Used Volkswagen e-Up 2013-2023 review

There are two schools of thought when it comes to designing an electric car, with the first option being to develop an electric car from an existing model and the second to develop a car that's completely new from the ground up. The Volkswagen e-Up falls into the first category.

It's based on the VW Up petrol car, but the engine has been ripped out and replaced with a battery.

Performance & Range: Early e-Ups feature a tiny (by today's standards) 18.7kWh battery for 100 miles of official range – between 50 and 75 miles is more realistic and perhaps even less if it's a really cold day and you're doing motorway driving.

The e-Up went off sale in 2017, but when it returned in 2021, it received a 36.8kWh battery for an official range of 161 miles – much better, but still way off the pace by Renault Zoe standards.

With just 81bhp (pre and post update), the e-Up offers tame performance by electric car standards. However, it still feels nippy around town and there's just enough poke to manage at motorway speeds – if you're doing lots of motorway journeys, there are much better alternatives, of course.

Ride & Handling: Approach a corner and, remarkably, the e-Up is quite good fun, thanks to its direct steering. It handles well, too, and it even rides slightly better than its petrol-engined sibling, taking bumps and potholes with aplomb. There’s a good rush of almost instantaneous acceleration, too, and the car, while not ultimately very fast, is quick enough to cope easily with nearly all road situations.

There are five different levels of energy recuperation, which increase the amount of regenerative braking that happens when you lift off the accelerator. The aim is to put energy that would normally be lost in slowing down and braking back into the battery.

There are also three separate driving modes that adjust the climate control, performance and speed limiter in order to either improve comfort or increase the range. Normal lets you drive unimpeded, Eco reduces performance slightly and Eco+ switches off interior heating altogether and cuts performance further still.

Interior & Practicality: Inside, there’s a good driving position, although the steering wheel doesn’t adjust for reach, which some might find a pain. The dashboard is logically laid out and user-friendly, and space up front is fine.

The rear seats are limited to two people, and taller passengers will feel a little cramped. The boot is decent for a city car, and the variable-height boot floor means you can hide the charging cables.

Trims & Equipment: With the e-Up, there's just the one trim and it gets you the basics: cruise control, rear parking sensors, Bluetooth connectivity and a few more. As you might expect for a city car, luxuries aren't exactly in abundance.

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You can buy an earlier 2013 e-Up for around £11,000 now. This will get you a clean car with an average mileage for the year and a full history from a trade seller. With around £13,000, you should be able to pick up a good 2015 car with the same criteria, bought from an independent dealer, while you’ll need between £16,000 and £20,000 for cars registered in 2016 and 2017.

Electricity obviously costs a lot less than petrol, although it’s worth bearing in mind you’ll pay a lot more for an e-Up than a regular Up. Insurance costs are roughly on a par, but you do benefit from free road tax, since there are no tailpipe emissions. There's an eight-year battery warranty from new.

The e-Up will need regular servicing, but it should work out to be cheaper than a petrol Up, because there’s no oil to change. Volkswagen doesn’t offer fixed-price servicing for electric cars nor publish any fixed price costs, so it’ll be worth contacting a few Volkswagen dealers to find out which one works out the least expensive.

There's only the one version of the e-Up available, but it's quite handsomely equipped, with 15in alloy wheels, heated front seats, a 5.0in colour screen and a mount to hold your smartphone when running Volkswagen's Maps+More app. It also comes with cruise control, automatic headlights, rear parking sensors, city automatic emergency braking and Car Net, which comes with a three-year subscription.

The Renault Zoe is larger than the e-Up, and it shows in interior and boot space. It also has a much longer claimed range. It’s good to drive, too, and quiet and comfortable inside.

The Hyundai Ioniq is available in three distinct power sources: petrol-electric hybrid, plug-in petrol-electric hybrid and pure electric. It’s larger again than the e-Up and the Zoe, with plenty of space inside. In electric variety, it’s quick off the line, easy to drive and well equipped inside.

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Interested in buying a used Volkswagen e-Up? Visit our Used Cars For Sale pages to find lots of cars listed at great prices.