2007 Volkswagen Up! Concept Review

Specifications

There isn’t a shadow of doubt that Volkswagen is very serious about the “New

Small Family”, otherwise known as the up! project. Small, nimble and customizable to different markets around the world, it’s a true, modern day resurrection of the original Beetle’s spirit. If it had a mantra, it would be space and efficiency without waste. But the up! is more than just a little box on wheels, it represents the Volkswagen brand’s direction of design. As spacious as the regular up! is, Volkswagen has anticipated that some people might just need a little more space, hence the introduction of the space up!.

The concept of the space up! is exactly what it sounds like, an up! with more space. Volkswagen describes it as more of a small van than a hatchback, and indeed from certain angles it looks quite van-like. Tall, broad and somewhat boxy, its features give it a more aggressive look, and from the side, it reminds us of the early-generation Volkswagen Bulli (also known as the Transporter, Microbus or just “Bus”). The space up! is bigger than the original up!, but by how much you ask? Overall, the space up! is longer than the regular up by 9.1 inches, all of which went towards lengthening the passenger and cargo compartments. It is also 1.6 inches taller, though its width remains the same as its smaller sibling at 64.2 inches. For a production vehicle contrast, the space up! is 5.9 inches shorter than the smallest Volkswagen currently available, the Fox (not sold in North America). Compared to the Rabbit, it’s over one and a half feet shorter.

Access to both the interior and the cargo space is different; the rear doors aren’t regular doors, but rather are rear-hinged units that provide clear and unimpeded access into the interior. You might have noticed that the space up!’s front doors appear long next to the rear-hinged doors. One of the reasons for this is so that the physical front doors could be carried over between two- and four-door up models, saving development and production costs. Interestingly, the space up! does not share the same tailgate design. Instead of a single-piece tailgate like the two-door up!, the space up! features Dutch-style doors that open outwards, just like a wardrobe though split 40/60. Volkswagen opted for this style due to ease of use, and due to height restrictions of garages. Furthermore, the hinged design allows for a total cargo width of over three feet.

The up! is the sort of vehicle family that will be designed to accept any number of different powertrains. In Volkswagen’s press release, the brand is keen to state that any sort of engine could power the vehicle, be it gasoline, diesel or even electric. A small, two- or three-cylinder gasoline engine has been in the cards since before the launch of the original in Frankfurt, but it would be just as easy for Volkswagen to wedge a small turbodiesel under the floor panel as well. With a turbocharger attached, the engine might be capable of using torque to overcome its size and horsepower deficits. Perhaps more importantly is that Volkswagen could expand into the electric car market with the up! In any case, the German brand hopes to have a version of the up, regardless of body style, ready for the end of the decade. On that note, there have been rumors circulating that Volkswagen’s so-called one-liter car will be arriving that very same year. There’s a distinct possibility that the up! and this project may become united.

The interior of the space up! is quite similar to the regular up! in terms of the dashboard’s styling, and the functionality of the controls and the instruments. Instead of featuring analog gauges, its instrument panel is completely digital, with speed, carbon dioxide, mileage and other info displayed to the driver. Just like the first up!, the seats are still of the inflatable sort, which besides being thin, light and easy to remove, conform to the anatomy of each passenger. The key differences in the “space” model is how the seats have been arranged. The front passenger’s seat takes a hint from one of Volkswagen’s biggest vehicles, the MultiVan, which swivels 180-degrees allowing for face to face conversations. Volkswagen has also cleverly integrated a pair of booster seats into the rear bench of the vehicle, much like what one would find in some Volvo models and Chrysler’s new minivans. What would normally be seat bolsters squeeze inwards to provide extra lateral support for smaller frames, while the squab removes, and can be flipped upside down, revealing a supportive, raised seat bottom. These seats work with the car’s regular seatbelts. The fabric used in the space up! matches the blue exterior paint, contrasted with white stitching for extra effect.

As for the cargo area, the space up! offers 7.76 cubic feet of cargo capacity from the trunk floor to the lower window sill when the rear seats are upright. Folded over, this expands to 35.5 cubic feet, a fairly sizeable amount. Because of the nature of the seats, which can be folded and deflated (including the front passenger seat) the space up! can accommodate objects as long as 9.2 feet. For a bit of comparative purpose, the space up! is smaller than a regular Mini Cooper, but offers significantly more cargo space (7.8 vs 5.6 cubic feet).

The space up! is Volkswagen’s primary display vehicle for this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, and we’ve got to say that while it was thoroughly predictable that Volkswagen would build a more practical version of the up!, it’s still impressive how the concept’s engineers and designers were able to eke so much space out of such a small car. While more of the family portrait has been filled in, there are still other members that have yet to be seen. The next will be displayed soon – on our continent no less – and we look forward to the next interpretation of small by Volkswagen.