Used Volkswagen UP! cars for sale

Used Volkswagen UP pros and cons

Is a second hand Volkswagen UP! a good car?

The Volkswagen Up is that rare thing — a small and cheap car that doesn’t feel small and cheap. It’s like getting a sample-sized bottle of Chanel No.5 perfume — it smells the same as the bigger, pricier stuff, but you’ve gotten away with paying less. 

Underneath, it’s the same car as the Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo and is an alternative to city cars like the Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto, Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo X.

The Up’s cabin looks pretty minimalist, with only a tiny touchscreen. Still, while VW might have scrimped on buttons, it definitely didn’t scrimp on quality, and the Up’s interior feels built to last. You can also find models which have been kitted out with brighter interior colours which liven things up a bit. 

The tiny five-inch touchscreen fitted to most models is pretty simple to use, and it’s backed up by the fact that you can fit your own smartphone to a cradle on top of the dash and use that as part of the Up’s infotainment system. Does the cabin look a bit old fashioned these days? Yes, but the charm of it is how well everything is put together. 

It’s also surprisingly comfortable. Up front, even tall drivers and passengers will get comfy — driver’s seat height adjustment helps — and even though the steering wheel only adjusts up and down, most people can get set right in the Up’s driver’s seat. 

There’s even decent space in the back, which is not always the case with small city cars. The limitation is that only two people are allowed back there — there’s no centre rear seatbelt, so get a Hyundai i10 if you need to carry five people. Also, if you’re looking at a three-door Up, the front seat tilt and slide mechanism is awkward to use, so make sure you go for a five-door. 

The Up’s boot is roomy — well it is for this size of car anyway, with 251 litres of available space, which is enough for a good bit of shopping or even a folded up baby buggy. 

The Up only ever came with a 1.0-litre three cylinder petrol engine, which in non-turbo form made either 65hp or 75hp, depending on the model. Adding a turbocharger lifted that to either 90hp or 101hp, depending on the model, but at the top of the Up tree was the mighty Up GTI, which had 115hp and was — is, in fact — one of the most purely enjoyable cars of the past decade. 

There was also an electric e-Up (never to be bought in Yorkshire…) which originally had a mere 99  mile range on one charge, but which was later upgraded to 160 miles. It was the last version of the Up on sale as a new car, and a surprisingly effective EV. 

Whether it’s an e-Up or not, the Up is most at home in town, where its dinky dimensions and phone-box glazing make it spectacularly easy to slot through tight gaps and into small parking spaces. It’s also rather comfortable, easily soaking up bumps and pot holes. 

Head out onto the open road, and the Up is still great fun to drive — the GTI especially so — but while it will tackle motorways quite willingly, it does start to feel a touch small after long hours at 70mph. 

The Up suffered slightly from a poor Euro NCAP safety rating — just the three stars — but that was more to do with not having some of the more cutting-edge electronic safety aids, rather than there being any particular problem with actual crash protection. 

The VW Up remains one of the best small cars around, and a perfect purchase for anyone who’s motoring life takes place mostly in town. The e-Up is an ideal electric starter car, while the Up GTI is a definite future collector’s model. 

What to look for when buying a used Volkswagen UP!

The Up is the perfect example of every dad’s favourite phrase — extras mean there’s just more to go wrong. By being mechanically simple, the Up is also very reliable, partly because, as dad says, there’s just not that much to go wrong. Keep an eye out around the windscreen for drainage holes getting blocked by leaves or other debris, as that can lead to leaks in the cabin. There’s also a common issue with noisy gearboxes, but that’s about it. If you’re buying a used e-Up electric version, make sure you get the battery independently checked for health. 

The Up didn’t make it into the most recent Driver Power Top 50 Cars To Own survey, but VW itself finished in a poor 28th position out of 32 brands, with unimpressive ratings for reliability and build quality.