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Mon Feb 12, 2018 6:06 am

I just discovered the existence of the Lupo the other day. It sounds like a great little economy car but I have never seen one in Canada. They look very much like one of the many models of VWs we saw in Argentina that they have there.

Were they imported to the USA and does anyone have any experience with them?

Mon Feb 12, 2018 6:39 am

The Lupo was never brought to the US through the dealerships but some have been brought in by individuals, they have not been federalized.

Mon Feb 12, 2018 8:38 pm

Ok, being a Canadian I have no idea what "not being federalize" implies other than parts will not be available through your country.

I was hoping for some feed back on driver satisfaction but there are other countries that I can get that from. Rumours have it that the diesel ones were capable of close to 100 mpg!

Mon Feb 12, 2018 10:13 pm

Federalized meaning that the car & the drivetrain (drivetrain separately due to the fact that they are often used in multiple platforms.) were tested to comply with the emissions & safety standards of the vehicle’s year of manufacture. Each vehicle that a manufacturer wants to sell in this market must be tested for crash worthiness & the driveline must meet certain emissions standards. If this was not done then, technically, the car cannot be imported into, or driven on US roads, although a lot of cars seam to bypass this for one reason or another. Once in the country, there can be titling issues & even confiscation if the wrong official gets their panties in a twist.

Tue Feb 13, 2018 5:09 am

Ah yes. Makes sense now. Thanks.

Sun Mar 18, 2018 1:11 pm

I got one in last year . A 1.0L 49hp 5spd . It's awesome! Not quick but super fun to drive and roomy ! I'm 6'2" and fit very comfortably.

Sun Mar 18, 2018 3:40 pm

Cool!

Pictures?

Is it a diesel? The one we have coming is the 1.4L gas engine, they couldn't find us a diesel.

Mon Mar 19, 2018 4:11 am

Not great pics but here it is along with my custom 2.5 stainless exhaust . The lowest torque 1.0L on the planet ! Still planning to do a 1.8t as time allows

Mon Mar 19, 2018 5:41 pm

Nice!

So it is the 1.0L diesel then?

Is it right hand drive out of Japan or did you get it from Europe in left hand drive?

Tue Mar 20, 2018 4:04 am

Left hand drive out if Germany. It's a gas engine. Has the smallest fly by wire throttle body I've ever seen ! But strangely has two air filters for the engine ???

Tue Mar 20, 2018 4:48 am

Ours is coming from Japan - right hand drive - the Missus will be using it to deliver rural mail. We had a Dihatsu mini truck that she used for several years but it's 660 cc engine was not suitable for highway speeds and was pounding out valves. Right now she is using a Forester which works very well except for the fuel bill. Canada Post does not pay that well so we need to cut the fuel consumption.

Interesting about the dual air filters!

The black looks nice! Ours is coming in bright green, the drivers out here seem to need extra visibility help so the brighter the better! :roll:

Wed May 16, 2018 4:49 pm

Our Lupo is in Canada now but the trucking company managed to get a rock in the rear hatch glass so now I have to find a new rear window before it will pass inspection.

Not proving to be an easy thing to find!

Thu May 17, 2018 3:54 am

oprn wrote: Our Lupo is in Canada now but the trucking company managed to get a rock in the rear hatch glass so now I have to find a new rear window before it will pass inspection.

Not proving to be an easy thing to find!
And there’s the downside of getting vehicles that aren’t imported into your country in large numbers.

Thu May 17, 2018 4:10 am

Correct!

Unfortunately one cannot buy a right hand drive vehicle at the local car dealer and my wife uses it to deliver rural mail.

Thu May 17, 2018 6:43 am

However, you can find & import vehicles that are right hand drive versions of vehicles that are commonly available. Since you're in Canada, I'd be searching for a RHD TDI Caddy with a manual trans. To my understanding, Canada got the MK3/4 Caddies & the drivelines are Golf/Jetta.
Sooo hot.

Thu May 17, 2018 3:29 pm

TDCTDI wrote: However, you can find & import vehicles that are right hand drive versions of vehicles that are commonly available. Since you're in Canada, I'd be searching for a RHD TDI Caddy with a manual trans. To my understanding, Canada got the MK3/4 Caddies & the drivelines are Golf/Jetta.
Sooo hot.

One of those would be good! I have never seen one in Canada though. Lots of them in South America.

The last car we imported for her was a Subaru Forester. My thinking was the same as yours that there are lots of Foresters in Canada so no issue with parts... Right? .... Wrong!!!

The serial number does not show up on any of the dealer's computors so they refuse to work on it or even order in parts. It's also not listed on the jobber's computors because the engine size is different than the ones that were sold here in that year. They were all 2.5 liter NA engines in Canada and this one is a 2.0 turbo. We found out that if you order engine parts for a '99 WRX you get the right ones but they still insist on a serial number and off we go on the "not a valid number so won't order it, we have to have the correct one" kick.

The auto wreckers were baffled too when we needed a drive shaft because even though the shaft overall length was the same the center steady bearing was 5" further back on this one!

Tires and shocks are about the only thing that isn't a hassle so far.

Everything these days is bassed on the VIN number, gone are the days that partsman could look at a part or the car and pick it off the shelf for you. If your VIN number doesn't match what they see... sucks to be you!!

Some days I wonder if her job is worth it!

Sun Jul 01, 2018 12:01 pm

There are 2 out here in BC.... A Lupo GTI and a 1.2 TDI.... Imported by the same guy

Wed Jul 11, 2018 4:53 am

It would be interesting to get in touch with him and hear how it is going for him!

Wed Jul 11, 2018 2:09 pm

Rallyedude wrote: Left hand drive out if Germany. It's a gas engine. Has the smallest fly by wire throttle body I've ever seen ! But strangely has two air filters for the engine ???

Hey Aylmer Quebec, thats where I bought my Doka back in '02 !!

We rented a Lupo in Germany, seemed a bit gutless.

Wed Jul 11, 2018 4:48 pm

crukab wrote: We rented a Lupo in Germany, seemed a bit gutless.
It seems to me that they would be as they are not aimed at the performance market. They are an economy class car. Except the GTI that is.

I am totally expecting ours to be on the gutless side when it arrives. The Missus got a look at it the other day. The rear glass is in it now, waiting on timing belt kit and they seem to want to put all new brakes on it. Not sure if that is really needed... they are saying it is because the rotors are rusty and they would be from the car sitting. I can't help but think a couple quick 70 mph to zero runs would shine them up. It only has 56K miles on it...