Last year, Volkswagen took the city car segment head-on, with a brand new car built in Europe, for Europe. It's called the Up!, and we'd say it's a smash hit, judging from how many have hit the streets.
Part of the car's appeal is found in the nippy but efficient engines it offers, two petrol and one diesel, all displacing 1 liter.
Even though the Up! doesn't use the new MQB platform, it shares its steering and engines are borrowed from the MQB range.
But there's always room for improvement, and the Up! will receive its first hybrid powertrain in a few years. The engine will first be tested in the limited production XL1, but within the next 18 months the Up! will receive it as well.
The engine in question is a 0.8-liter TDI with only two cylinders and 47 horsepower, basically half a 1.6 TDI. It's aided by a 27 horsepower electric motor and a 5.5 kWh battery.
Currently, the Up! with a 1-liter engine weighs 940 kilograms, but even with the electric motor and bigger battery, it will still weigh less than a ton, one of the lightest hybrid on sale. In pure electric mode, it should have a range of 30 miles (50 km).
Even though the Up! doesn't use the new MQB platform, it shares its steering and engines are borrowed from the MQB range.
But there's always room for improvement, and the Up! will receive its first hybrid powertrain in a few years. The engine will first be tested in the limited production XL1, but within the next 18 months the Up! will receive it as well.
The engine in question is a 0.8-liter TDI with only two cylinders and 47 horsepower, basically half a 1.6 TDI. It's aided by a 27 horsepower electric motor and a 5.5 kWh battery.
Currently, the Up! with a 1-liter engine weighs 940 kilograms, but even with the electric motor and bigger battery, it will still weigh less than a ton, one of the lightest hybrid on sale. In pure electric mode, it should have a range of 30 miles (50 km).