Apparently, Volkswagen's 'engineers have
been stepping on the gas to bring you e-mobility'. The irony wasn't lost on me
at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show introduction of the German giant's
battery-powered arsenal of e-Up and e-Golf production cars. If car and law
makers have their way, many of us will soon be changing our motoring lexicon to
'step on the electrons' perhaps? With a drive in the e-Golf is still a few
months away, VW had a fleet of e-Ups on hand for press drives on a short loop
outside the show's sprawling exhibition grounds.
The
e-Up is every bit as scrupulously executed as you’d hope for from VW, and will
appeal both as a notional flagship model for the Up range and as a model in its
own right
While the strongest pure EV contenders,
Nissan with its Leaf and BMW with its i3, opted for clean-sheet, stand alone
vehicle architectures, VW chose to electrify existing production cars. Company
reps are quick to mention that both Up and Golf were engineered for various
drivetrain technologies from the start. As a result, the e-Up looks and feels
just like its petrol-engined counterparts. No fancy bodywork, no carbon fibre
and no special production line either. The only obvious tells are the lack of
an exhaust pipe, a set of aero-optimised alloys and VW's e-mobility signature
daytime running lights. Where you'd normally find a 1.0-litre petrol three-pot
now sits a 60kW electric motor that drives the front wheels via a single-speed
transmission. Power for the motor comes from a 230kg lithium-ion battery pack
built into the floor. All good, but has the Up been compromised in the process?
As ever, proof of the pudding etc...
The
cabin will be familiar to current Up owners
You start the e-Up with a conventional key,
accompanied by an unnerving silence and a 'ready' signal in the instrument
display. Select D on the transmission lever, give the accelerator pedal a prod
and experience the electric car's second most endearing feature - instant
torque. (Never having to pay for fuel is still comfortably in first place...)
In default standard drive mode,
acceleration from zero to 100kph takes 12.4 seconds. Much like a small turbo diesel
engine, the maximum torque (210Nm) is delivered in a shortish burst before
tailing off as the revs rise beyond 2,800rpm. So it's sufficiently quick off
the line, reaching 60kph in five seconds, bur is less convincing at the
business of overtaking - 80-120kph takes 10.5 seconds. VW claims a 130kph top
speed, confirming the e-Up is built for the city, which is exactly where it
shines.
Auto
transmission works well if left to its own devices
With a vertical rear window and a decent
glass to metal ratio, visibility is superb and ride quality is decent for a car
this small. Thanks to the battery being integrated into the floor within the
wheelbase, the 1139kg car's low centre of gravity works wonders for the
handling. Line up a 90-degree right-hander and chuck the little car in. Yes,
the steering's light, but turn-in is quite quick and the body remains
reasonably flat. There's an agility and responsiveness that makes up for the
missing aural drama. It's definitely more fun to drive than you'd imagine, plus
you can entertain yourself for hours fiddling with three drive modes and five
levels of regenerative braking. Sounds complicated, but isn't.
There's
limited space inside
Separate buttons ahead of the 'gear' lever
allow the selection of Eco or Eco- modes, the first of which cuts power and
torque outputs to 50kW and 167Nm, respectively. It also limits top speed to
115kph and extends the car's 0-100kph time to 15 seconds. Eco+ outputs are even
more severely reduced at 40kW and 133Nm. As someone who hates holding up
traffic, I didn't go anywhere near those buttons. Besides, there are other ways
to eke out range ... Leave the selector in D and you'll have to use the brake
to slow down, but shift into the stepped D1, D2, D3 or the most extreme B
setting, and just easing off the accelerator pedal is enough to rapidly slow
the car. Usefully, the brake lights illuminate automatically.
The
81bhp motor is quicker to 62mph than the standard Up
Just how far you can go between charges
depends massively on your driving style and how many of your friends you've
convinced to take their own car. VW reckons the e-Up is good for between 120
and 160km under ideal conditions. For what it's worth, over an 11km test route,
my car's indicated range dropped from 140 to 112km. I imagine that, driven
sensibly, an e-Up's real-world range is at least 100km before it would require
a nine-hour plug-in session. I could easily live with that. Less palatable is
the $37,200 price tag. That's around $33,200 before duties, so call it
half-a-million ... for a city car.
You do get a radio/CD system, a hands-free
'phone function, heated windscreen, air conditioning and heated seats. I'd rate
the build and cabin quality as excellent for its segment, but not its price. Look
beyond the hefty premium for avoiding ever heavier fuel bills and it's obvious
the e-Up represents a credible alternative to daily city transport. All it
really needs is to be cheaper by half.
