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Full Circle ... Back to where I started with the VW Up GTI
I well remember the first ever Golf GTI I saw. 1978
I guess and it belonged to the late Tam Ness, pig farmer, rally driver,
and chairman of my motor sport club. At a stroke it made all the Mini
Coopers and MG Midgets look like ancient relics. A few years later I
bought one of the first new Honda CRX’s in Scotland, pretty much the
same recipe of a fuel injected engine in a small, light, simple car. I
loved that car, and just how right it was for spirited driving on the
bumpy little back roads of Fife where I live. Fast forward 40 years and
I’m still driving those same roads, only now in much bigger and more
powerful tackle, yet I’m not sure it’s as much fun anymore. Cars may
have gotten bigger, but the roads certainly haven’t, and most of that
extra horsepower is pointless.
All of which might explain why this afternoon felt
like the clock had been turned back four decades, as I spent it on my
favourite roads in the new Up GTI, courtesy of Barnett’s VW, St
Andrews. If you are reading this you probably already know about the
car, which is Volkswagen’s attempt to recapture some of the magic of
the original, and I’d say that they have succeeded. Forget the
technical specs for a moment, as the first thing that hits you about
driving this car is the size, or rather the lack of it, and unlike
driving these roads in my Porsche, I don’t feel the need to breathe in
every time I pass another vehicle. This
may seem trivial, but it is a real confidence booster, and allows you to
concentrate on placing the car on the road, rather than just hoping
there is enough room. What joy.
Other reports would have you believe that the car
is generally a bit soft, but they obviously weren’t on the tortured
tarmac of rural Fife. The ride is quite good, but the short wheelbase
means a fair bit of pitching over lumps, and you can quickly tell that
the rear suspension is not as sophisticated as the front, but hey
let’s not forget it’s built to a price. The front end is not immune
to torque steer, although the power delivery of the engine is strong
enough below 4,000 rpm that there is not much to be gained by revving it
out. A six speed gearbox seems like overkill, but the ratios are nicely
matched to the power delivery, and I was surprised to find myself using
6th on such small B roads, but it felt natural. I only had
the car for a couple of hours so testing mundane stuff like mpg wasn’t
on the agenda, but I’d be willing to bet that driven with any gusto
the published fuel economy figures will be pure fantasy. And giving it some gusto is the whole point of this
car. A friend showed up recently in a borrowed demo McLaren, and we set
off to give that some gusto, but do so for ten seconds and if there is a
camera van hiding ahead, you are in “goodbye licence” mode. So the
throttle was used with all the care you would use for handling a
radioactive isotope, which surely defeats the whole purpose of having a
damned supercar in the first place, other than bragging rights. You can
dish out dollops of gusto to the Up and still stay within the speed
limits. That’s called driving in my book. I don’t do bragging.
Bravo to VW for taking me back 40 years to my beloved 1500cc 12 valve PGMFI CRX, cos the Up GTI fills the same role but with airbags, Bluetooth, air con and all the other gubbins we all crave these days. As a car it’s not perfect, but it is cheap and it is sensible fun like it used to be before the power wars started. I liked it. In fact I liked it so much I ordered one. Roll on delivery day! Short video added on
youTube https://youtu.be/DmuFKtQlmsM
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