The Volkswagen Up! GTI is back – but there’s a STING in the tail

The Volkswagen Up! GTI has returned to VW’s UK showrooms after a hiatus in 2019, with things much the same but prices up by around £2k.

It’s only two years since the Volkswagen Up! GTI went on sale in the UK, bringing a lot of what the original Golf GTI offered as a proper little City Hot Hatch, perfect for zipping around urban roads.

But last year, as a backlog in testing for the new WLTP regime took its toll on car makers’ ability to get their cars compliant, VW removed the Up! GTI from the market. But now it’s back.

When VW launched the Up! GTI in the UK in 2018 it cost £13,750 for the three-door and £14,150 for the five-door. But now it’s back, those prices have risen to £15,895 and £16,295 respectively. So obviously VW has given the Up! GTI a serious makeover with extra kit to justify the big price rise. But actually, they haven’t.

It looks like the biggest changes are the new VW logo and a new set of 17″ alloys, with the same 1.0 litre three-cylinder engine delivering 113bhp to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.

If you baulk at the cost of the GTI, VW will now flog you an Up! R-Line complete with 16″ black alloys, lowered suspension, R-Line bumper and black painted roof and door mirrors. It’ll cost you from £14,280, but comes with the much less potent 60bhp 1.0 litre engine.