VOLKSWAGEN E-UP!

Now with double the range, is the e-up! the city EV you’ve been waiting for?

- Jonathan Musk

Volkswagen reckons only 5% of up! orders will be for the electric variant, with sales hindered by a lack of supply. Nonetheless, the German brand has refreshed its electric city car for 2020. But only slightly. Aside from very minor cosmetic changes, what’s really new is the car’s powertrain. The old car suffered from a distinct lack of power and range, which restricted its appeal to a select few customers and also made it appear expensive against competition, such as the Renault ZOE. Volkswagen has largely addressed this issue by installing an e-Golf-sourced 36.8kWh (32.3kWh usable) battery into the tiny city car. This increases range to 159 miles (WLTP) compared to the old car’s 83 miles range from its 18.7kWh battery. Interestingly, the new battery is smaller in volume and only 15 kilograms heavier.