Spurred on by the success of the Toyota Aygo and similar vehicles, and after numerous different concepts, Volkswagen finally decided to join in on the ultra-affordable small car craze with the Up, or if we go by VW’s silly suggested spelling, the “up!”. Launched in 2011 alongside the almost identical Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo, the Up was built on a bespoke small car platform, and manufactured alongside the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg in Slovakia.
Moved along by a lineup of tiny, super-efficient three-cylinder engines, the Up also included some of the familiar cost-cutting measures we’ve seen on other cheap small cars, like pop-out rear windows and an all-glass tailgate. With it being a Volkswagen, however, it was a grown-up small car in a lot of ways. It was simple, very spacious inside for its size, and well-equipped for its price and class, with even the base models getting air-conditioning and an AUX port for the stereo. The more upscale ones offered stuff like parking sensors, cruise control, and heated seats.
Over the years, Volkswagen would expand the Up lineup extensively. There was a ruggedized Cross Up with a healthy supply of unpainted body cladding, the super fizzy Up GTI with a 115 hp turbocharged three-cylinder engine and a manual transmission, and there was also a fully electric version. The Up became one of the undisputed darlings of the segment, to the point that VW ended production only recently in November 2023.
