Lupo GTI to UP GTI

[Grumpy]

After selling my third Lupo GTI over 3 years ago and having been actively looking pretty much since then for a mint, low mileage replacement Lupo GTI in Laser, Raven or Anthracite, I have finally given up the ghost and put down a deposit on a 3 door Tornado red Up GTI. Going to see it Thursday and all being well I should have some pics in a week or two.

[Y2ACP]

Up Gti definitely on my shot list of next car hopefully not for a while yet,What mileage/price was you looking at for a Lupo? Let us know how you think the up compares.

[mk2]

3 hours ago, Grumpy said:

After selling my third Lupo GTI over 3 years ago and having been actively looking pretty much since then for a mint, low mileage replacement Lupo GTI in Laser, Raven or Anthracite, I have finally given up the ghost and put down a deposit on a 3 door Tornado red Up GTI. Going to see it Thursday and all being well I should have some pics in a week or two.

I hope you've done a test drive....? A few people on here over the last few years have done exactly what you're doing and went back to Lupo. Neither car handles that well, but the Lupo definitely feels more "planted" or solid on the road. Yes the Up is slightly more comfy but that's about it. I look forward to your thoughts once you've had it for a few months.

[mickster]

I've had my mum's old one for over a year now (68 plate she bought new) and as much as I love the Loop (I could never park up without taking a look back over my shoulder and going corrrr what a good looking car 😅), the Up is so much fun and has really won me over. Standard the handling is much better than the Lupo and although the turbo and modern power steering mean the drive doesn't have quite the same charm and connection to the road, blasting the A roads is still a joy, motorway driving is much more comfortable, and in this age of almost £2 a litre you can't argue with the economy - I often get 50mpg or more on a London to Brighton run and I don't drive like a granny! 

My only real gripes are that sometimes you can really feel that it is only a 1L (it sees first gear much more than the Lupo did!) and it has been built to a budget unlike the Lupo GTI - many things you can correct yourself easily but others, stupid things like the fact the door switches don't light up, are at least beyond my capabilities. 

[Skajme]

This is a change I have been contemplating to be fair, The Lupo needs a bit of tidying up bodywork wise and I just don't know if I can be bothered anymore. But then I don't want to get rid and severely regret it! I suppose the ideal situation would be to have both

[lupogtiboy]

I have both! 

I can't part with my Lupo, it's part of the family now, so not going anywhere! But I needed a new daily, so I bought a 2012 High Up! from the dealer I work for. Came fully loaded, it had 7.5k on the clock when I got it. My son now owns it as his first car and now has 75k and has been amazingly reliable. Fun car to drive, especially on 17'' rims and factory sports suspension, you can chuck it into bends and have a right laugh!

The time came and it was paid off, but the intention was always to give it to my son. I thought I'd done a 5 year HP thing, but it was on a 4 year, so as soon as I found that out, I knew what I wanted. I test drove our demo Up! GTI when it first arrived (on garage plates and not even registered!) and decided it was similar enough to the Lupo in terms of fun. So I asked my mate in sales if they had any, and sure enough, they'd ordered one for stock that was due in within a few weeks. Tornado red 3 door with a black roof, beats sound system, cruise control, parking sensors and rear view camera, pretty much everything I wanted bar auto lights and wipers, but I could live with that. I kept it standard for a while, but I found that as an everyday car, it was lacking a bit of performance, especially the higher up you get in the rev range. Over 5k revs, you can really feel the power drop on a standard map. So I took her to a friends garage that does APR remaps and had the stage one map put on her. Wow! Total transformation. It now revs to the red line without fuss, pulls like a train and still gives me 55mpg+ everyday. I've added a Forge intake, Forge dump valve and the VW Racingline turbo elbow, I reckon she's got to be making 145-150bhp now easily. I love the noise of the dump valve too, really catches people out when they walk past! 

Next mods are going to be an exhaust and coilovers, I'm thinking of trying the Lupo Whiteline rear ARB as well. It handles quite well for a standard car, but does roll a bit in corners. The seats could be a bit more supportive for enthusiastic driving, but they are comfortable on long journeys. I'd love to find a set of Polo GTI front seats to see if they'd fit one-day. It ticks all my boxes as a daily, I bought it new in April 2019 and I've covered nearly 48k of fun happy miles. 

It's not the Lupo, but it feels similar and has the smile factor like the Lupo. It doesn't feel as special as the Lupo, and lets be honest, I doubt any manufacturer will ever go to town on a small car like VW did with the Lupo GTI ever again. Side by side they're similar in a lot of ways, and I love my Up nearly as much as I do my Lupo, so it's another car I'm planning on keeping. The Up is a far easier car to make faster as it's turbo'd already, but I still prefer the Lupo. It just has something about it that I love.

 

Edited August 31, 2022 by lupogtiboy

[mk2]

One of the best comparisons I've read 👍🏻

Got a "like" for that post from me!

You should work for a dealer...

 

[Grumpy]

Well that generated some great feedback. Going to test drive it tomorrow so fingers crossed it doesn't dissapoint. It will be a daily in effect although being an old buffer I don't do that much local mileage and I am lucky enough to have a Cayman for longer trips.

Always loved the Lupo GTI and having had 3 of them I am struggling to get them out of my head. With parts becoming more and more difficult to find and deluded seller's asking stupid prices for rubbish cars I felt now is the time to step into something else.

[lupogtiboy]

That's the only thing that worries me with the Lupo, getting parts. VW had a massive cull back in 2020 and made around 80% of Lupo parts obsolete. Thankfully there are a few places you can get non-oe parts, but not everything. I'm glad I stockpiled a lot of spares when you could get them!

