Volkswagen up! Australian specification and pricing announced

Volkswagen Australia has announced the specification and pricing of the company’s all-new city car, up! It will be the company’s most affordable model, starting at A$13,990 plus on-road costs for the three-door version. The more popular five-door will have an asking price of A$14,990 plus ORC when it officially goes on sale on 6 October.

The up! will only be available with a manual gearbox in Australia. The company has decided not to bring in the five-speed ASG automated-manual version which was recently launched in Europe due to supply constraints.

Volkswagen first city car comes at the right time when consumers are downsizing more and more to smaller cars. Built at the company’s Bratislava plant in Slovakia, the up! doesn’t skim on equipment.

Standard safety features for the single model grade include four airbags, electronic stability control with antilock brakes, brake assist and hill-start assist, four seatbelt reminders and the segment-first City Emergency Braking. The latter automatically brakes the vehicle to mitigate a collision at speeds between 5 and 30km/h.

The up! achieved a maximum 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating in its motherland and Volkswagen Australia expects a similar performance in the local ANCAP.

Despite its bargain-basement price, the up! is generously specified. Standard kit include air-conditioning, remote central locking, a six-speaker AM/FM/MP3 sound system, power front windows, 14-inch wheels, height-adjustable steering wheel and a full-size spare wheel.

Two option packs will be offered, starting with the Comfort Drive pack, which includes cruise control, rear parking sensors and a trip computer for A$600.

The Comfort Style Pack costs A$2,500 and brings a leather-wrapped steering wheel, park brake and gear-shift lever, ‘leatherette’ seat trim with white stitching, 15-inch alloy wheels, front foglights, heated front seats and carpet floor mats.

Buyers can also opt for a panoramic glass sunroof for A$1,400, and an iPad style ‘Maps + More’ portable infotainment system comprising satellite-navigation, Bluetooth phone with audio streaming and a 32GB of SD card music storage for a very reasonable A$500.

Volkswagen charges a further A$500 for metallic paint.

The up! is powered by a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder petrol engine that pushes out 55kW of power and 95Nm of torque. It prefers premium 95 RON unleaded at the rate of 4.9L/100km.

With a kerb weight of just 880kg, the mini-car accelerates from 0-100km/h in an unhurried 13.2 seconds.