Volkswagen Up GTI (2018 – 2023) Review

The Up GTI is the hot(ish) version of Volkswagen’s beloved Up city car, designed to compete with city car rivals like the Toyota Aygo and Peugeot 108 but also small hot hatches like the Suzuki Swift and Abarth 500 too. The Up GTI follows the same route as other GTI Volkswagen’s by adding a sparky turbocharged engine to an existing model, as well as sharpening the handling and adding a dose of visual drama. The result is a car that is fun to drive, if not as sporty as you might hope, but it is still capable in town and has a great deal of kerb appeal.

The Volkswagen Up GTI doesn't win any sports car power offs, with its turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine mustering just 115PS and covering 0-62mph in a leisurely 8.8 seconds. However, with a kerb weight of 1070kg, the 1.0-litre unit's 200Nm of torque provides a powerful bump through all of the gears to give the impression you're travelling a lot faster than the speedo suggests.

Indeed, point this mico machine at a twisty road and it’ll scamper round with the eagerness of a demented Bloodhound, with its burbling soundtrack emitting a deep growl as you drop a gear and accelerate hard out of a tight bend. There are some drawbacks, with the overly light steering and stumpy chassis making it quite hard to pinpoint the Up’s handling limits.

Drivers expecting a razor sharp drive will undoubtedly be disappointed with the lack of feedback through the wheel and pedals. The front-wheel drive set-up has a tendency to get restless when presented with less than perfect road or weather conditions too, which places a nagging doubt about the Up’s suitability as a hot hatch.

Most will not be bothered by the lack of F1-type precession and simply enjoy the fact that you can go pedal-to-the-metal without fear of clocking up triple digits on the speedo and a difficult conversation with members of the local constabulary. And for this end the Up GTI comes into its own, because it is fast car fun without the frivolous fast car figures.

As with the standard car, the cabin is among the best of any city car on sale. The build quality is top notch and there is plenty of space for four adults to fit in comfort. The ride quality is on the firm side of comfortable and potholes provide an unwelcome wallop as the suspension crashes down heavily. The engine and wheels also generate quite a lot of noise on the motorway too, which some might find grating after an hour or two.

The Up GTI is a worthy addition to the long line of Volkswagen hot hatches, even if it doesn't do quite enough to justify its premium price tag (and insurance rating) over the standard 90PS car; however, even with this criticism in mind, it's difficult to deny that the Up GTI is anything but fantastic fun.

It might struggle to justify its price premium over the 90PS car, but the GTI is an entertaining throwback to the old school pocket rocket.

The official top speed is 120mph but you don't need to break any laws to get the most out of this little GTI, with its front-wheel setup providing lots of grip. Admittedly, the handling isn't the last word in cutting edge refinement - the overpowered steering and high centre of gravity erode that - but there's lots of fun to be had in a go kart type of way. As long as you’re realistic about the Up GTI’s capabilities it’s entertaining on a country road, but it manages this without sacrificing what makes it an impressive city car too.

Around town the Up shines bright, with its light steering, excellent visibility and small turning circle running rings around larger hot hatches when it comes to parking.

Being so small and lightweight, the Up GTI makes good use of its uprated, turbocharged 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine with peak power - 115PS - raising its head at a rev-happy 5000rpm. That might not sound like a lot - that's because 115PS isn't a lot - but factor in the low weight and high torque and the Up quickly reaffirms its GTI credentials with responsive handling and punchy acceleration.

Press hard on the throttle as you join a motorway and the Up makes smooth but rapid progress, with aid of a well-judged six-speed manual gearbox. For a three-cylinder unit, the powertrain has lots of low-gear pull for overtaking and its delivery is predictable too, without any annoying torque steer jolts through the wheel.

Mid-range performance is good too, which means the Up provides a rewarding thump through every gear; however, there's no DSG option and this means the GTI is manual only experience

The Volkswagen Up has been tested twice by EuroNCAP; once in 2011 when the car was initially launched, and then again in 2019. In the first test it scored five stars, but in the most recent test it achieved three stars - chiefly because the criteria are raised on an annual basis, so the fact that the Up hasn’t changed a great deal in that time means its overall score has inevitably slipped back in comparison with newer rivals.

