132 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | APRIL 2019
“The under-the-radar
style is a big Porsche
constant whose subtle
appeal should not be ”
could easily be cut in half to make
way for a coolant gauge that would
tick a retro hot-hatch box.
My main negative about the Up
GTI has always been its fidgety ride.
‘It just never feels tied down’, says
Chapple. ‘It wasn’t quite as sharp
as I thought it would be with a
footprint this small,’ says Cheung.
But McKay sees an upside: ‘The Up
is like a beginner’s GTI, and the lack
of composure could be a good thing
if it’s your first performance car. The
traction control might interfere,
sure, but you can feel like you’ve got
some drama to enjoy.’
From his experience as an Up
GTI owner, what would Chapple
change? ‘My advice would be to
change the tyres straight away.
VW’s eco tyres were a big mistake,
but with WLTP emissions regula-
tions coming in this was the first car
that was tested. The engineers may
have said “nein” but the bosses had
no choice but to say “ja’’. You can
get a great compound from Pirelli,
but most tyre makers have a better
one – just avoid Goodyear.’
That’s exactly what’s sittingon the standard 17-inch ‘Oswald’
wheels of our car. Those wheels are
a key feature of the package that
turns an Up into an Up GTI, along
with sports springs, bigger front
brakes with red calipers, heated
seats and black exterior detailing.
Our car has £1175 of extras,
including the combination of black
roof and Tornado Red paint, the
City Emergency Braking pack,
automatic lights and wipers, Beats
audio and the Cruise and Park pack.
Why is Chapple in the process of
selling his? It’s not because he hasn’t
enjoyed owning it since May 2018.
‘I’m moving house,’ he explains,
‘so I’m going to be doing a lot more
miles. It would basically kill thevalue if I stuck a load of miles on it.’
So there are more negatives and
more room for improvement than
I’d figured out for myself. But ourtrio all really like the Up GTI and
can’t suggest any showroom-fresh
alternatives that provide similar
performance and fun for the money.
‘For less than £15k I don’t think
there’s anything new that comes
anywhere close, let alone better,’
says McKay. ‘That’s midrange
Nissan Micra money. It’s a very
impressive package for how much
it is.’
Chapple adds: ‘Of course,
you have to accept a degree of
compromise. But a Lupo GTI today
would be about £20,000. That gave
you wide arches and aluminium
panels but, as a driver’s car, it wasn’t
very good.’
What about hot-hatch diehard
Cheung? ‘As a new car, it’s great for
the price and far more interesting
than the Polo GTI. The biggest
problem I would face is that I’d look
at a secondhand Fiesta ST for that
money.’
@_jakegrovesFidgety ride
doesn’t stop
you attacking
corners with brio‘It’s great for the
price and far more
interesting than a
Polo GTI. But what
about a used Ford
Fiesta ST?’
LAWRENCE CHEUNG‘It just never feels
tied down. And
the eco tyres are
a big mistake – I’d
change those
straight away’
ANDREW CHAPPLE‘The Up is like a
beginner’s GTI,
and the lack of
composure means
you’ve got some
drama to enjoy’
AARON McKAYPlenty of GTI
design cues for
VW buff Chapple
to tick offNEXT MONTH
YOU DRIVE OUR
BMW 8-SERIES
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Alex Tapley