VW UP! anyone? - Update

[TitanTim]

Hi all,

I'm coming close to ordering a city car and was all set on a Hyundai i10 and went to look at one today SE Premium, nice little car and drove well however the clutch bite was very high on the one I tested, came away unsure and now just found out a mid life model is around the corner for sometime Jan/Feb. The current car is OK but does have a slight whiff of pensioner about it styling wise

As the Hyundai was at the top of the list for value for money and all that I hadn't thought much about the VW UP as asumed it was a bit too pricey, however speccing one up which is the High UP with some larger alloys I'm kinda sold although it means budget wise extending the PCP period for longer than if I went with the Hyundai. No great problem and I think it will be worth the extra premium come trade in time.

Has anyone owned an UP? any views good or bad? Will be arranging a test drive. I'm looking at the 3 Cyl 1.0 TSI engine so it will at least be slightly nippy with 89hp The overall quality of the UP especially the interior looks to be streets ahead of the Hyundai for not that much more money wise.

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Thanks,

Tim.

[pvr]

Disca had one and ruby has one. My mother in law has the high up, drives great.

[TitanTim]

Disca had one and ruby has one. My mother in law has the high up, drives great.

Thanks PVR, I think Mike/Ruby swapped theirs for a Z3 will see what a drive brings, not much out there that appeals in this segment, looked at all the others 108/C1 Aygo, Adam Viva etc

Tim.

[AlfaScozzesi]

My mum has one and she loves it for what that is worth! She loved her Orion as well.

For me though it is a good looking wee car with a nice interior and like all wee cars is good fun to whip at times.

Much preferable to any Hyundia I have ever driven although I am sure they have moved on since I last drove one 7 years ago.

[TitanTim]

My mum has one and she loves it for what that is worth! She loved her Orion as well.

For me though it is a good looking wee car with a nice interior and like all wee cars is good fun to whip at times.

Much preferable to any Hyundia I have ever driven although I am sure they have moved on since I last drove one 7 years ago.

Many thanks, the latest i10 is supposed to be on par with the UP for driving but it won't be for interior quality, I think at the price point you can't go far wrong with a VW.

Tim.

[buzyg]

My mum has one. I see she is not alone. Moans that it is too slow. She is 78.

[Mr Tidy]

The current car is OK but does have a slight whiff of pensioner about it styling wise

Well if you want a bit more whiff of pensioner, maybe you should try a Honda Jazz!

[Chris_D]

Ford Ka ftw. Mum loves hers.

[PerryGunn]

We had the same dilemma recently and wanted an additional car to complement the X3 and Alpina - something small and nippy for around town but with enough space, that if I needed to use the X3 to go somewhere out-of-area, Cindy could use it and still be able to fit all her nursing gear in the back....

We test drove couple of SMART ForTwos (the 90hp turbo-charged 900cc with DSG box being the best), and also had a look at the small VWs (UP & Polo), Ford KA, Mazda 2 etc. but ended up deciding that we wouldn't actually want to drive any of them much further than a trip over to Brighton (about 15 miles) as, for some reason, they had a feeling of vulnerability when on the road with HGVs etc. - I know an HGV will crush anything but they just made me feel more exposed compared to our other cars (the X3 feeling much more solid and the Alpina's never alongside HGVs long enough for them to be a worry )

We ended up getting a Juke, they're cheap to run & insure, come with plenty of kit and the higher driving position is perfect around town - and you can't see how ugly they are when you're sitting inside

[TitanTim]

Thanks for the replies all, hmmmm does the UP really have the Mums tag? I thought it had a more of a yoof following I'm not expecting any small car to be a long distance cruiser but really just after something thats compact, economical to run etc but well made which where the difficulty lies with city type cars. Whatever I get it will be replacing the Z3 Don't want to get rid of it but after thinking long and hard (a year ) whether to keep it or not it just doesn't make sense. We just don't have the room for starters for 3 cars and it will end not getting used at all if we have 2 other cars i.e. M140i and say the UP. Althought I love the Z3 the running costs of a 118bhp car are a little silly, road tax is the same as the M140i, just renewed for 6 months at 148 quid, the UP will be 20 quid, plus insurance and the M43 engine in the Z3 is quite thirsty pottering about, I don't think its much better than the M140i which just shows how efficient engines have become over the past 15 years.

Just had as look at the Juke prices but out of my budget for what I want to pay for a runabout. I'd set a budget of around 12K but will stretch a little for the UP with some goodies on it. I did look at the Smart Four Four but they are quite pricey above poverty spec and they don't get very good reviews, I think thats where the UP shines as it seems to get consistent good write ups.

Tim.

[PerryGunn]

Sounds a bit silly to spend 12k (less whatever you get for the Z3) to save £128/year in road tax and, even if the fuel/insurance savings mean that you save a total of £500/year, those savings will be more than offset by the depreciation on the new car

It's not as though the Z3 is depreciating quickly and you know the history of the car... as a second car I'd just keep the Z3, use it and run it until it's no longer viable to keep it on the road....

[TitanTim]

Sounds a bit silly to spend 12k (less whatever you get for the Z3) to save £128/year in road tax and, even if the fuel/insurance savings mean that you save a total of £500/year, those savings will be more than offset by the depreciation on the new car

It's not as though the Z3 is depreciating quickly and you know the history of the car... as a second car I'd just keep the Z3, use it and run it until it's no longer viable to keep it on the road....

Thanks Perry, yes you are completely right re costs, obviously the UP or similar will be cheaper to run but not to buy but always the case with cars how long do you keep them? or fancy something newer/different/more practical etc. I don't use the M140i much during winter so the Z3 is a daily driver at the moment so there is also practicality into the equation which the Z3 doesn't have especially for the other half who wants something she can drop the back seats down at the weekends and use more She won't drive the M140i and my nerves couldn't stand it if she did especially this time if year with 350hp on greasy roads with runflats I still have the option of buying another small car and keeping the Z3 but its just storing it/use etc so I might just take the plunge and go the small car route. My oither half wasn't impressed with me getting the M140i as she said she wouldn't drive it so the reason I bought it

Tim.

[Nictrix]

How about you buy a car that your other half would like?
And not using your 140 through the winter, who are you keeping it good for?
Buy a set of winter tyres (a lot less than £12000) and use it instead of buying another car.
Surely the depreciation of another car and your 140 is going to be greater than the depreciation of your 140 if you put more miles on it through winter.

[Grumpyowl]

Have you thought about a Fiat Panda 5 door practicality or 500 for style ?

[TitanTim]

How about you buy a car that your other half would like?
And not using your 140 through the winter, who are you keeping it good for?
Buy a set of winter tyres (a lot less than £12000) and use it instead of buying another car.
Surely the depreciation of another car and your 140 is going to be greater than the depreciation of your 140 if you put more miles on it through winter.

She likes the UP hence changing the Z3 instead of the M140i as she wants a little practical runabout. I could sell both the Z3 and M140i and get an all rounder type of car but I want to keep hold of the M140i to be honest, its my only indulgent fun in life and won't find anything comparable unless spending an awful lot more. I'm planning on buying it at the end of its 4 year term off BMW and keeping it indefinitely so keeping it good for myself if that makes sense. A small runabout to take the miles and car park scares would suit me and I would swap it out every few years or so for another. I think really I just need to find a friend with a spare garage where I can store the Z3

I could get her a bike

Tim.