In terms of options there are no specific safety packages that can be added to the Up. Automatic Emergency Braking is not an option on any model, while the Cruise and Park pack adds rear parking sensors and a reversing camera - potentially something that could reduce accidents but only in very specific circumstances.

Volkswagen does not quote official towing figures for the Up GTI which is hardly a surprise given its size.

The sports seats in the front are comfortable and supportive, with lots of padding on the sides and base. Head a leg room is excellent for a car of this size too, although large passengers will find the rear seats a tight fit. However, if those in the front are willing to compromise and slide their seats forward a little it's a comfortable fit in the back and both seats are supplied with a headrest each. There’s no space in the middle for a fifth passenger.

The Up GTI isn’t blessed with a lot of boot space, but the 251 litres you do get is more than sufficient for two squashable weekend bags or a weekly supermarket shop. The rear seats can be folded forward to provide more space for carrying occasional bulky items.

The cabin mirrors the layout of the standard Volkswagen Up with space for up to four adults to fit via two or four doors - depending on which version you choose. As you might expect from a GTI, there are lots of sporty trims and logos scattered across the interior, and the seats are finished in the trademark tartan cloth. The Up also gets a flat bottomed steering wheel with thumb controls for the trip computer and media system.

Admittedly, the firm suspension and 17-inch wheels give the GTI a firm ride quality, but you'd be hard pressed to hear a single rattle or squeak from any of the plastics or metal fittings.

The Up doesn’t get navigation - not even as an option - but you can connect a mobile phone and mount it to the dashboard by a supplied mount. Connecting your phone is simple enough, but the quality of the navigation and media are dependant on the type of phone, network coverage and data plan. Volkswagen offers a TomTom backed app called Maps + More for handsfree navigation and call answering.

Prices for the Up GTI start at £16,140 for the 3-door and end at £16,540 for the 5-door, so unless you add extra options the pricing level is straightforward. That’s slightly less than the cheapest Abarth 500 and the Suzuki Swift Sport, although the Abarth has strong performance and the Swift is a little bigger and more rounded competitor.

Of the few available options, the Beats audio system costs £410, climate control is £280, the Light and Sight pack is £150 and a height-adjustable passenger seat is £85.

As for used examples, there are some around but the supply is relatively scarce as the Up GTI went off sale in 2019 while it completed the required tests for WLTP regulations, then went back on sale in 2020, which resulted in a gap in the used supply too.

However, a search through the classifieds ads turned up some early examples from 2018 with moderate miles for around £11,000. The cheapest example had 30,000 miles and was selling for £10,500.

As for newer examples, we found several 2020-registered cars with under 5000 miles on. The freshest example we found in the classified ads had less than 3000 miles on and was selling at £16,000, which is effectively list price. The relatively modest supply means prices are likely to stay strong, so it is worth taking the time to hunt down an example at a good price and in your ideal specification.

Remarkably the Up GTI is the most economical model in the range - at least under the tougher WLTP testing rules.

The official figure is 53.3mpg combined, something that should realistically be within reach if you drive sensibly. Like any performance car, that figure will plummet if you start to enjoy the performance, but it proves that the Up GTI is a car that can be fun but also not ruinously expensive - as long as you behave of course.

The downside of the extra performance and the jacked-up sticker price is that the insurance grouping for the GTI is considerably higher than the rest of the Up range.

It falls into group 17E, compared to 2E for the rest of the range and still far above the e-Up that falls into group 10E. Not only are you more likely to be in an accident because it’s faster, the Up GTI is more likely to be a target for thieves than the standard car, all of which ups the premium.

The Up GTI is effectively a model of its own in a single trim, so the biggest choice you have to make is whether to go for three or five doors. Five is the more sensible choice as it makes life a little easier when you use the rear seats and is more appealing when you’re selling it on, but if you don’t care about that then the three-door does sharper.

With a high standard specification there’s not a great deal on the options list for you either. You can upgrade to the better Beats audio system - we think it’s worthwhile at £410 - and add climate control, but you get air conditioning as standard anyway. You can also add the Light and Sight pack or the Cruise and Park pack - of the two we’d say the latter is more useful, adding cruise control, rear parking sensors and a parking camera.