The all-electric Volkswagen E-Up is now on sale priced at £24,250 on the road (or £19,250 including £5,000 Plig-in Car Grant).
The car is available to order from one of 24 specialist Volkswagen retailers with first deliveries expected in January.
The E-Up comes in one equipment grade and a range of up to 93 miles in optimum conditions. A standard full charge takes up to nine hours from a standard 230-Volt 2.3 kW household socket.
The E-Up’s AC electric motor produces 82hp and 155lb-ft of torque. The lithium-ion battery is rated at 374 Volts and 18.7 kWh. As well as a standard driving mode, the E-Up has two economy profiles as standard: Eco and Eco+.
‘Eco’ cuts the vehicle’s peak power, reduces the output of the air conditioning system and modifies the throttle response. Eco+ limits maximum power further, modifies the throttle response beyond the Eco setting and disables the air conditioning.
The range of the E-Up can also be greatly influenced by regenerative braking. There are five modes available: D, D1, D2, D3 and B. In D, the vehicle coasts when the accelerator is lifted. In each of the next levels, lifting off the throttle pedal provides an increased level of regenerative braking. In D2, D3 and B, the brake lights are automatically activated when the driver’s foot is lifted from the throttle pedal.
UK customers will be offered an optional wall box for home garage use. This provides a 3.6 kW supply and can recharge a completely flat battery in six hours. All E-Ups have a DC fast-charging circuit as standard. Using the Combined Charging System (CCS), this enables a flat battery to be charged to 80% in 30 minutes, at levels of up to 40 kW using a DC supply. Cables are provided to connect to both a standard UK three-pin socket and a CCS socket.
The E-Up can achieve a top speed of 81 mph; while it can easily keep up with urban and suburban traffic, thanks to a zero to 37mph (60kmh) time of 4.9 seconds, and a zero to 62 mph time of 12.4 seconds.
Externally, the E-Up can be identified by badges on the front wings and bootlid, as well as by distinctive C-shaped LED daytime running lights, and 15-inch ‘Tezzle’ alloy wheels. Inside, the bespoke upholstery is edged in blue, while the leather-covered steering wheel, gearlever and handbrake all have blue stitching.
On top of the standard specification of the range-topping petrol-powered High Up model, which includes heated front seats, cruise control and the Maps and More navigation system, the E-Up adds a heated windscreen, DAB digital radio with six-speaker Sound Pack, City Emergency Braking system, rear parking sensors and an electronic climate control system.
As well as the standard Bluetooth connectivity and navigation functions of the petrol-powered Up’s Maps and More device, the E-Up’s unit includes charging point location details, range mapping (both one-way and round-trip) and vehicle charging management functions, including the ability to pre-set the vehicle’s interior heating or cooling for certain times.
Certain vehicle functions can also be operated remotely using Volkswagen’s Car Net services on an Apple iPhone or Android mobile device. The E-Up comes with a three-year Car Net subscription that allows users to control or get information on charging status, battery management, doors and lighting, driving data, climate control and the location of the vehicle.
The E-Up comes with a standard three-year warranty, with the option to extend this by one or two years. The vehicle’s battery comes with an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty, while the standard service interval is 10,000 miles or one year, whichever comes soonest.
ad - 19/08/2014 17:09
The battery comes with an eight year warranty - that's pretty impressive as I doubt many owners will do 100,000 miles in that. Plus its actually pretty cheap under £20k - I think this may be the best bang for your buck and looks a lot nicer than the soul destroying G-Wiz