[*gcharris*]

I got my new Up! exactly 1 month ago. And I hate driving it. I have taken it to my local VW dealer twice now and feel really fobbed off. The engine sounds horrendous - admittedly it is intermittent. I have been given a loan car which was quieter. I was told on both occasions that 'that's just the way an Up! engine sounds'. To me this is not a good reason - it's an excuse. My clutch sounds bad at times too and this does seem to be once I have been driving around for a minimum of 30 minutes - the engine is hot? Funnily enough, when the mechanic at the garage took it for a 5 minute cruise around the block at 20mph it didn't happen.
I had a VW Fox previously, which I paid considerably less for and purred like a kitten. The mechanic informed me that the Fox too had a 3 cylinder engine. So it can't be that.
I am no expert, nor mechanically minded (to my detriment) but I do feel unhappy with the Up! and have consequently contacted VW HQ and am awaiting a response. Their promised 3 days has passed and I will now be calling them to find out what my options are. I am tempted to return the car and hand back the keys, while asking for my old Fox back. Shame as my family and I have been loyal VW customers for many years. Will keep you posted on respnse from HQ.
Rant over!

 

[Itzben]

O eck that's a shame you must of got the runt of the batch! It's always the case when there is a problem and you take it to a garage (any garage) they can't find the problem, I had a problem with my old golf mk5 and I took it various places and it was a grating noise and every garage said "we plugged it in and no fault code appeared" so I'd say back it won't appear its a grating noise as in bits of metal rubbing together so then they would test drive it and hey ho tey wouldn't find it! But they would take my £80 for checking it

 

[b82ry]

there were two petrol and one diesel engine for Fox:- 1.2MPI 40kW (3-cylinder)
- 1.4MPI 55kW (4-cylinder)
- 1.4TDI 51kW (3-cylinder)

It's normal, if clutch and gearbox are noisy till the engine warms up..

 

[*gcharris*]

Yep mine was the 1.2 version. And it wasn't anywhere near as raucous as the Up!

 

[Davec86]

It is a particularly noisy engine, I don't think anyone can disagree with that, it's typical of a 3 cylinder. It's almost silent on tickover, but as soon as you climb the rev range it starts to 'thrum'.
I drove a fox for a while before this, and it was very similar.
Seems you've had a spot of bad luck there, hope you get it resolved

 

[Rickenbacker]

It's a fact that for some reason consumers think that when they have issues with new cars its somehow different from other goods we purchase. Luckily this is not the case and cars can be returned the same as any other faulty goods can this is the law, however, because of the financial cost to the dealer and manufacturer they will generally put up a much harder fight than say B&Q would if you returned a faulty item. They will often be uneconomical with the truth, keep attempting to do repairs and generally fob you off. If your not happy with the car and it has faults read up and research your rights and reject the car, its really not that difficult and will be a weight of your mind.

 

[jonandbilly]

I have been given a loan car which was quieter.

This statement alone suggests there is something different between your Up! and the loan one?

I do like the way mine sounds when it accelerates. Sounds like there's a 'real' engine under the bonnet!

I wouldn't let it drop if your are unhappy with it. Point out the difference between your car and the loan car, prove the difference to them and ask for your money back. They can't say no to your request but may give them the prod they need to get it sorted. Also, if you do agree to let them attempt to fix it, get them to write what they intend to do in a letter to you including their intention to refund if they cannot fix.

Good luck.

 

[vwild1]

I got my new Up! exactly 1 month ago. And I hate driving it. I have taken it to my local VW dealer twice now and feel really fobbed off. The engine sounds horrendous - admittedly it is intermittent.

I had a VW Lupo a total of 9 years before buying the up!, the Lupo developed a pinging noise under hard acceleration after the car had about 15,000km on the clock. I figured it was because of cheap petrol so I switched to high octane premium fuel which after several months showed no signs of improvement. I drove it a total of 160,000km without a problem so in the end I just assumed it was the character of that particular engine.
The up! on the other hand growls when it accelerates hard, I love the sound of that little 3 cylinder..!!

