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VW e-up price and specs revealed

Rejoice, eco warriors; we have specs and price information for the VW e-up. The all-electric, five-door runaround will cost £19,250 when it goes on sale on December 2nd 2013, with first deliveries expected to arrive in January 2014.

The up’s usual petrol engine has been ditched in favour of an AC electric motor. It produces a reasonable 60kW (82PS) of power and 210Nm of torque so it should prove nippy but by no means rapid. 0 to 60mph takes 12.4 seconds, while the top speed is 81mph.

The range is said to be 93 miles, although you can expect real world results to be less impressive. That’s a lot less than the Nissan Leaf’s 124 mile range, but not as bad as the Renault Twizy.

The VW e-up includes regenerative braking to help ensure the energy lost from slowing down is not wasted. As you lift off the accelerator, five different settings (D, D1, D2, D3 and B) vary the amount of energy that is converted from braking into recharging the battery. Such is the strength of the regenerative braking in the D2, D3 and B setting, the brake light is automatically turned on when coasting.

Three driving modes can be selected. Standard gives you full power, while Eco drops the maximum power to 50kWh (a drop of 10kWh), reduces the air-conditioning level and makes the throttle less responsive to help preserve juice. Eco+ further drops the maximum power output to 40kWh and air-conditioning is disabled completely.

The VW e-up only comes with one trim level, which means no messing around as you pour over the options sheet. LED daytime running lights, 15-inch alloy wheels, a fast-charging capability, DAB digital radio with six speakers, rear parking sensors and climate control all come as standard.

City Emergency Braking also makes an apearance. This can automatically apply the brakes if the car detects an impending collision whilst driving at speeds of 18mph or less. 

In the UK buyers can purchase a wall box that can charge the e-up using a 3.6kWh supply, allowing a full recharge from empty in six hours. With a household socket the time is nine hours.

A three-year warranty is standard and can be extended by one or two years if you front up more money. The battery, which is 18.7kWh in size, comes with an eight-year or 100,000 mile warranty.

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