Skip advert
Advertisement

Volkswagen Up GTI (2017-2023) – design

The handsome Up is made even more desirable by a selection of typical-GTI design cues

Evo rating
  • An entertaining car to drive, even if it isn’t in the conventional hot hatch manner; high quality interior
  • Some of the interior’s quality should have gone into the chassis

One factor that makes the Up GTI so desirable is its tough and chunky looks. The basic Up, with its clean lines and short overhangs, is a very fine looking car and fits with the very sharp, subtle and elegant designs of other modern Volkswagens. Although, less understated are the VW badges on the Up that look 25 per cent too large, but that does give the impression the car is even smaller than it is.

Advertisement - Article continues below

As for the specific GTI elements – the big, diamond-cut wheels pushed right out to each corner, the red grille highlights, side stripes and its spoiler flicking off the trailing edge of the roof – they make it look like a proper performance car, no matter what its size.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

​Best hot hatchbacks 2025 – from grassroots greats to supercar slayers
Best hot hatchbacks 2025
Best cars

​Best hot hatchbacks 2025 – from grassroots greats to supercar slayers

Contracted though the hot hatch market may be, there are still some great models out there, from the electric Alpine A290 to the five-cylinder Audi RS…
10 Mar 2025
Porsche's EV U-turn means more new petrol cars and hybrids are coming
2025 Porsche 911 GT3
News

Porsche's EV U-turn means more new petrol cars and hybrids are coming

The 911 will get even more exclusive and desirable variants with increased customisability going forward
12 Mar 2025
Pagani Utopia 2025 review – £2.2m Huayra successor nails the hypercar formula
Pagani Utopia
Reviews

Pagani Utopia 2025 review – £2.2m Huayra successor nails the hypercar formula

Only Pagani’s third model-line in more than 25 years, the Utopia builds on everything that made the Zonda and Huayra great, then adds its own unique c…
12 Mar 2025