| Concept Car Review | Tokyo Motor Show | VW Space Up! |

Look past Volkswagen's poor grammar with the Space Up! and you'll see the second member of its forthcoming family of city cars. The Space Up! is longer and taller than the Up! small car that was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, yet it is still shorter than a VW Fox.

The Space Up! majors on interior space and versatility. The two individual rear seats of the Space Up! and the front passenger seat can be folded or completely removed to leave 1,005-litres of luggage space. Access to the rear seats is through rear doors that hinge at the back on the C-pillar in a similar fashion to a Rolls-Royce Phantom's.

The rear doors that open into the boot are vertically split, much like a MINI Clubman's. However, unlike the Clubman, the Space Up!'s rear doors are unequally split so the right-hand door is wider than the left-hand one. VW says this solves the problem of the door join creating a blind spot, and right-hand drive cars are likely to have the doors' division moved the other way so UK drivers do not suffer this problem either. Another neat trick with the design is that the rear lights are covered by translucent panels on the doors.

Underneath the boot floor is the engine. The Up! range harks back to the original VW Beetle by using a rear-engined design, which VW says creates more interior space and greatly improves crash protection. The engines are likely to be a range of small petrol and diesel engines with two and three cylinders, and some hybrid versions also on offer.

The interior of the Space Up! mirrors the simple design of the exterior. The concept uses touch screens to work the air conditioning and entertainment functions. Production versions will have a more conventional set-up, though VW promises it will keep the interior just as clean and stylish.

VW's chief stylist, Walter de Silva, is responsible for the Up! range and says: "The Space Up! offers the maximum space on the smallest of platforms. The character of the car has avoided superfluous gimmicks and created a very confident design."

A third Up! concept car is expected at the Detroit motorshow in January and the first Up! city car will go on sale in 2010 in Europe and the Far East.

Alisdair Suttie - 30 Oct 2007