New York City is undoubtedly one of the most excruciatingly difficult places to drive. Fellow drivers are of the defensive variety, idiots piloting bicycles -- or even worse those piece of sh!t rickshaws -- dart in front without hesitation, and don't even get me started on the clueless tourists too busy observing the skyscrapers in midtown who nearly get cracked trying to cross the street.
So, when Volkswagen decided to build a car like the pint-sized Up!, one would think its perfect environment would be New York. Well, in The New York Times review column, you can read all about it; however, there's one problem.
The car isn't on its way to the U.S.!
That said, we'll provide you just a little taste of what Lawrence Ulrich had to say about the VW Up!, you know, the one we're not getting...
...To see what we’re missing, I tested VW’s modern-day, green-minded people’s car, fresh from having been named the World Car of the Year at the New York auto show. And this cute-as-a-bug VW proceeded to charm me: buzzing through traffic, topping 50 m.p.g. on the highway and delivering improbable four-passenger space in a car seven inches shorter than a Mini...
..Yet while a Toyota Prius would whip the Up in a drag race, the VW is vastly more fun to drive. With plenty of body motions, it certainly doesn’t handle like a GTI, but the sprite feels agile and willing, with VW’s sweet (if mildly twitchy) steering and rock-solid chassis. In another nod to European tastes, a 5-speed manual is the only transmission — another impediment to acceptance by Americans...
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