My Mum needs/wants to change her car to something smaller than her current 3 series BMW.
99% of her trips are less than 10 miles but she does do the odd 100 mile trip during the summer only. She’s said a two seater is too small but rarely needs 3 or 4 seats.
I’ve been reading good reviews about the Up! and think a fairly loaded one would be good for her. I especially like the City Emergency Braking system which, frankly, would be a godsend as she seems to have an issue with nudging things because she can’t see the front of the current car that well.
So if anybody has experience of the Up! I would be interested to hear.

Watches thread with interest.

sharkbait – Member

I especially like the City Emergency Braking system which, frankly, would be a godsend as she seems to have an issue with nudging things because she can’t see the front of the current car that well.

How much is the VW?
I’ll bet you dinner that it won’t be as cheap as driving lessons. 💡

Seriously, get her driving sorted. Book her some refresher lessons. If you think she’d get the hump by the suggestion then book yourself in for some too, tell her everyone’s doing it these days.

Parking sensors will be even cheaper than driving lessons. Maybe an eye test?

We have a Seat Mii which is the VW Up! in drag. Great looking little car with a cheeky engine note. The MPG isn’t quite as good as it claims to be – we get about 55-60mpg on a run, and about 45mpg around town. But which car ever consistently makes its claimed figures?

Good points:

Great little car to drive, economical, fantastic around town, easy to park and surprisingly spacious inside. Ours came very well equipped with Sat Nav, Aircon etc. It’s bloody cheap to run – £20 a year tax for example.

Bad points:

With 59bhp it does struggle on anything vaguely motorway-like, but does get there eventually. I’ve even had 80mph out of the thing! (on a private road of course).
Its a quite tinny with very little in the way of soundproofing.
We have had issues with the bluetooth and the Sat Nav unit cutting out frequently. The radio reception appears to be a bit poor.

If you adjust your expectations somewhat, its a fantastic little car.

Gratuitous pic:

Book her some refresher lessons.

Being over 80 I think it’s a little late for this! She sits quite low in her current car and this combined with a deep spoiler on the front has lead to a few scrapes.

sharkbait – Member

Being over 80 I think it’s a little late for this! She sits quite low in her current car and this combined with a deep spoiler on the front has lead to a few scrapes.

My mistake, carry on.

Deep spoiler, FFS. 🙄

Being over 80 I think it’s a little late for this

Have you thought that maybe she should stop driving ??? She sounds like she is a danger to herself and others on the road

Not sure of pricing but I would look at a basic Polo over a highly specc’d Up! Also given her age and usage just buy something used, why pay a new premium.

Also given her age and usage just buy something used, why pay a new premium.

Because she wants to and she can! I can safely say she’s nothing like your average 80 year old!

Forgetting the self righteous bunch o’ twunts up there we have a Skoda Citigo and it is super.

We spent quite a while looking at cars like this and the Up/Citigo/Moi was the only one that felt like a top quality product. Everything else felt like it was trying to be a bit funky and usually felt cheap despite only being £500 cheaper. It is a lovely little car to drive, the controls on the dash are easy to use and compared to rivals the boot is huge. Sound proofing is better than all rivals and the taller position may suit your mum. When reversing the end of the car is very obvious which will help, it is the easiest car to park.

Ours is the SE spec, so mid range, with the winter pack. We thought the sat nav thing was a bit over complex and expensive so left it. Even my wife can get it up to 80 nicely on the motorway and it is more nippy that other 1 litre cars like the Citroen C1 and Suzuki Alto. Ours is the 60ps, the 80 may be nicer for long motorway hauls.

You would have to really love the look of the Up! to go for it over the Skoda which is about £600 less, or the Mii which is £500 less.

If she keeps hitting things, she shouldn’t be driving. Child killed outside my house last year; car only dong 15mph…

So wish they would introduce driving re-tests for everyone every five years.

Rachel

…. an Up! would have stopped.

By hitting things, I mean while parking – front sensors would do the job.

Had one as a hire car for a couple of weeks a little while ago.

Good, fun little car. Quite underpowered, but that’s probably not too much of an issue for you. Probably wouldn’t have one if I lived anywhere particularly hilly (it’s the only car I’ve ever had to floor to do a hill start. I felt sorry for the clutch).

I think other than that, the only thing that particularly annoyed me was the lack of rev counter, and the subsequent embiggening of the speedo. Seemed impossible to adjust seat/steering wheel such that you could see the top of the speedo (without the steering wheel obscuring it) and still drive it comfortably.

Jeez do people think all pensioners sit in their old folks homes wrapped in a blanket?!

I can safely say she’s nothing like your average 80 year old!

Indeed! My 75 year old mum’s current car:

Anyway, back to the topic… 🙂

By hitting things, I mean while parking – front sensors would do the job

this is something I do on a regular basis…

I have had a VW Up High Up from new for the last 9 months. An excellent little car IMO, loads of fun to drive, nippy up to 50 mph, struggles a little over 80 mph, or rather it starts to feel a little unstable for my liking. Drive it on motorways everyday but only for 15-20 miles. Would happily drive it on a motorway for 90 mins or so but would drive my other car for longer trips than this. The furthest I have driven it on a motorway is about 60 miles when I was not in a hurry!

I looked at an UP for a cheap town/company car. Not bad but went for a Pug 208 instead in the end. If your looking for other options in that price bracket i’d recommend the pug.

Looked at The Up, test drove it and the Panda. The Panda won all round a better car better suspension and £2000 cheaper like for like. A girl in work has an UP, she’s happy apart from the gearbox.

She sits quite low in her current car

Raise her seat?

Only heard good things about the Up!,Mii,Citygo.

You may want to consider a pre owned Toyota IQ too,bit expensive new but 2nd hand prices seem more reasonable ,bit shorter than the Up in overall length (closer to a Smart car) but does have the occassional 3/4 seats that a Smart doesnt.

How about a Fabia as an alternative too..

Up’s, Mii’s, and Citigo’s all OK to me, probably the most refined city car out there, just go for the one you prefer the look of. No. 1 daughter has an 04 Arosa 1.0 S and that’s a great little drive. Personally would go with a top spec Citigo and 75 ps motor if not too concerned with residuals. Somewhat biased as recently ‘downgraded’ from Audi’s to Skoda Superb Estate and so far not regretting this at all.

Seat is fully raised…. She’ is actually shrinking.
Re new vs used, she has only ever had 5 or 6 cars in my 49 years and every one was bought new. As this is,in reality, her last car I see no reason to change. She likes VW having had a Golf GTI before the BMW 🙂
We’ll go and look – she may not even like the Up!