Volkswagen Up GTI | Spotted

The subject of the Up GTI always provoked lively discussion in PH headquarters. Some considered it the best thing Volkswagen had done in years – a lively, fun-loving riposte to a hot hatch segment that had become increasingly staid over the years. Others thought it overrated and not really worthy of the GTI badge its maker had cagey grafted onto the bootlid. Now, two years on from the model’s retirement – leaving the venerable Polo as the entry-level hatchback in VW’s increasingly electrified lineup – it’s probably safe to conclude that both sides of the fence had a valid point. 

Though the concept of a souped-up city car was effectively an open goal, VW did itself no real favours with persistent references to the Mk1 Golf GTI. In fairness, this was mostly based on numbers (a German weakness) but from a distance it made it seem like the manufacturer was attempting to confer seminal status on the Up – a reputation it certainly had no right to, either mechanically or spiritually. A common complaint among naysayers was that VW hadn’t applied itself rigorously enough to the car’s development; and that had it done so, a car for the ages might’ve resulted. 

Certainly, no one could mistake the GTI’s limitations if you went looking for them. The breathed-on 1.0-litre three-pot was spritely, but its 8.8-second-0-62mph time did betray an obvious handicap when it came to pushing on – one that you rarely encounter in modern hot hatches. Its failure to seem ‘fast’ in that context was at the root of many counter arguments when someone else was moved to describe the flagship Up as the most amusing thing one could do without removing one’s trousers beforehand. 

Of course, nothing that has happened in the intervening years has alleviated that concern. You’d struggle to build an electric car as slow as the Up GTI. Nevertheless, the arrival of small EVs has also served to highlight just how liberating it was to drive. Sure, there were better and more exciting one-tonne hatchbacks in preceding generations (any stripe of Renaultsport Clio or Twingo is in a different league) but there was something undeniably amusing about giving the Up death in virtually any given circumstance. 

Back in 2018, this seemed enlivening enough to easily justify the car’s modest asking price. Today, when we are minded to congratulate a manufacturer for not exceeding two metric tonnes, the GTI’s combination of low weight, low complexity and minuscule size must feel like drinking a glass of Pimms after you’ve been gagging down runny porridge. Who cares about being left at the lights by all and sundry when your prevailing mood is the equivalent of a giant helium balloon? 

The Up’s used prices suggest that people’s opinion of the car has stayed similarly buoyant. VW’s shameless price gouging toward the end of the GTI’s life (its cost being heavily inflated with no tangible improvement to its hardware) did put some off – although it does mean that a low mileage example like this one can be had for roughly the same amount you would’ve paid for it at launch. Back then, £13k looked like a bargain for a car endowed with both an old-school sensibility and (some) mod cons. Nowadays? Well, you decide…

Engine: 999cc, three-cyl turbo
Transmission: Six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 115@5000-5500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 148@2000-3500rpm
MPG: 53
CO2: 121g/km
Year registered: 2018
Recorded mileage: 17,000
Price new: £16,540
Yours for: £13,199