safety equipment includes driver and passenger airbags, curtain airbags, front seat side impact airbags, ISOFIX points in the rear, hill hold assist and electronic stability control.
Warranty
The up! GTI is covered by a standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty, which is average for this class of car. Extended warranties are available from around £135 a year.
Servicing
Volkswagen offers a choice of two different service plans. A Fixed Service Plan is recommended if you drive fewer than 10,000 miles a year, while a Flexible Service Plan is designed for long-distance and motorway drivers covering up to 20,000 miles annually.
