What's the news?

Volkswagen has announced that it will be unveiling its new Cross up! model to the world at the Geneva Motor Show next month. The Cross up! will join the existing range of Cross models - consisting of the CrossPolo, CrossGolf and CrossTouran - which the company says are enjoying great success in Europe.

Exterior

Naturally, the Cross up! is based on the regular up!, however it features a more rugged and sporty look. Like the other Cross models, the Cross up! gets a higher ride height and black plastic around the wheel arches and sills. Full-length protective strips also run along the doors complete with 'Cross up!' lettering. To combat the sea of black plastic, Volkswagen has added silver touches to the roof rails, door mirrors and on the front and rear bumpers. The new model also features the largest wheels available on an up! in the form of 16-inch 'Cross' alloys.

Interior

Again, not much has changed here from the standard up!. Opening the door, you're greeted with 'Cross up!' branded kick-plates and the seats have been reupholstered in either red or anthracite. The leather-covered steering wheel sits in front of a dashboard that can be had in red, black or dark silver and the handbrake has been trimmed in leather too. We didn't expect equipment levels to be mind-boggling to be honest, but when Volkswagen included a rev counter in its list of interior goodies, we were rather disappointed. Rev counter aside, we do know that the Cross up! gets front electric windows, electric mirrors and remote central locking as standard.

Mechanicals

Sitting under the bonnet is a 75hp, 1.0-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine connected to a five-speed manual gearbox. In the standard up! fuel economy sits at 60.1mpg, but thanks to the larger wheels and extra weight added for the Cross up!, we do expect these figures to have been affected. The Cross up! will be sold in front-wheel drive format only.

Anything else?

While UK availability is still being discussed, the Volkswagen Cross up! will be on sale in Europe by the end of the summer.

James Giddings - 15 Feb 2013