At 3.54 m in length and 1.64 m in width (without door mirrors), the up! is one of the smallest of four-seat cars. The Volkswagen is 1.48 m tall. These dimensions are identical for both body versions of the up!. Its overall length consists of remarkably short body overhangs and a very long wheelbase (2.42 metres) – a body layout that fully utilises the available enclosed space.
Styling for a new era
up! front end
Viewed from the front, the up! appears to smile, due to the lines of the bumper. And it is intentionally smiling. A narrow black band runs between the headlights (with integrated daytime running lights). Integrated here is the Volkswagen logo, which is the only chrome element at the front end. The up! can make do without large air cooling intakes due to its small petrol and natural gas engines and electric motor that will follow later. The headlights are significantly smaller than those of other Volkswagens, yet they are visually very prominent. Klaus Bischoff, Head of Design of the Volkswagen Brand comments: "The front-end designs – from the up! to the Phaeton – all follow the same styling guidelines. The models are unified by such style elements as a strict emphasis of horizontal lines, joining of the grille and headlights and the conciseness of short angles. And yet, despite their clear brand affinities all Volkswagens are differentiated from one another. Crucial here are the differences in the proportions of the individual components. This leads to highly individual vehicles that span the model range from the congenial up! to the sophisticated Phaeton."
up! side profile
In side profile, the significant flares of surfaces and alternation of convex and concave forms define the car's styling. A slight concave groove above the side sill creates an accent in the continuous surface. The side profile does not show any seams or edges except for the wheel housings and the look of the side windows. The wheels are placed in powerful wheel housings, whose lateral surfaces – the so-called wheel mirrors – are very large, making the diameters of the small wheels (14 to 16 inch) appear visually larger.
Two-door. The look of the windows gives the up! an unmistakable look as well. A short angle in front creates a formal connection from the lower-lying window edge to the bonnet. A long ascending line in the rear third of the vehicle matches that formed by the rear wheel and the distinctive C-pillar. The interplay of the car's the long wheelbase and its short overhangs – underscores the crisp proportions of the up!.
Four-door. Naturally, the car has a different look in side profile with four doors. While the lower window line on the two-door version ascends at the rear near the C-pillar, on the four-door it follows a straight line. This gives the new body version a high level of independence. The crisp, short body overhangs are also quite noticeable on the four-door car.
up! rear section
The up! has a large bootlid, which extends down to the bumper. This so-called hybrid bootlid consists of three basic layers. Similar to a modern smartphone, its outer skin consists of a transparent glass element. The bootlid forms an integral unit with the vertically oriented rear lights. In detail, the bootlid is constructed of a load-bearing framework upon which a second sheet-metal layer is laser welded in place with the trailing edge of the roof integrated in this layer. The third, outer layer of the bootlid is the glass element that is joined by adhesive. It extends down from the trailing edge of the roof over the entire bootlid; that is, it incorporates the rear window as well as the lower area of the lid. The border around the rear window and the lower section are coated in black from the inside. Forming a contrast to the black are the chrome surfaces of the Volkswagen logo and the up! badge. The bootlid is opened by pressing a button in the handle beneath the Volkswagen logo.
Unmistakable rear lights
Although they look like parts of the bootlid, the large tail-lights of the up! are actually joined to the body. Their red surfaces are very distinctive, especially in their interplay with the white C-shaped elements. The lower third of the rear section is dominated by the bumper with its wide licence-plate panel and seam running around it. The front and rear bumpers are painted in body colour as standard.
Aerodynamic perfection
Low aerodynamic drag means lower fuel consumption
With a Cd value of 0.32, the up! achieves exemplary aerodynamic performance for its class. The results: less wind noise and lower fuel consumption. At Volkswagen, the first steps in refining a car's aerodynamics are made in a very early project phase utilising a simulation process known as CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics). Because of its cost and time advantages, this process has since replaced evaluation and optimisation with real 1:4 models. In this context, an important aspect of the process is its ability to very realistically represent vehicle details digitally. Step by step, this method optimises a car's aerodynamics on the computer. Not until this process has been fully exploited are wind tunnel measurements conducted on a real full-scale aerodynamic model at a suitably mature development level. This aerodynamic model is covered with an exterior skin of clay, enabling quick changes to the vehicle's shape. In addition, the 1:1 model already has realistic shapes of engine compartment and underbody structures. In turn, this enables quick optimisation of parts that are very important to aerodynamics such as the front and rear spoilers and underbody panelling. The designs of aerodynamically relevant add-on parts are then finalised based on measurements from the first prototypes.
Eliminating every superfluous gram of CO₂ emissions in the wind tunnel
In establishing the car's aerodynamics, special attention was given to attaining a minimal front overhang. With this goal in mind, the sides of the front section of the up! were shaped so that the air would flow around the wheel housings with minimal turbulence. In the pursuit of reducing every possible gram of CO₂ emissions, the position and size of the front spoiler was also optimised progressively. Measurement series in the wind tunnel demonstrate that this refinement of the design has saved another 1.1 g/km CO₂ – that may seem like just a little, but the sum of all optimisation measures has yielded impressive values such as the 79 g/km CO₂ that the up! EcoFuel BlueMotion Technology will attain. At the same time, the final front spoiler design reduces front and rear aerodynamic lift coefficients of the up!. This has resulted in even safer driving characteristics.
