VW e-up
The e-up can fully exploit its advantages in the city center. This applies to the shape and functionality of the small car as well as to the electric motorization.
(Photo: Alexander Möthe)
Düsseldorf “Is that the one with the software problems?” Asks a passerby who drives past me and my parked car on a bicycle. I stand in the port of Düsseldorf, not far from the Rhine, to take photos. My motive is that Volkswagen e-up. No, the one with the software problems, that’s the new ID.3, the one at VW for the electrical future and recently celebrated a well-known premiere. In contrast, the electricity-powered mini-car e-up is the down-to-earth present. And also a little bit of the past.
The first electric version of the small car dates back to times when electric cars were laughed at in the wide Wolfsburg empire. At its premiere, the chairman of the board was called Martin Winterkorn, nobody knew about the diesel scandal, and the small e-up was offered, but had a difficult position within the group.
However, today it seems more popular than ever. Volkswagen sells the small e-up as a Volksstromer at a bargain price, including the premium it will only cost € 17,941. The waiting time is correspondingly long: If you order an e-up today, has to wait an average of nine months for delivery.
VW no longer earns money with the e-up, VW boss Herbert Diess had to admit to executives. For each model sold, you accept a loss of 5000 euros. The small e-up helps to cut the fleet cut and avoid possible EU fines – at least until new models take over.
As a combustion engine, the actually popular small cars are discontinued in many places. Opels Karl and Fords Ka + are history, the Smart will only be electric. There is always speculation about the future of the e-up. VW, it is said, has long been working on an ID.1 that could take over its legacy in 2023.
A car for everyday life
It would be, and the Handelsblatt Autotest shows, a shame about the buzzing bread box. The e-up is a personable pragmatist: little space, but also little consumption and a comparatively low price. And once you are behind the wheel, you can see that the e-up has long been part of the streets in German city centers.
Nursing services, pizza delivery men, practice employees and people who are principally plagued by parking lot anxiety often swarm out in the city with this small car. In the mini-segment of registration statistics, only Renault Twingo and the Fiat 500 are usually ahead of him. With the burners, mind you. Seen in this way, alongside the Golf, it is one of the VW models that can rightly be called Volkswagen.
Rear view
VW packs a lot into the compact dimensions, there is not much scope for design highlights. But the e-up should be one thing above all: practical.
(Photo: Alexander Möthe)
In the last pre-crisis month (February), the e-up even came third in the registration statistics for electric cars. Behind E-Golf and Renault Zoe, but ahead of Tesla’s Model 3 and Audi’s e-tron. In everyday life, the Stromer arrives very slowly. And he actually does it very, very well.
With an output of 83 hp and 32 kilowatt hours of storage – there is only this option – and a combined average consumption (WLTP) of 14.5 kilowatt hours, the current generation of the e-up (2019) has a specified range of 254 kilometers. That is around 60 kilometers more than its direct predecessor. Even on paper, that’s not enough for the holiday trip. But it doesn’t have to be, with its space, the e-up is not a holiday car anyway.
Pragmatic solutions
Fortunately, the back seat does not have to be enough for long vacation trips, there is not much space here. The simple fittings are deliberately pragmatic. The windows at the back cannot be lowered, but can only be tilted manually.
(Photo: Alexander Möthe)
It is crucial that the battery charge is sufficient in the practical test for plenty of laps through the city. The real consumption, usually given at around 12.5 kilowatt hours, is actually rather below the reference values without driving on the motorway and at higher speeds. In Eco mode, which throttles the power output, there are even eight to nine kilowatt hours in it.
And as the chassis, trimmed for efficiency, may pass through the streets without enthusiasm, the accelerator pedal dynamically transmits the power to the front axle. As with most electric vehicles, the electric feed is really fun, in the small e-up there is a go-kart feeling – the anti-lock brake system flashes quickly with a warning. Basically, the e-up is also very stable in curves and also has a small turning circle.
Brisk, but not too fast
At the traffic lights, the electric acceleration is enough for irritated looks in the neck, even sporty cars often only appear next to or behind you at the next traffic lights. The green wave is actually not designed for this type of acceleration. In the stop-and-go of the city, the little Stromer does better than an internal combustion engine. Not only because there is no annoying switching. When the brakes are applied or the brakes roll in generator mode (recuperation), the e-up recovers part of the energy released in the process. This slows the range down.
VW finds an excellent balance between roles without resistance and level-dependent energy recovery in the e-up. The small car takes on the excellent sliding properties, that is, it doesn’t take much to get it going and little to keep it going at speeds of up to 60 km / h.
inner space
The multifunction steering wheel including the appropriate gear lever. The operation of on-board computers via the switches and rockers known from VW works well and intuitively. However, like height-adjustable seats, there is only an additional charge.
(Photo: Alexander Möthe)
Blue instead of green
The VW’s own blue ambient light is also known. This gives the e-up a slightly futuristic charm in the interior – works. The radio can DAB +, the connectivity with the smartphone is straightforward. Features such as navigation then also come externally via the cell phone – albeit via the VW app.
(Photo: Alexander Möthe)
The recuperation can be set manually on the automatic gear lever (it is not a gearbox). One pull on the lever and the generator brakes the e-up sharply. A small jerk to the left or right switches through the four level settings for energy recovery. This is not entirely intuitive, but it is also not difficult. In fact, I have always found myself stopping more in the city traffic with the gear lever than with the brake pedal.
