What's the news?

Volkswagen has developed a new automated manual gearbox (called ASG) for its up! city car. While the ASG transmission is not fitted to versions with BlueMotion technology, it is available for both three- and five-door Move up! and High up! models.

Exterior

As Volkswagen has implemented no visual changes, ASG versions will sport the same exterior features as their manual counterparts.

Interior

Volkswagen's high quality interior will remain the same for ASG variants of the up!. The only visual change is to the gearstick where drivers choose between Drive, Neutral or Reverse - the gearbox has no Park setting. Although steering wheel paddle shifters aren't available, gears can be selected manually via the car's sequential stick.

Mechanicals

The new gearbox has been designed for optimum fuel efficiency around towns and cities, and as such the new automatic models use less petrol than the equivalent manual versions. A fuel economy figure of 64.2mpg is achieved by the Move up! automatic, compared with 62.8mpg for the manual model. The new gearbox is just 3kg heavier than the standard manual. Volkswagen's new ASG gearbox is also less expensive to produce than its DSG transmission, and as such is better suited to the lower pricing of a city car.

Anything else?

The ASG gearbox is available to order now with a £595 premium over the manual model's standard price. Deliveries for the new car are expected to start in October, with a fully electric version of the up! available late next year.