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22 Oct 2025

MOTORING REVIEW: Volkswagen’s little e-up! is a gem to drive around Limerick

MOTORING REVIEW: Volkswagen’s little e-up! is a gem to drive around Limerick

The VW up! was awarded a three-star safety rating by Euro NCAP

WHEN FIRST launched, Volkswagen’s little up! city car took the 2012 World Car of the Year title. There followed a short-lived electric version which never took off as electric cars were too expensive at the time compared to petrol engines.

Times have changed and Volkswagen launched a second iteration of the e-up! in 2019 with a bigger battery and a competitive price of from €31,665 in a bid to attract younger buyers. The model, the smallest VW, has been retained as the entry level car to the brand, but is now only offered as a 100pc electric version.

Turns out, this is a little gem of a city car with a big heart.

There’s just one trim line, Style, but it comes loaded with standard features.

My review car looked smart in a white exterior colour with a contrasting black roof which is standard, matching black side mirrors, along with black pillars and privacy glass. A blue decorative trim strip shows that this is an electric version. There are five other exterior colours available.

For me, the car’s best feature is the huge dark glass-type rear which attracts lots of attention.

The e-up! seemed absolutely tiny when parked in a normal sized parking slot and particularly so when a large SUV parked up beside me. It’s size makes e-up! a gem to park and to manoeuvre in tight spaces so the car is ideal for city streets.

Open a door and the big interior space is not what you’d expect from the outside so designers have done a great job organising inside roominess. Doors open wide for ease of getting in and out and front scuff plates in aluminium feature the ‘e-up!’ lettering.

The dash layout is quite minimalist as there’s no big central touchscreen, which oddly enough, I didn’t miss in the car. In its place is an adjustable Maps+More phone dock for your smartphone and two USB ports beside it. You can find public charging stations using Maps+More but be aware that not all mobile phones may fit in this holder. When you load up the relevant app for iOS and Android, your smartphone transforms the e-up! into a networked car. I found the radio works well by itself controlled by buttons and a knob. Despite its ‘dinky’ size, the reversing camera works a treat.

The driver’s information display consists of analogue style dials - a large speedometer takes centre stage with a smaller dial on either side showing the remaining battery charge and other relevant information.

While trims and materials are of good quality, the 3-D ‘Shark Skin’ dash pad really catches your eye but I’m in two minds about it.

Cubbies include a decent glovebox - there’s no front armrest - a mug holder in the front and another for the rear, and fine sized door bins.

There’s good head and legroom up front. Seats, in charcoal and light grey cloth upholstery, have integrated headrests. They looked well and were very comfy. An unsplit rear bench seat is fine for two adults or three little ones and there was surprisingly good legroom behind a tall person seated in front and good headroom due to the car’s high roofline. Hinged rear windows open by pulling the locking lever and then pushing it shut again.

Boot space is 251 litres with rear seats up - 951 litres when they are folded down - and there’s a dedicated area for the charging cables.

Features include 15-inch alloys, air con, cruise control, auto lights and wipers, heated front seats, parking sensors, a traditional pull-up handbrake, a nice sized and leather wrapped multifunction steering wheel, leather gearshift knob, and up and down arrows for the air con controls and you can also heat the front windscreen.

The only powertrain available has an 83bhp electric motor and a 32.3kWh lithium-ion battery pack that Volkswagen claims gives a range of up to 253 kilometres. I can verify the accuracy of that figure. This is a 1-speed automatic transmission with 212Nm of torque on tap. Electrical fuel consumption is circa 14.4 kWh/100km and, of course, you have no C02 emissions.

The electric motor is located under the bonnet and the batteries are under the rear seat where the petrol tank would be.

I was able to get a really good driving position thanks to the seat adjustments but the steering wheel only adjusts up and down. All round visibility is excellent. Steering is just perfect and very well balanced.

There are buttons for the Eco/Eco+ drive modes.

I loved driving this little car on every type of road including urban streets. It is extremely comfortable with a quiet cabin and excellent suspension, even on the motorway in windy conditions when it held the road well for such a small and light weight vehicle. While officially it takes 11.9 secs time to go from 0-100km/h, prepare to be surprised at just how zippy this car is to drive.

It can be charged with a CCS plug or from a home 7.2kW AC wallbox in preference to a domestic three-pin which would take ages to charge.

The VW up! was awarded a three-star safety rating by Euro NCAP in 2019.

The car is produced at the Volkswagen Plant in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Priced from €31,665.

AT A GLANCE

Model: Volkswagen e-up!

Fuel: all-electric

Electric motor: 83bh

Battery: 32.3kWh battery pack

Fuel consumption: 14.4 kWh/100kms

C02: nil

Range: 253 kms

Boot space: 251 - 951 litres

Price: from €31,665

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