Volkswagen showed off an Up GTI concept car when it launched the regular Up city car all the way back in 2011, but it took until 2017 for a production car to arrive. Priced sensibly and with a sense of fun missing from much faster, more expensive, and more serious hot hatches, it sold like hot cakes.
VW pulled the plug on the Up GTI in 2022 though, which has limited supply - and along with high demand, it means the Up GTI is one of those rare cars that doesn’t look quite as good value used, thanks to minimal depreciation, as it did when new. It’s no less funky or fun as a result, though.
Not many manufacturers sell small, sporty hatchbacks any more, but the Abarth 595, Renault Twingo GT, and Suzuki Swift Sport were all priced similarly when new. As the Up is holding its value, you might also consider a higher performance hatch that has depreciated more, like the Ford Fiesta ST.
If you can accept that used models don’t represent much of a saving from when they were new, then the Volkswagen Up GTI is very easy to recommend. Being able to buy something this easy to park, which uses so little fuel, yet can deliver so many smiles both in town or on a B-road, almost feels like cheating.
Smart looks inside and out make the Up GTI immediately appealing. Outside there are all the usual GTI trappings, like arch-filling alloy wheels and a red stripe in the grille, while inside, VW trimmed the Up in its traditional ‘Jacara’ tartan. The cabin is spacious for its size and visibility is excellent, and it feels well-built too.
On the road, the Up GTI’s stiffer suspension does make it a little bouncier than a regular Up, but you probably won’t mind too much. There’s plenty of grip and the turbocharged three-cylinder engine is great fun - low weight and a burbly sound make up for the fact that most modern turbodiesel family cars could out-sprint it. It’s very frugal, with a real-world 50mpg quite achievable.
Like the regular Up, the GTI isn’t even out of its depth on longer motorway runs. And running costs shouldn’t sting too much. As well as its low thirst for fuel, the GTI shouldn’t go through consumables too quickly, and while insurance is higher than that of other Ups, it’s lower than most regular hot hatchbacks.
When new, the Up GTI didn’t have many rivals. The Renault Twingo GT got closest but wasn’t as good to drive, and while the Suzuki Swift Sport and Abarth 595 had more performance, they also cost more. The GTI’s strong second-hand prices mean these rivals now look better value than the Up in many cases, as do more serious hot hatches like the Ford Fiesta ST.
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There’s only one, and it’s great - so other than making sure you find a well looked-after, comprehensively serviced car, your only real choices come down to whether to go for the three-door or five-door body style, and which of the four colours (white, red, black, and silver) you prefer.
The Up GTI range is pretty simple, with the GTI serving as its own trim level in the rest of the Up range. The one notable element missing compared to a lot of modern cars is any kind of touchscreen infotainment system - the Up range was instead designed to let you use a standalone infotainment screen supplied by VW, or your own smartphone in a cradle.
The Volkswagen Up GTI’s dimensions are:
The Volkswagen Up GTI’s boot size is:
The single engine and trim level means there’s a single VED or ‘road tax’ rate for the Up GTI too - the same £180 per year as the rest of the Up range, electric e-Up aside.
You’ll find the Up GTI in insurance group 17. This is a fair bit higher than other models in the range - a basic Up starts in just group 2 - but compared to the group 29 of an Abarth 595 and Fiesta ST, or the group 35 of a Suzuki Swift Sport, it looks pretty good value. Only the Renault Twingo GT’s group 11 rating is notably less than the GTI.
Read our full Volkswagen Up GTI