[Grumpy]

Good and bad news on my hunt for an Up GTI. So last Thursday I travelled 250 miles round trip to see the Up GTI which I had put a deposit on at a VW Dealership. The car unfortunately was not as described bodywork wise and I decided not to proceed. I did drive the car and really liked the driving position etc. There was a lot which reminded me of my Lupo GTI's. So the hunt continued and I have been to see a VW AUC 21 plate, 3 door in Tornado red today. Black roof, cruise and park, light and sight and height adjustable passenger seat, 1 owner. Deal done and picking it up in a couple of weeks. Can't wait and pictures to follow.

[Grumpy]

On 8/31/2022 at 10:26 AM, lupogtiboy said:

I have both! 

I can't part with my Lupo, it's part of the family now, so not going anywhere! But I needed a new daily, so I bought a 2012 High Up! from the dealer I work for. Came fully loaded, it had 7.5k on the clock when I got it. My son now owns it as his first car and now has 75k and has been amazingly reliable. Fun car to drive, especially on 17'' rims and factory sports suspension, you can chuck it into bends and have a right laugh!

The time came and it was paid off, but the intention was always to give it to my son. I thought I'd done a 5 year HP thing, but it was on a 4 year, so as soon as I found that out, I knew what I wanted. I test drove our demo Up! GTI when it first arrived (on garage plates and not even registered!) and decided it was similar enough to the Lupo in terms of fun. So I asked my mate in sales if they had any, and sure enough, they'd ordered one for stock that was due in within a few weeks. Tornado red 3 door with a black roof, beats sound system, cruise control, parking sensors and rear view camera, pretty much everything I wanted bar auto lights and wipers, but I could live with that. I kept it standard for a while, but I found that as an everyday car, it was lacking a bit of performance, especially the higher up you get in the rev range. Over 5k revs, you can really feel the power drop on a standard map. So I took her to a friends garage that does APR remaps and had the stage one map put on her. Wow! Total transformation. It now revs to the red line without fuss, pulls like a train and still gives me 55mpg+ everyday. I've added a Forge intake, Forge dump valve and the VW Racingline turbo elbow, I reckon she's got to be making 145-150bhp now easily. I love the noise of the dump valve too, really catches people out when they walk past! 

Next mods are going to be an exhaust and coilovers, I'm thinking of trying the Lupo Whiteline rear ARB as well. It handles quite well for a standard car, but does roll a bit in corners. The seats could be a bit more supportive for enthusiastic driving, but they are comfortable on long journeys. I'd love to find a set of Polo GTI front seats to see if they'd fit one-day. It ticks all my boxes as a daily, I bought it new in April 2019 and I've covered nearly 48k of fun happy miles. 

It's not the Lupo, but it feels similar and has the smile factor like the Lupo. It doesn't feel as special as the Lupo, and lets be honest, I doubt any manufacturer will ever go to town on a small car like VW did with the Lupo GTI ever again. Side by side they're similar in a lot of ways, and I love my Up nearly as much as I do my Lupo, so it's another car I'm planning on keeping. The Up is a far easier car to make faster as it's turbo'd already, but I still prefer the Lupo. It just has something about it that I love.

 

Where did you source your red GTI badge on the tailgate and have you done the same with the front badge.

[lupogtiboy]

They are vinyl overlays from EZMODS, and I've done the front badge too, looks so much better, especially on a red car. 

[Grumpy]

Much appreciated. They look great 👍 

[Grumpy]

Vinyl overlays ordered from EZMODS 😁

[Grumpy]

Early start this morning. Three trains later and I picked the car up from the dealership around midday. Paperwork etc completed and just back home after 130 miles on a mixture of fast A roads and motorways. Really comfortable to drive and incredibly economical. Managed to achieve a combined 58mpg on the journey home and I wasn't hanging around although I was obeying the speed limits. Need to give it a good clean and will then get some pictures up. 😍

[Y2ACP]

Enjoy and keep us posted.

[lupogtiboy]

I'm glad you found one in the end. They really are fun cars to drive and surprise a lot of people who think 'it's just an Up!'

Enjoy yourself!

[Grumpy]

Finally got round to taking a couple of photos. Had the car about 6 weeks and absolutely love it.

[Y2ACP]

That looks lovely never had a white car thought I’d like that most but now I’ve seen yours? Are you enjoying it more than the Lupo?

[Skajme]

Looks lovely. Find it mad how much nicer they look than the normal Up, when it's really very subtle styling. I think it's the wheels that really set it off!

[Grumpy]

15 hours ago, Y2ACP said:

That looks lovely never had a white car thought I’d like that most but now I’ve seen yours? Are you enjoying it more than the Lupo?

Whilst it's early days I would say on balance very much yes. I find it more fun to drive and much less of a headache worrying what's going to go wrong next with a Lupo and where I am going to source the parts.

[MattyB]

Had mine 3 years and done 35k - it's been faultless and has cost pennies to run. They're great cars.

However for the love of God replace the Goodyears! They're well known to split - loads of stories. Either replace with PS4/PS5s, or I can recommend dropping down to 16" wheels - I've fitted some BBS and it's made a world of difference to the ride quality.

[lupogtiboy]

I run 205/40 r17 Uniroyal Rainsport 5s on mine, a massive improvement on the crap Goodyears

[Grumpy]

Interesting comments regarding tyres thanks. I see Volkswizard recommend Goodyear Eagle F1's. I like the look of the 17" wheels so will probably stick with those.

[mickster]

I replaced my Goodyears on the front about a month ago with Falken ZE310 Ecoruns, I couldn't be arsed messing with non standard sized tyres and there isn't much choice in 195/40R17. £160 all in and I'm liking them, much better in the wet than the Goodyears despite the lower rating that's for sure. The Goodyears had done 15k miles in 4 years and still had a good amount of tread but the sidewalls were cracked to hell and there were cracks running inside the tread too, very dangerous!