By: IOL Motoring Staff
The Volkswagen Up might have taken its merry time in coming here, but it has finally hit South African shores to add some extra spice to our city car scene.
The fully imported hatch won't be replacing the locally-made Polo Vivo on our market, rather it slots slightly below the top-selling stalwart as a smaller and trendier alternative.
The little Veedub was designed to carry four passengers, but the boot is at least bigger than the city car norm, swallowing 251 litres according to VW.
VWSA will be offering just two three-door versions (a five-door is available overseas) of the Up to local buyers - the 'Take up!' and 'Move up!'. Both are powered by a 1-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine that delivers 55kW and 95Nm, and which drives the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox. VW claims combined fuel consumption of 4.7 litres per 100km.
As far as standard safety and creature comforts are concerned, the 'Take up!' base model is fitted with four airbags (front and side head/thorax), ABS brakes, air conditioning and height-adjustable steering wheel.
The 'Move up!' adds front electric windows, remote central locking, a two-speaker CD/MP3 audio system, electrically-adjustable and heated mirrors as well as height-adjustable front seats that also slide to offer easy access' to the rear compartment. Visually, you'll distinguish the upper model by its body-coloured mirrors and door handles and both models (while fitted with 14-inch steel wheels) can be optionally fitted with 15-inch alloys.
PRICES
1.0 MPI Take up! - R133 500
1.0 MPI Move up! - R140 500
The Up is sold with a three-year/120 000km warranty.
IOL motoring editor Jason Woosey will be attending the Up's local launch on Tuesday so watch this space for a full report on Wednesday.