If you love VW’s dinky yet practical Up but hate the idea of handing your cash over to petrol stations and aren’t convinced VW will ever build the fabulous-sounding hybrid Up, we bring good news. Volkswagen has is planning to sell an electric-only version known as the e-Up.
The e-Up looks much like the standard petrol version. There are a few aerodynamic tweaks here and there, a blue e-Up! logo at the back and LED daytime running lamps, but that aside it’s eay to mistake for the standar model.
Uunder the hood the ordinary Up‘s 1.0-litre 3-cylinder engine has been replaced with an electric motor capable of producing 60kW (82PS / 80.9bhp). That may seem paltry but let’s not forget the 60PS and 75PS petrol engines manage 44kW (60bhp) and 55kW (74bhp), respectively ─ and neither can match the impressive 210Nm of torque the e-Up provides.
Performance isn’t stellar but it’s on a par with its petrol brethren. It’ll hit 62mph from a standstill in 14 seconds, about a half second sooner than the 1.0-litre 60bhp model manages. Its 84mph top speed isn’t to be sniffed at, either, especially as the car is primarily designed for city use.
The Volkswagen e-Up’s electric motor is connected to an 18.7kWh battery which, gives the car a range of 93 miles on a single charge – about average for this type of vehicle. Volkswagen claims the e-UP can be recharged to 80 per cent of its battery capacity in as little as 30 minutes, although you’ll need to find a high-powered electrical outlet to do so. Charging from a standard power socket should take considerably longer.
VW has yet to confirm a price for the car, but expect it to make its first public appearance at the Frankfurt Motor Show in the Autumn of 2013 with order books opening shortly thereafter. Deliveries are expected to start from early 2014.
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