Volkswagen Fox Review

Volkswagen Fox Review

The Fox is Volkswagen’s interpretation of the city-car and replaces the Lupo as the company’s entry-level, ‘baby’.

It is longer than the Lupo and much the size of the Polo but just a bit shorter and taller. So why would Volkswagen produce such a similar sized car? It’s almost as if the company is competing with itself. But that isn’t the case - it is built for a specific purpose and that’s easy, urban life.

The extra height gives the game away because it makes for more interior space whilst retaining a small car footprint. The higher roofline means that the seats can be more upright resulting in lots of legroom. The occupants sit taller, which is important for better visibility, especially in town, whilst the hip-height and tall doors makes it easier to get in and out of, particularly for people with difficulties in that area.

The Fox is only available as a three-door hatch with two trim options: standard and Urban. Both are available with a choice of two petrol engines - the 3-cylinder, 1.2 or a 4-cylinder, 1.4 units. Prices start at £6,590 but the test car was the £7,190 Urban Fox with the 1.2 engine, which produces 55PS (54bhp) at 4,750rpm and 108Nm of pulling power at 3,000rpm. It takes 17.5 seconds to reach 62mph from stand-still and the top speed is 92mph.

Remember that this is an urban Fox and it is unlikely that town-dwellers are going to get the opportunity to test the acceleration time or the top speed unless they go elsewhere. I went elsewhere and put it to the test, making a discovery in the process; the engine doesn’t respond to brute force. In order to get the best acceleration from this 3-cylinder engine you have to be patient. The temptation to put the pedal to the metal results in very little increase in forward motion whereas gentle but progressive pressure on the accelerator pedal gets the job done more efficiently.

Volkswagen Fox