Review: 2012 Volkswagen Up!

The Best Little Car We Can't Have







Despite the fact that the Smart ForTwo has pretty much been a flop here in the United States (and understandably so), we Americans are slowly but surely warming up to intelligent little city cars. The Fiat 500, which got off to a slow start, is gaining traction; Scion is now pushing its miniscule iQ in all markets, and General Motors has just opened the gates on the Chevrolet Spark. But until widespread success in this segment is firmly on record, it's no secret that automakers are hesitant to bring over their smallest offerings. It's one thing to import hundred-thousand-dollar supercars, but when you're trying to compete with a low-price-point product, additional import costs only hurt the business case.



Elsewhere 'round the globe, Volkswagen is enjoying early success with its Up! minicar, the tiny runabout that was named 2012 World Car of the Year during the New York Auto Show. And since VW brought an Up! to the States in order to proudly take the stage during that Big Apple award ceremony, the automaker sent its worldly winner on a tour-de-America. We grabbed the keys for a few days during its stay in the Motor City.