New Volkswagen e-up! is a Next Green Car Award winner

The Volkswagen e-up! has won the hotly contested City Car category in the Next Green Car Awards. Volkswagen's popular up! family has been a consistent winner since its launch in 2011 and, following a refresh of the exterior and interior styling, plus an extensive redesign of the infotainment system, the awards keep on coming.

The refreshed e-up! went on sale in the U.K. in September. It's powered by an 81bhp electric motor that has a 204-cell lithium-ion battery pack located within the car's floor. It is rated at 374 volts, or 18.7kWh. The important figure is the range - the e-up! can travel 150km between charges, and charging the e-up! to 80 percent takes just 30 minutes via a fast-charge connection.

As well as its clever packaging and quick charging, the e-up! benefits from punchy acceleration thanks to the 210Nm of torque from the electric motor. The car can reach 100km/h in 12.4 seconds. These factors combine to mark out the e-up! as the perfect car for the urban environment.