The new Volkswagen up! might come with a five-star Euro NCAP test rating and the kind of interior space that would shame many a car in the class above, but when it comes to insurance it’s as small as its 3,540 mm long body, with a class-leading 1E group rating.
It’s not just the entry-level £7,995 1.0-litre 60 PS Take up! that qualifies for the lowest group, either: the £8,970 Move up! and £9,330 Move up! with BlueMotion Technology are also in group 1E.
Even if customers opt for the top-specification £10,390 1.0-litre 70 PS High up! or special edition £11,180 up! White and up! Black models, they will still find that the up! is three groups below the average for the class, with its group 2E insurance helping to keep ongoing motoring costs as low as possible.
While the customer’s costs are kept low, safety is still a high priority. As well as ultra-high and super-high strength steels being used in the vehicle’s construction, all up! models come with ABS with hydraulic brake assist, driver and front passenger airbags, side and thorax/head airbags for front-seat occupants and ISOFIX fittings in the rear. On Move up! models and above, ESP (Electronic Stabilisation Programme) is standard. A first-in-class city emergency braking system is part of an optional driver’s assistance pack that costs from just £225.
To ensure that customers continue to benefit from great value even after they’ve driven their new up! out of the showroom, Volkswagen’s three-year/60,000-mile fixed price servicing plan is available for just £299.
The up! is available to order now, with the first UK customer deliveries due in March 2012.
