I have tried non-OE armrests, like the ones you find on eBay for about £50, in the past and have generally found them wanting. They wobble about like crazy and are not sturdy enough to take the 'pressure' of an arm, IMO.
I therefore bit the (expensive) bullet and bought an OE armrest from my local Seat dealer for ‚¬150. AFAIK, VW are not selling them (yet), so I had to go with Seat. It is 100% black, which although doesn't really match my Dark Denim seats and off-white doors & dash, does go with the carpet and handbrake, so no real problem.
It is a bit of a pain to fit, as the handbrake shroud/cupholder needs to be dismantled and then trimmed slightly with a Stanley knife at the back to accommodate the metal mounting bracket supplied with the armrest. I took my time to ensure an OE-look finish and maybe spent 90 minutes on it in all. The instructions are OK, but not always 100% clear, so I found myself having to stop from time to time and figure out exactly what they were trying to achieve.
The end result is worth the expense and trouble, IMO. Having a rest makes for a more relaxed driving position and the rest really doesn't interfere much with the handbrake. You lose the rear cupholder, but the rest does incorporate a felt-lined, oblong-shaped cubby hole which is big enough for a phone or a pair of sunglasses, for example.
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I therefore bit the (expensive) bullet and bought an OE armrest from my local Seat dealer for ‚¬150. AFAIK, VW are not selling them (yet), so I had to go with Seat. It is 100% black, which although doesn't really match my Dark Denim seats and off-white doors & dash, does go with the carpet and handbrake, so no real problem.
It is a bit of a pain to fit, as the handbrake shroud/cupholder needs to be dismantled and then trimmed slightly with a Stanley knife at the back to accommodate the metal mounting bracket supplied with the armrest. I took my time to ensure an OE-look finish and maybe spent 90 minutes on it in all. The instructions are OK, but not always 100% clear, so I found myself having to stop from time to time and figure out exactly what they were trying to achieve.
The end result is worth the expense and trouble, IMO. Having a rest makes for a more relaxed driving position and the rest really doesn't interfere much with the handbrake. You lose the rear cupholder, but the rest does incorporate a felt-lined, oblong-shaped cubby hole which is big enough for a phone or a pair of sunglasses, for example.
You do lose the cupholder, but I never used it anyway, and neither do the kids at the back. In our house the Up! is a school-run car only, not a GT. It does interfere a little bit with handbrake operation, but not as much as I thought it would and no worse than cars with armrests as standard.
