Volkswagen e-up! EV Charging Cable

A small car that got a great deal better

The first e-up! of 2014 to 2016 holds about 16 kWh usable and is realistically a 55 mile car, charging at 3.7 kW. The 2020 to 2023 version holds 32.3 kWh usable from a 36.8 kWh pack, is quoted at 159 miles WLTP, and charges at 7.2 kW. Doubling both the battery and the charger turned it from a city runabout into something people commute in.

So the cable follows the year: 16A for the early car, which cannot use more, and 32A for the 2020 car, which fills in about five hours from a home point.

Single phase, so no nasty surprise at the wall box

Both versions are single phase rated, which means a British home supply gives the car its whole figure. A great many newer cars quote 11 kW or 22 kW and then draw 7.4 kW at a house, or in some cases far less; the e-up! has no such gap between the specification and the driveway.

A bigger cable cannot change this, because the limit sits in the car rather than the lead. The flip side is the early car, whose 3.7 kW is a hard ceiling. Spend the difference on length instead.

How long a full charge takes

Each figure is the pack size divided by the power actually drawn, with 13 per cent added for charging losses and the result rounded to the quarter hour. Miles per hour is worked at a conservative 3.5 miles per kWh. Columns are the 2014 to 2016 car and the 2020 car at usable capacity. Read the early car down the 16A row.

Both take CCS, at about 40 kW on the 2020 car, which is enough for a useful motorway stop on a battery this size. Whether DC was standard on the earliest 2014 UK cars we have not been able to confirm.

Which length for an e-up!

The socket is on the rear offside flank, in the spot a conventional fuel filler cap would occupy. Volkswagen uses that position across its electric range, from this car through to the ID models.

The e-up! is 3.6 metres long, one of the shortest cars we sell for. That forgives a lot: reverse in with the charge point on the right and 5 metres is generous, and even nose-in there is so little car to route around that 5 metres often still works. Take 10 metres only if the charge point is well away from the bay. Park the car where it normally lives, walk the run with a tape, and buy the next size up from what you measure.

How these cables are built

Construction is to IEC 62196-2 with CE marking, IP55 weather protection and a -30C to +50C operating range.

The three pin version is an IEC 62752 unit, CE marked and IP67 sealed, specified -30C to +60C. Two year manufacturer's warranty. Delivery is free and next working day, and returns are open for 30 days.

Looking at another Volkswagen? Start with the Volkswagen ID.3 EV Charging Cable, or browse every model in Volkswagen charging cables. For a wall box or public post the lead is the Type 2 to Type 2 charging cable.

Volkswagen e-up! charging cable questions

Which cable does an e-up! need?

A 32A Type 2 to Type 2 lead for the 2020 to 2023 car, which draws a full 7.2 kW. A 16A lead is enough for a 2014 to 2016 car, whose charger stops at 3.7 kW.

How long does the 2020 e-up! take to charge?

About five hours from empty at 7.2 kW on its 32.3 kWh usable pack, which is comfortably inside an overnight off peak window.

Is a three phase cable any use?

No. Both e-up! chargers are single phase, so a three phase lead would deliver exactly the same power as the single phase one.

Where is the charge port?

The rear offside flank, where a fuel filler cap would be on a petrol up!. That is the driver's side on a UK car.