 

[Frankjetta]

Unfortunately it appears that some Ups aren't quite perfect. Luckily ours seems to be fine but I do notice lots of little noises that are not what I'm used to. We have to bear in mind the little soundproofing and proximity of the engine in this compared to bigger cars. (the starter motor appears to be on my knee somewhere). However a good up doesn't sound that bad sopersevere and tell them you want a good one.Try not to let it put you off the car as a good one is great, so far. Good luck.

 

[Derkie54]

It is a shame that you are not happy with your new UP! but if you want to reject the car you will need a better reason than that.The garage has driven it and said there is nothing wrong and you said the loan car was quieter could it be that it has done more miles than yours andbedded down.

In most of my new cars I have expected perfection and heard noises that I wasn't happy with and no one else could here them but after a while you adjust your expectations.

Give it a bit of time and If you really don't get on with your car after that you must find a reason for rejecting it, some cars are noisier than others even when they are the same make and model.

Manufacturing processes on mass produced cars vary, fits and tolerances vary, some will be faster than others, some will last longer than others.

I hope you get sorted or settled with your little UP!

Edited by: Derkie54

 

[Rickenbacker]

Not sure if I would totally agree, speaking from experience the longer you keep the car the harder is to reject it. The car should be free from faults as per sales and supply of goods act, if there is excessive noise this is not normal and something is wrong.

 

[Derkie54]

Not sure if I would totally agree, speaking from experience the longer you keep the car the harder is to reject it. The car should be free from faults as per sales and supply of goods act, if there is excessive noise this is not normal and something is wrong.

Rickenbacker - I do agree with you that it is harder to reject a car when you keep it for a time but ..................... what are the reasons for rejecting this UP!
The dealers say the noises are normal so how do you get them to have the car back ?
If gcharris isconvinced there is a problem andis determined to reject the car they could get an independant report from the AA or RAC to back them up.


Edited by: Derkie54

 

[Dadog]

I guess - logically, if you test drive a car and it is noisy or not up to expectation, that is the time to walk away. Trouble is, if you go ahead and the supplied car behaves and sounds like a farm tractor, you can reject it as not being equal to the test drive car. Let the service people try both cars and the problem should be apparent. If what was going on is 'normal' they should both have the problem.

 

[kentdevonfranceman]

I've driven several UPs and the engines of all of them were noisy and rough especially when compared with the 3 cylinder engine in the new Fiesta which is much smoother and quieter.

The noise from the engine is part of the character of the car, but I have not noticed gearbox or clutch noise and it is not normal for a modern car to need to warm up before it quietens down, so I would definitely follow up on this with the dealer as you don't want to end up with a failed gearbox or clutch just as the car goes out of warranty.

 

[UpMan]

I test drove the Fiesta 100hp 3-cylinder before ordering the Up and it was an amazing engine. The car itself, though, was too big for our needs, so we went with the VW.

 

[Jalna]

I agree, the Fiesta engine (and ride/handling)is superb. However, my experience of the up engine is that it's smooth; slightly rough on tickover but as soon as it's rolling it's a nice engine. That's from a test drive of an up-black, a Citigo (60bhp) and my own up-white, which has now done 1200 miles and gets better all the time.
I actually found the Fiesta a bit cramped. I think is has a similar amount of space, but the design lets it down. The up 'appears and feels' more spacious.
Anyone know why the up doesn't have a 5th seat-belt, it could easily manage a 5th passenger?

 

[ospreywatcher]

Must say over the 700 miles we have done I find the Up engine and gearbox good. Engine certainly no noisier than our Ford KAs - a slightly different 'note' perhaps more like the small diesel Citroens we used to run. Gear box and clutch noiseless - and ratios good on gearbox for 'constant velocity gear changes' or going from 3 to 5 on acceleration in our 40 mph limits.