VW e-up

In Brief

We won’t see the e-up! in Australia any time soon – VW are not interested in coming down under due to lack of infrastructure and interest (read, incentives to change to EV). The e-up! is another VW launched into the European market in 2014.  This looks pretty similar to the regular gasoline/diesel up! with some aerodynamic tweaks such as a revised front bumper design, side-skirts, and underfloor fairings – it also has LED daytime running lights.  The e-up! has four energy recovery settings that are user chosen (regenerative braking) plus three driving modes (normal, eco & ecoplus). Like all electric cars there is instant torque so acceleration feels very smooth and quick. City Emergency Braking has been introduced with this car – this means the brakes apply automatically if the car detects a collision while driving at speeds of 30kph or less.  The car comes with a 3 year warranty and the battery pack an 8 year warranty or 160,000 kms. In 2019 VW revised its plans and will increase the number of models across its brands to 70 full electric models. It also increased its planned output from 15 million to 22 million over the next ten years.