2018 VW Up GTi prototype first drive

When you scan the spec and see the Volkswagen Up GTi is powered by a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine producing a meagre - by the standards of this illustrious performance brand today - 114bhp, you might come over a bit cynical. You might, for instance, wonder if this baby GTi, set to launch early in 2018 and driven here in prototype form, is a cynical marketing exercise to add a bit of vim to the Up range.

Read more about the confirmed Up GTi here

But, even before you get behind the wheel or chat to the wide-eyed engineers working on the project, VW has a pretty convincing counter-argument through a comparison with the Mk1 VW Golf GTi. Demonstrating once again how safety requirements have grown modern cars, for starters, the Up GTi is not far removed from the Golf - 3600mm of length plays 3705mm, 1627mm width 1610mm, a 2415mm wheelbase 2400mm, 1020kg to 880kg.

And if that latter figure makes you twitch, consider that the Up’s 114bhp tops the 109bhp made by the 1.6-litre engine of the 1976 original. Sure, the safety kit and technology packs add a significant amount of extra heft, but the power-to-weight ratio is not far removed at all. Nobody is revealing torque figures just yet, but this manual Up GTi will do 0-62mph in 8.8sec, compared to the Golf’s 9.2sec. If it’s offered with DSG, the Up GTi’s will come down further, too.

Even on this prototype - still more than a year from launch - all the GTi hallmarks are present and correct. There’s a stripe down the bottom edge, tartan seats, red stitching on the steering wheel and a fancy red and black finish on the Up’s moulded dashboard, plus a six-speed gearbox with reverse up and off to the left and a chunky steering wheel to grip; entry-level GTi or not, there’s no corners cut.

Technically, the engine is quite a remarkable feat, running 1.5-bar or turbo pressure (the same as a 911 Turbo, no less) and at a 10.5: 1 compression ratio. Coupled with a water-cooled intercooler, the output from the three-cylinder 1.0-litre unit is pretty impressive and, while engineers reckon they could have pushed closer to 125bhp, this they reckon gives the best trade between power, torque and response.

The Up GTi's peppy engine pulls remarkably well and has a linear power band. The only interruption is an overly-long second gear ratio, which pauses progress in the name of fuel economy gains, reason enough to pause to curse some aspects of the modern world. Work it hard and you are amply rewarded, aided by the slick manual gearbox shift and precise control weights of the pedals. It’s surprisingly refined too - almost disappointingly so, in fact, given its lineage.