Volkswagen Finally Debuts Its First EV: The Pint-Sized 'E-Up!'

After teasing us for more than three years, VW's finally set to produce the itty-bitty E-Up!, and of course it isn't headed to the United States. We'll have to wait just a bit longer for the E-Golf.
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After teasing us for more than three years, VW's finally set to produce the itty-bitty E-Up!, and of course it isn't headed to the United States. We'll have to wait just a bit longer for the E-Golf.

The official debut of the E-Up! (exclamation point courtesy of VW) is slated for the Frankfurt Motor Show later this year, after which V-Dub will begin taking orders. It's a nice enough car on paper, but that's academic because we'll never see it. It'll be a Euro-only affair when it arrives early next year. The bigger E-Golf, which sports more range and, presumably, power, goes on sale in the U.S. later in 2014.

In many ways, the E-Up! is a lot like the all-electric Up! hatchback concept that's been kicking around since 2009. The production model loses the concept's oddly innovative 3+1 seating arrangement, but claimed range has increased from 80 to 93 miles. The boosted range comes from 18.7 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery featuring VW's "combined charging system," which allows AC and DC "quick" charging. VW didn't say how long it'll take to charge this baby up, but we figure you're looking at three hours plugged into a 220-volt outlet. On a quick-charging setup, VW claims the E-Up! can get an 80 percent charge in 30 minutes, making it one of the fastest charging EVs available.

Charging is about the only thing the E-Up! will do quickly. The 60 kilowatt (80 horsepower) motor driving the front wheels gets the E-Up! to 60 mph in an achingly long 14 seconds before topping out at a wheezy 84 mph. It's got decent torque, with 154 pound-feet of torque pretty much all the time, but still. Fourteen seconds. Blame some of that on the E-Up!'s porcine weight – the production model gained a few pounds over the concept, increasing from 2,300 to 2,612 pounds.

Inside, the E-Up! gets VW's next-generation infotainment platform, which has been specifically tailored to the EV. That includes listing charging stations in the navigation system, optimizing battery use based on traffic flow and letting you schedule charging so the car draws power from the grid during off-peak hours. An integrated smartphone app that lets you keep tabs on charging status and interior vehicle temps also are planned.

There's no word on price. Stay tuned.

Photos: Volkswagen