VW Up Part 2 – Gotta be Movin on Up!

First off, a music video from the days of my Youth, which expresses a few sentiments in our new blog below:

Introduction

It is very rare for me to get this excited about anything that is 1 Lt. I stick to a BMW 2.0 lt Diesel that gives great economy, but very good torque for the 40 000 average km`s I drive to see customers annually. I also have had a 3.0 Lt diesel Toyota Fortuner, which allowed me to drive through rock and snow in the Drakensburg during snow fall in August 2012. Even now, I would love to live inside a BMW X6 M50 D and rule my kingdom as “hand of the King”, but man oh man, just put me into a VW Up and things change! I have had the opportunity to drive it over 2 days so that we could do the part 2 of this review. All I can say is, I love it! It isn’t the fastest car as one of my team mentioned while driving down Corlett Drive, but he said to me that it “feels honest”. I said it last week, and then he said it today too, without me leading him.

I had a client meeting in Germiston, early this morning and I thought with only a 1 litre engine, it would take at least an hour to get to there from Altech Autopage Midrand (blog on cellphone bills to follow). Amazingly, it took the same amount of time as my BMW 320 D F30, because I was driving at 120 km/hour average on the highway! You look at the car, and you imagine being blown away by wind, rain and E toll increases. However, the car was very stable on the highway! Even with trucks and taxis, trying to jut in and around me, the car is nimble enough to dance rings around even the fittest boxer. Float like a butterfly, sing like a bee! This VW is really proving itself to me, over the 2 week period we have had to evaluate it. It really is a great car for someone who needs to get to work or varsity (early) and back (late) in one piece. It has quite a deep boot, massive doors so very easy to get into and a radio interface/dash are very simple to navigate – like on all VW cars.

 

Another colleague asked me if I felt safe in the car, after my arduous 35 minute journey from Germiston on the N12 (Truck Land). I answered by saying I think this car is actually not much very different to the Polo. It feels safe! It has doors bigger than your new Iphone 6 +, and a front windscreen so big, you would think you can see into the future. In a lot of ways this car makes me think of the humble, Honda Jazz and the tenacious Toyota Etios. Both of those cars are loved by South African`s countrywide! All of them represent good value and honesty / reliability in a country where those kinds of things are often overlooked. Whether you book a photographer for your kid`s party that you pay for and he doesn’t pitch. Or, order something in a restaurant or shop, and the supplier gets the order wrong twice. I think in South Africa we are just very used to shoddy, second rate service. And in this all, here lies the nub. You need a car that you can depend on. It mustn’t lie to you about what it is. It should be reliable, cheap enough to afford tickets to go overseas on holiday once a year, and just fast enough to keep clear of the JMPD on the right side of the Nando`s “you buy me lunch fund” on Corlett Drive.

For the VW Club SA fans, the car ran on an average of just over 4 l/100 km`s fuel, is powered by a 1 litre engine without any turbo, and runs on 3 cylinders. It has 55kw of power and 95 nm torque, which is enough power to get you to work on time! Again, don’t be fooled by the 1 litre engine, as we have often driven other cars, with bigger engines that still don’t make us happy when we drive them. For the sales reps and consultants out there, have a look at this machine. For the accountants out there, the R 130 000 cost makes financial sense, especially when you look at the lower cost on maintenance and zero chance of speeding fines! For the Fanatics, it comes in black too and you can spec a huge sunroof, get bluetooth aftermarket and buy blacked out VW factory rims – with a white “THIS SIDE up!” sign on the roof. They come in colours so funky, you are going to attract a lot of attention from people of the opposite sex. While driving back to the dealership, a very attractive young lady in an Audi A1 looked at me, looked at the car and smiled. The Up has that effect on everyone that saw it today!

The Bottom Line

We all need reliable, trustworthy cars. VW make them.

Contact VW Lindsay Saker Hyde Park on 011 521 2000 – speak to Nasan or Loricke to help. This dealership will actually give you bottled water – 500 Ml of ice cold freshness, for free if you need. Tell them SA Buyers Guide sent you to them, and I am sure they will be happy to assist.

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