New daily driver: Up GTI

General General Lotus Talk
1

Having spent too much money on Lotus cars I couldn’t afford a proper midlife car anymore :smiley:

So I choose to buy an Up GTI as my new daily driver. It’s a tiny, little car that weights in just over 1000 kg. The 1 litre 3-pot turbo charged engine has lots of torque and the six speed gearbox is short geared, well spaced and a joy to use. Handling is pretty agile and the ride is on the stiff side as you would expect from such a small car.

It’s no sports car for sure and some say it might even not be a proper GTI. I don’t care because it is such a fun to drive. Running costs are minimal as it is very frugal on petrol (I’m getting around 50 mpg).

Klaus

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2

Looks good. Bet it’s a hoot to drive

3

That looks awesome. I had a Lupo GTi and loved the roller skate feel of it. Well done, fancy one of them myself.

Purely out of interest, does the rear seat x3?

4

I really like cars like that, probably from growing up with an old Mini (proper one). Love my wife’s Fiesta with a 3 cyc 1litre turbo. They claim 125hp, very small horses I think.

Enjoy the Up.

5

I’ve never driven a Lupo GTI but the Up should be very similar. The biggest difference is probably the engine with its torque low down in the rev range. ‘roller skates’ feeling describes it pretty good.

There are only two back seats. The car is just too narrow for three seats.

6

doesn’t this have nearly the same bhp\weight ratio as the original Golf GTI? They do look like loads of fun.

7

How cool is that Klaus, well done.

8

Thanks for all the friendly comments. Very different to the German Lotus forum where a similar posting received lots of negative comments like: ‘crap, not a proper GTI, too expensive, the downsized engine will blow soon, ugly, don’t buy from those VW cheaters, etc.’
Whereas the Britisch people really love this car with lots of positive reviews and a long waiting list if you order one from your dealer.

The most surprising thing with the Up GTI is the engine which is a little peach. I never thought I would say that of a crippled 1 litre turbocharged 3-cylinder engine. There is literally no turbo lag and the 200 Nm of torque is available right away starting at 1500-2000 rpm. The power delivery just doesn’t stops until you reach the rev limit at 6500 rpm. Its like combining a TDI diesel engine for low down torque with a classic turbo charged petrol engine for the power. Ok, we are talking of only 115 bhp but the car is pretty light.

9

It made the final eight for Evo Car of the Year here and they loved it mate. May have finished 7th I forget.

The condemnation of the UP sounds similar to the sort of critique the S1 Exige gets from some on Seloc :smiley:

10

Love that! I think little cars like that are great too. Don’t they do it in a three door version?

11

By complete surprise VW decided to discontinue the Up GTI by July. Ordering of new cars in the UK has been closed already.
So if anybody is playing with the idea of getting one needs to hurry up to grab one of the few new cars that are still available at the dealers.

I enjoy my little GTI a lot. It’s such a light and nimble car.