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It's good, the Up. Good enough that the facelifted Panda will have to have raised it's game several notches to match it, good enough to give the entire city car class a real shake up. You didn't expect any less, did you?

• Comfort

  That smooth ride marries an interior that has been lovingly worked over: the ergonomics, seating, layout, design and texture are all top notch, and there's a genuine feeling of space inside the cabin.

  

• Performance

  The Up gets an all-new, all-alloy three cylinder petrol engine in two flavours: 59bhp and 74bhp. It dispenses with the balancers shafts, and VW has worked hard to remove as much harshness from the three-pot as possible. The higher-spec one rumbles along with a reasonable verve, though it doesn't like to revved too much. 

  

• Cool

  It's simplicity should be key here, so as long as there aren't too many trinkets, yes.

  

• Quality

  VW city cars aren't famed for their build quality - we're looking at you, Fox - but this one feels well screwed together and lovingly crafted. 

  

• Handling

  A measure of handling sharpness appears to have been sacrificed for a smooth ride. Steering's a bit soft and it's not as nimble as an Aygo or as eager as James May's favourite, the Panda, but it is very polished.

  

• Practicality

  Despite being smaller than a Panda, it's got a bigger boot (250 litres) and there's actually room for humans and their associated limbs inside, without the need for driver and passenger to become unnecessarily closely acquainted. 

  

• Running costs

  The 74bhp model returns 65.5mpg and both engine variants emit under 100g/km of CO2, so running this thing will be cheap. Plus, if VW can keep that entry price hovering around £8,000, the initial outlay shouldn't be too onerous either.