Volkswagen Up

Mark Prince, General Manager,

Nissan Widnes

"Originally launched to a grateful public in 2012, the diminutive Volkswagen Up has been a huge sales success for Volkswagen and is now a great used buy. The best thing about it is that it's never really felt like a small car - not in the way it drives, the material choices of its interior or the way it rides. It's only when you get out of it and see how much space is left over in a standard parking space that you remember that you're in a bantam Volkswagen. The Up took a lot of the design elements of the Toyota Aygo but gave them a Germanic spin by combining it with the quality of the contemporary Volkswagen Golf. Somehow, during this process, it managed to create a very stylish car with an identity all of its own. The Up is still cute, with big, bug-eye headlights, tiny 15in wheels that are pushed out each corner, and a boxy rear end with a neat glass hatch that sports an oversized badge. Its looks were further enhanced by those refreshes, both of which trimmed the engine range and tweaked the styling. The other thing the Up copied from the Aygo is its four-seat layout. While that does mean that those travelling in the back are less squished together. The Up manages to be both really good fun to drive and remarkably smooth riding. This is partly helped by the smaller wheels on offer, but also by the high levels of grip the car manages to achieve. The controls are a pleasure to use, the gearshift and clutch are easy to operate smoothly and the steering is light yet precise - ideal for low-speed manoeuvres such as parallel parking. But it weighs up nicely during high-speed cornering, inspiring confidence in the Up's handling."