An all-electric Volkswagen e-up! four seater has joined the refreshed up! range in the UK.
Priced from £20,780 OTR, the new e-up! is available as a five-door and includes fresh styling with ‘beefier’ front bumpers which house ‘C’ signature LED running lights. At the rear, a more angular bumper includes a diffuser panel alongside a ‘sharper’ tail light design. The interior of the new e-up! features a leather-trimmed steering wheel, while chrome-trimmed interior door handles, air vent surrounds and instruments add a finishing flourish, says VW.
The e-up! builds on the standard car, with a zero emission solution, and is powered by a 82 PS electric motor with peak torque of 210 Nm, equating to a 0-62 mph time of 12.4 seconds. Top speed is 80 mph, while maximum range is around 93 miles between charges.
Power is derived from a lithium-ion battery pack in the car’s floor and consisting of 204 cells, together rated at 374 volts and 18.7 kWh. The motor is mated to a single-speed gearbox that's optimised for minimum friction. The driveline is 'particularly quiet' says VW and compact as a result of the electric motor and the gearbox being integrated inside a single housing.
The battery weighs 230 kg, however the e-up! weighs less than its internal combustion engined sibling, tipping the scales at 1,139 kg thanks to weight-saving measures. The necessary variety of charging cables includes a fast charge connection which allows for up to 80 per cent of the battery’s capacity to be replenished in 30 minutes. Meanwhile, a full charge from a standard household plug takes nine hours. An optional wall box for home garage use is also available, which provides a 3.6 kW supply and can recharge a battery in six hours.
Standard equipment includes electronic air conditioning as well as cruise control and parking sensors. The windscreen wipers function automatically, and when the sun goes down a dusk sensor automatically activates the headlights.
A smartphone connection is extended in the new e-up! thanks to Volkswagen’s Car-Net e-remote which gives the driver the power to manage the car’s charging process from their smartphone via an app. They can also use the app to switch on the car's air conditioning remotely before getting in and review vehicle trip statistics. A three-year subscription to the Car-Net e-remote service is included with the new e-up!
The £20,780 (OTR) price includes the Government Plug-in Car Grant of £4,500. Deliveries are expected to begin in October. The vehicle’s battery comes with an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty, while the standard service interval is 20,000 miles or two years.