The recent cold and murky weather has revealed a feature of the Lupo that I and the rest of the evo crew hadn't noticed before ΂- some sort of traction control. It shows itself when you're ragging it from first to second gear, or pulling out of a junction fairly swiftly (though not if you stomp hard on the throttle, in which case the little terrier stands still and smokes both its front Dunlops). A flick through the manual revealed that the Lupo GTI is equipped with EDL (Electronic Differential Lock). It uses the ABS sensors to detect any significant difference in speed between the driving wheels and balances them out by slowing down the spinning wheel and applying more driving force to the wheel with more grip (which could explain why it doesn't work when both wheels are spinning rapidly and at the same rate). You hardly notice its operation, though you do occasionally hear an ABS-like noise. How effective is it? I'm not entirely sure, but the Lupo GTI goes jolly well whatever the weather.

Now the roads are starting to dry out again, I can start to enjoy the full potential of the Lupo once more, the worn shoulders of the tyres having less effect on my chosen cornering line. I had begun to take the Lupo for granted until I drove the new breed of hot hatches on our photo-shoot (p70), though I did have enormous fun driving the old 205 GTI home from the shoot. Back in the VW, I understood why so many compare the Lupo to the old-skool hot hatches. It's small, fun and chuckable, and I love it.