Volkswagen Up!

Up! and about

As the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations come on international radar, every major manufacturer in the world seems to be pouncing to offer something special for these countries. When we get down to talk about cars, one point in consideration is that small seems to be cool after the Delhi Auto Expo 2008. Indian engineering and technology has already been bowed down to after Tata Nano made its launch.

The biggest and the most flattering acknowledgement of the genius of Tata expertise, however, comes from an unexpected quarter – Volkswagen. By introducing the new concept car Up!, first show cased in 2007 in Frankfurt Motor Show, to the Indian audience and making clear that the model will be launched in India (earliest by 2010) AND flagging down the price of the car from 6000 Euros to about 3.3 Lakhs (you can do the math now), Volkswagen is making a strong statement about its wish to capture the emerging Indian market.

Up! seems to be a winner for the German biggie already. VW has tried reaping in on the Beetle image for this new city-car. For one, the new car is modeled on a rear engine like its predecessor. The boot space is provided up-front in the nose but heavy luggage is a strict no-no. This small car is quite big on space for its size as the wheels have been pushed out to the extremities to increase the indoor spaces. The car provides the option of air-filled seats to mold them according to the passenger’s body contours and be deflated when the cargo space needs to be increased. The front grille has been done away with since cooling is not required. Instead, efforts have been made to give the front a “smile”. The rear bumper too is fashioned into a “smile”. One “happy” car for you.

Walter de Silva, Chief Designer of the Volkswagen group, sums it up like this: “The Up! is not a car whose form will become obsolete within a very brief period of time. It shines in its cleverness and yet is made with loving care. And so the up! is a clear and strong statement for future Volkswagen design.” The car was showcased as a two-door coupe but in all probability will be changed to four-door model for cutting costs. Similarly, changes will be in cue for its rear design too. The plastic tailgate with inscribed tail lamps is appealing indeed, but might not be something available to Indian customers in 3.3 (tentative) Lakhs.

The interior of the model on display in the Expo was quite futuristic, complete with LCD screen which displayed the temperature, volume, ventilation and could be worked upon with hand signals. The interface was the coolest-actually I should say the cleanest- that I’ve ever seen. Cherry for the cameras was the console clustered in the centre with climate, radio and trip meter. But again, these features might not be available in the cost-crunched BRIC models.

When this VW finally hits Indian roads around the end of the decade, it will be available in two-cylinder and three-cylinder version. The small, dynamic and high-spirited Up! is sweet on environment too, if not a complete green car. This is enhanced by a CO2 emission indicator to encourage driving efficiency.

People’s Car indeed! And some car, we say! Look out for this one.

(P.S. Volkswagen originally carried the tag “People’s Car”)