Welcome to London's VW Independent Garages.We have a team of independent VW specialists who can sort out anything from basic VW servicing to advanced technical VW cars problems. One of the best independent VW Master Technician on site offering knowledge and experience using the latest VW Main Dealer garages compulsory diagnostics equipment.

It's good, the Up. Good enough that the facelifted Panda will have to have raised it's game several notches to match it, good enough to give the entire city car class a real shake up. You didn't expect any less, did you?

• Comfort

  That smooth ride marries an interior that has been lovingly worked over: the ergonomics, seating, layout, design and texture are all top notch, and there's a genuine feeling of space inside the cabin.

  

• Performance

  The Up gets an all-new, all-alloy three cylinder petrol engine in two flavours: 59bhp and 74bhp. It dispenses with the balancers shafts, and VW has worked hard to remove as much harshness from the three-pot as possible. The higher-spec one rumbles along with a reasonable verve, though it doesn't like to revved too much. 

  

• Cool

  It's simplicity should be key here, so as long as there aren't too many trinkets, yes.

  

• Quality

  VW city cars aren't famed for their build quality - we're looking at you, Fox - but this one feels well screwed together and lovingly crafted. 

  

• Handling

  A measure of handling sharpness appears to have been sacrificed for a smooth ride. Steering's a bit soft and it's not as nimble as an Aygo or as eager as James May's favourite, the Panda, but it is very polished.

  

• Practicality

  Despite being smaller than a Panda, it's got a bigger boot (250 litres) and there's actually room for humans and their associated limbs inside, without the need for driver and passenger to become unnecessarily closely acquainted. 

  

• Running costs

  The 74bhp model returns 65.5mpg and both engine variants emit under 100g/km of CO2, so running this thing will be cheap. Plus, if VW can keep that entry price hovering around £8,000, the initial outlay shouldn't be too onerous either.