http://www.fleetdirectory.co.uk/news/volkswagens-debut-electric-effort-is-a-genuine-alternative-choice-for-business-users/ Volkswagen’s electric debut is a genuine alternative choice for business users By Alisdair Suttie 21 January 2014
[images http://www.fleetdirectory.co.uk/cms-images/Volkswagen-e-up-2014-white-front-parked.jpg The e-up sits right between the Zoe and i3 when it comes to price, if not in size http://www.fleetdirectory.co.uk/cms-images/Volkswagen-e-up-2014-white-side.jpg The e-up is based on the conventional up and enjoys all the benefits of that car http://www.fleetdirectory.co.uk/cms-images/Volkswagen-e-up-2014-white-charging-rear.jpg You can quick charge the e-up from flat to full in three hours or plug it into the mains by a normal three-pin socket for an eight-hour charge http://www.fleetdirectory.co.uk/cms-images/Volkswagen-e-up-2014-white-interior.jpg There's as much cabin space and comfort as any other model in the range http://www.fleetdirectory.co.uk/cms-images/Volkswagen-e-up-2014-white-rear.jpg the 81bhp electric motor gives brisk acceleration and 0-62mph tales 12.2 seconds http://www.fleetdirectory.co.uk/cms-images/Volkswagen-e-up-2014-white-battery-gauge.jpg http://www.fleetdirectory.co.uk/cms-images/Volkswagen-e-up-2014-white-front-parked-2.jpg Volkswagen need not be concerned about being a late entrant to the electric car market ] One of the most telling comments from the nice people at Volkswagen during an early drive of the all-electric e-up is the company thinks it’s come late to the battery-powered party. Given the small number of pure electric cars on sale in the UK, this seems a little self-flagellatory and VW are beating themselves up for no reason when you look at some of the competition. The Nissan Leaf is ugly and mediocre to drive, while the Vauxhall Ampera is expensive even after its recent price drops. The only real competition for the VW comes from Renault’s excellent Zoe and BMW’s want-one i3. Handily, for Volkswagen, the e-up sits right in the middle of this pair when it comes to price, if not in size. Although the e-up is smaller than the Zoe, it gently side-steps this issue by being based on the conventional up and enjoys all the benefits of that car. This includes desirable good looks that mean the e-up should find willing buyers on style alone. Stand out At £19,250, which includes the government’s £5000 Plug-In Car Grant (PICG), the e-up is around £5,000 more than the Renault and £5,000 less than the BMW. It’s a lot for an up, but when you see the e-up it has just enough subtle differences to a standard model for it to stand out. These differences include LED daytime running lights that wrap around the edges of the front lower panel and unique 15-inch alloy wheels. All e-up models in the UK come as five-doors and they enjoy a generous specification to help counter that high initial price. The spec includes air conditioning, cruise control, satellite navigation with driver information display, heated front seats, digital radio and city emergency braking. VW also includes the charging cables for the e-up and, crucially, the battery is included in the cost of buying or leasing the car rather than there being a separate lease charge as there is with the Renault Zoe. Great leasing appeal despite hefty deposit For company drivers, the lease scheme offered by VW will also have great appeal. It requires a hefty £7,000 deposit, which is actually £12,000 but is offset by the PICG contribution, and then a monthly payment of £199. Given the maintenance and other costs are included with the lease deal, this could make the e-up a genuine alternative choice for business users. Admittedly, those users will have to cover relatively short distances compared to some company drivers, but this is the case with all electric cars. As we know, if you rack up 300 miles a day visiting customers or clients, an electric car is not going to be your best friend. However, if you use your company car for several short hop drives each day or simply to commute from home to the office, the e-up could well be a tempting choice. With a realistic range of 100 miles in normal driving conditions on a mild day, the e-up is fine for most typical UK drives. This range will drop to 75 miles if it’s very cold and you need to use all of the heating, lighting and demisting abilities of the car. Even so, many drivers will be able to recharge the e-up at work or at dedicated parking spaces, which are also free as another inducement to go electric. You can quick charge the e-up from flat to full in three hours or plug it into the mains by a normal three-pin socket for an eight-hour charge. As with all electric vehicles, there are caveats as to who will be able to access an overnight recharging point as not everyone can run a cable from their home to the car, but the e-up is no more hampered in this respect than any other battery-powered vehicle. No compromise Where you might find yourself making more effort to accommodate the e-up into your life and become a convert to electric vehicles is the way the Volkswagen drives. Where some electric vehicles feel like a compromise or standard cars that have been hacked around to turn them into EVs, the e-up is an extremely polished and well-thought-through machine. It is obvious from first acquaintance the e-up has been designed from the first sketch as part of the up range. There are no unsightly flaps for recharging points, just the normal filler flap that opens to reveal standard recharging sockets. It also doesn’t need the odd looks of the Nissan Leaf to say ‘look at me, I’m green I tells ya.’ Inside, it’s more of the same as the e-up offers the same cabin space and comfort as any other model in the range. The boot is also virtually identical, with only a 1-litre drop in capacity to fit in the battery and associated gubbins. There’s even a dedicated slot to store the charging cable so it’s not rattling around in the boot and VW has even retained the split level boot floor. Familiar Best of all, though, is the way the e-up drives. It’s started on a normal ignition key and then you just slot the gear lever into drive as you would with any automatic gearbox with an internal combustion engine. By keeping it all very familiar, VW is far more likely to win over sceptics than Nissan’s oddball approach. On the move, the 81bhp electric motor gives brisk acceleration and 0-62mph tales 12.2 seconds, which is a full second quicker than the next best up model with a petrol engine. This performance edge is keenly felt in the way the e-up nips out of junctions and away from the lights, allowing it to jink through town traffic with greater confidence and fun. On the open road, the pace of the e-up remains just as insistent and entertaining. There’s a pleasing turbine whoosh from the electric motor as speed builds and the e-up is more than happy to zip up to the national speed limit on A-roads and motorways. Once up to these speeds, it is also extremely refined and the ride is even more comforting than a petrol-powered up’s thanks to the extra 200kg of weight added by the battery pack. During our drive, we covered 25 miles and used a quarter of the batteries available charge. This wasn’t driving to be green or economic, it was simply normal driving and, if anything, quite spirited as the e-up is so much fun to drive. Doing some very basic arithmetic based on this experience, 100 miles would be a reasonable range from full to empty or 75 miles with some charge in hand for peace of mind. What it also proves is Volkswagen need not be concerned about being a late entrant to the electric car market. Far better to be late and be interesting than the first dullard to pitch up. 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