Volkswagen Lupo
One of the smallest Volkswagens ever produced, the Lupo is a terrific tiny city car that delivers everything you’d expect from a motor produced by the German motoring giant. Undoubtedly cute and cuddly, it’s a lot of fun to drive, very cheap to run and actually pretty high quality. If you’re looking for something that’ll make you smile as you battle the traffic everyday, the Lupo should be right up your street.
Introduced in 1998, the sole purpose of the Lupo was to fill the void left by the once similar Polo that had eaten a few too many pies and put on quite a lot of weight. It’s designed to be a budget friendly car that doesn’t cost much to drive, and it succeeds perfectly. This little 2 door gem was available in several versions, with the GTi and 3L being the most well known. It’s no surprise to find the Lupo won several international awards over its life either, and production was ceased in 2005.
In terms of design, it sports everything that’s come to be great about VW cars. That smiling front grille with friendly headlights, curvy body and tidy rear end all combine to produce a really lovely looking auto. Even though it’s designed to be easy on the finances, the inside of the Lupo is really good quality with some funky colour schemes and quite a lot of room for something so small. The boot isn’t anything special to write home about, but there’s a huge optional kit list to check out.
So while the interior might be a bit of a let down, it doesn’t really matter once you get the Lupo onto the road. It’s brilliant to drive and has all the attitude and liveliness you’d expect from a small city car. Fantastic in the turns due to its low centre of gravity and balance, it handles supremely well and goes with confidence; around city streets it’s just magic. With loads of different engines on offer, it can be as perky or as economical as you want, but the 1.6 litre petrol is a bit of a rocket.
The Lupo was cheap by all accounts when it was brand new, but nowadays you can pick up some tremendous bargains. Motors.co.uk is definitely the best place to go as there’s a huge choice of quality used cars for sale at heavily discounted prices, and quality is an element that’s super high. Essentially you’ll pay a tiny fraction of the cost and come out with a second hand Volkswagen Lupo that’s almost like new.
It should be crystal clear that the Lupo is another big hit from everyone’s favourite German carmaker. It’s small, nicely formed, a pleasure to drive and fantastic around town. While it might not be the most exciting or practical inside, it’s very cheap to run and won’t let you down. It’s just great for anyone on a tight budget.