Total aerodynamic drag is a very good 0.67 m2
The design of the rear section also has a crucial effect on the car's aerodynamic performance. Intensive fine tuning of the aerodynamics of the up! has resulted in contours that both preserve styling targets and achieve defined flow separation, including in the side panels at the rear. In the process, the rear spoiler contour was tuned to the design of the lateral trailing edges. The sum of all of these measures yields the Cd value of 0.32 mentioned above for the take up!, which is very good for a vehicle in this class. In conjunction with the vehicle's frontal area of A = 2.07 m2 the total aerodynamic drag of the up! attains a very good value of 0.67 m2.
High eco-friendly rating for the up!
Considering the car's aerodynamic properties, weight reductions and efficient drive technologies, it is little wonder that an environmental analysis of the new up! has produced very positive results. Background: Volkswagen analyses a vehicle's impact on the environment (ISO standard 14040/44) over its entire life cycle (manufacturing, usage, recycling). The results of this analysis flow into an environmental rating. And a high rating is exactly what the new up! has already received ahead of its market launch. This rating was confirmed by the independent testing company TÜV Nord. A basic result: the environmental impact of the up! over its lifecycle was reduced by 21 per cent compared to that of its predecessor.
Top levels of safety and quality
Overcoming the upward weight spiral
Weight down, crash safety up – this is only possible with innovative manufacturing technologies. The body of the up! – which was awarded a top rating of five stars in Euro-NCAP crash testing – consists of 8.1 per cent ‘hot-formed' steel, and so these body parts exhibit extreme toughness (including the floor and B-pillars); car body weight was reduced by 13 kg just due to the use of hot-formed steel. Moreover, by consistently downsizing engine technology, using high-strength steel and relentlessly removing every superfluous gram, developers succeeded in reducing the weight of the new up! by 140 kg or 13 per cent to 929 kg compared to its immediate predecessor (the Volkswagen Fox) – that is a world of difference, and not only in this class.
Special high-strength steels
In the area of the front side members, sills and side roof frame, so-called dual-phase steels are used which, together with hot-formed steel panels, create the basic structure for the safety occupant cell. The up! also sets top values in the segment with its 39.3 per cent share of ultra-high-strength steels and 17.2 per cent share of high-strength steels. Only 24.9 per cent of the weight of the body structure consists of conventional deep-drawing steels, which are used for visual parts that are very challenging to manufacture, such as exterior parts of the side body or rear wheel housings.
Comfort standards of the next class up
The especially rigid body structure of the up! even meets comfort levels of the next vehicle class in terms of its acoustic and vibration behaviour. This is attributable to the layout of nodes and load transmission points. Background: the available installation spaces are optimally utilised by means of a three-shell body structure, so that the occupant cell is surrounded by sturdy, computationally optimised profiles. Despite challenging requirements for body rigidity and crash properties, the car's lightweight index – a measure of the efficiency of weight utilisation – was improved by 34 per cent compared to the predecessor of the up!, the Lupo. The up! also sets new standards in its class with its static torsional rigidity of 19,800 Nm/degree. High torsional rigidity has a definite positive effect on comfort and handling properties. In parallel, the dynamic rigidity of the up! is also excellent at 49 Hz – and this benefits acoustics, vibration and driving comfort. In its smallest model, Volkswagen is clearly following the same maxims of safety, quality and comfort it follows in every other segment – without compromises.
Safe like a large car
The up! – with its excellent results in Euro-NCAP crash testing –demonstrates that small cars can exhibit very good passive safety characteristics. In this Volkswagen, not only are the passengers themselves optimally protected, but so too are other traffic participants. The keyword here is pedestrian protection. In this area, the up! rises to the challenge with such features as its new, compact three-cylinder engines, directly screw-mounted ancillary engine components and the very compact gearboxes. Thanks to the suspended layout of the gearbox mounts next to the side members, it was possible to mount the battery in a very low location – and this low mounting point is essential for good pedestrian protection. Overall, the deformation space between the bonnet and engine block helps to minimise the risk of injury to pedestrians. The hinges of the bonnet were also further optimised for this purpose.
Early Crash Sensor reacts before impact
To protect passengers in the up!, as already mentioned the body structure consists of high-strength and ultra-high-strength steels in the areas of highly-loaded load paths. Additional reinforcements, in the upper door, for example, increase passive safety – especially in case of severe accidents. In the event of a frontal collision, an Early Crash Sensor – integrated directly behind the front bumper – pre-activates restraint systems in advance of the actual impact. What happens then is a case for high-speed cameras: within just a few milliseconds, the belt tensioners tighten the fastened seatbelts to involve the driver and front passenger in the vehicle's deceleration as early as possible. Belt force limiters reduce chest loads, while front airbags restrain movement of the upper body. The crash-active steering column makes an additional contribution towards safety, further reducing the risk of injury to the driver. In case of a side impact, the standard head-thorax airbags contribute to protecting the head and upper body of the driver and front passenger.
No unfastened seatbelt goes unnoticed
ISOFIX child seats are a safe place for children in the rear seating area thanks to ISOFIX and top-tether fittings; this system securely fastens the child seats to the car. If older children are aboard, the standard seatbelt status indicator in the multifunction display informs the driver of whether the rear passengers are actually buckled up. There is also an acoustic fasten seatbelts reminder for the front seats.
Notes:
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Features and technical data apply to models offered in Germany. They may differ in other countries.