The small car drives very smoothly and smoothly up to 100 km / h, after which it gets tiring. At 130 kilometers an hour, the e-up also works after work – this is where the built-in speed limit intervenes. But you can live with that: on the one hand, because the vehicle is not built for high speeds and motorway marathons, on the other hand, because the energy consumption in this area increases exponentially.
VW is doing very well here when calculating the remaining range. This of course rises and falls with the behavior of the user. In other words, anyone who accelerates often and vigorously also reduces the range. There are no surprising jumps, which in the meantime triggered a panicky search for the next socket on the side of the road, with some of the older electric cars.
Good planning outside the city is important
Speaking of the socket: Of course, such an electric car is still more for people who have the option of charging the car for a long time either at home or at work. This is not even due to the downtime, after a few hours the battery of the e-up itself is charged with an 11 kW connection. Even the normal house AC plug is sufficient overnight or during working hours.
The charging network is also growing rapidly. Real fast charging stations are still a rarity and can usually be found on the premises of the manufacturer’s car dealerships. The charging stations operated by municipal utilities or energy companies are now quite widespread in city centers. Unfortunately, charging in urban neighborhoods is still difficult.
Stowed away well
In case of doubt, the charging cable salad can of course also be stored in the footwell or left at home (not recommended). The back seat of the e-up is foldable and foldable.
(Photo: Alexander Möthe)
At the gas station
The number of charging points is increasing, but the decisive factor at the moment is how much time you have to recharge. Fast chargers that promise a range of 100 kilometers in half an hour are rarely easily accessible – and require expensive accessories.
(Photo: Alexander Möthe)
Trips where you leave the city probably want to be planned anyway. VW offers its own route planner, which is based on data from Google Maps added corresponding waypoints and where you can enter range estimates. Payment should also be possible via the app. However, the registration required for this is so cumbersome that I have to Innogy-Power station of the city of Karst again by Paypal pay.
The charging result in the everyday test is OK. The e-up hangs on the supplied cable for 35 minutes – a very long espresso. Plug it in, snap it in, lock the car, start the charging process by mobile phone: this is not as smooth as the Super E10 nozzle, but it is also not too much work.
In the test, 2.8 kWh went in during that time, for 0.39 cents per kilowatt hour, a good 30 kilometers traveled cost me 1.11 euros. Extrapolated, the car would be full after about 6.7 hours for a good 12.50 euros. That in turn is counted down to the kilometer: almost five cents. By the petrol stop, the operator website kindly explains, I saved 2.4 kilograms of CO2. And compensated for 1.8 square meters of forest. She does not reveal where he is now.
Otherwise, the e-up delivers everything you know and expect from the smallest car. The trunk didn’t really deserve its name, but it is enough for a few bags. The charging cables are located under the cover, under which the spare tire is otherwise located. For this, two packs of grilled food from the sausage machine in the Bergisches Land comfortably fit into the glove compartment, which is also cooled with the air conditioning system.
Too quiet for pigeons
The e-up comes as a five-door hatch, which makes it easier to get into the rear seats. In the back seats it gets tight from a height of 1.80 meters. On the other hand, it sits comfortably in the front, even if there is a little lack of adjustment options and the seat height adjustment is only available for an additional charge.
Fortunately, Volkswagen has installed all the extras in the test car: daytime running lights, multifunction steering wheel (leather), quick-charging cable, seat heating and driving assistants, for example, add the “Style” equipment variant. In total, the extras make up around 2,800 euros. The nice thing is, however, that you rarely need any of them in everyday life. Only the cruise control simplifies the consumption control.
Standard connector
The green light shows the charging status. Charging only when everything is locked – safety comes first.
(Photo: Alexander Möthe)
Perhaps you should treat yourself to an extra, especially since it is subsidized: the “e-sound”. Modern electric cars now have to make a noise up to a speed of 30 kilometers per hour. However, the e-up has been on the market since mid-2019, the regulation had not yet been adopted at the time. The optional quiet murmur is said to save human lives when in doubt. For pigeons, on the other hand, the system seems too quiet: In the historic streets of Velbert-Langenberg, I still had to get out and shoo myself, despite the 150-euro sound. That was enough for applause.
Without frills and special requests, but with the current environmental bonus, the e-up costs 17,941 euros. And thus just over 4000 euros more than the combustion engine. This makes the Stromer attractive as a first car for anyone who only needs the car for journeys in the city and in the immediate vicinity. The software, I can assure the gentleman on the bike, will not fail.
Technical specifications
Five-door, four-seat mini car, length: 3.60 meters, width: 1.64 meters (with exterior mirrors 1.91 meters), height: 1.50 meters, wheelbase: 2.41 meters, trunk: 251 – 941 liters
Electric motor, 61 kW / 82 hp, maximum torque: 210 Nm to 2,800 rpm, input gearbox, 0-100 km / h: 11.9 s, Vmax: 130 km / h, battery capacity: 32.3 kWh, range (WLTP): 256 km, power consumption: 12.7 kWh / 100 km ((NEDC), 14.5 kWh / 100 km (WLTP), CO2 emissions: 0 g / km, emissions standard: Euro-6d-temp, efficiency class : A +, price: from 21,975 euros (without environmental bonus or VAT reduction); price of the test car: 25,895 euros (without environmental bonus).