Citroen C1 Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Citroen C1 range
Prices: £7,095-£8,825 - on the road [est] INSURANCE GROUPS: 1-2
Emissions: 106g/km
Performance: [1.0] Top Speed 93mph / 0-60mph 13.7s
Fuel Consumption: [1.0] (combined) 62.8mpg
Safety: Twin front and side airbags, ABS with EBD
Dimensions: Length/width/height 3435/1630/1465mm

ONE FOR THE ROAD

Our Rating: 6.7 / 10

Citroen’s improved C1 citycar offers an attractive entry-point for ownership of the French marque. Jonathan Crouch reports

Citroen’s C1 shares its design but not always its tight pricing with Toyota Aygo and Peugeot 107 stablemates that roll down the same production lines. It’s a clever design that maximises space and offers the advantage of a five-door option over the similarly-sized C2. Styling enhancements and small improvements to fuel consumption and emissions make the latest version particularly attractive.

If, understandably, you were under the impression that Citroen’s sub-supermini-sized C2 was the French maker’s offering in the citycar sector, you’d be wrong. That position is occupied by this car, the C1. It’s more affordable than the similarly-sized C2 and offers the option of five as well as three doors. Leaving aside the headache that must give Citroen dealers on the sales floor, there’s also the issue of how it can differentiate itself from the re-badged versions of this design also on sale at Peugeot and Toyota dealerships.

Citroen being Citroen, they’ve solved that problem by simply offering better value as you’ll find if you compare prices. That leaves the C2 overlap, partly solved by equipping that car with a wider range of engines. OK, it does mean that the C1 buyers only get a single choice when it comes to either petrol or diesel powerplants, but even that’s more than Toyota or Peugeot will offer you in their citycar alternatives. Both these makers reckon there’s no market for citycar diesels. Citroen beg to differ.

As a C1 buyer, you get either an improved 68bhp 1.0i petrol unit or a 54bhp 1.4-litre HDi diesel. Five speed manual gearboxes are fitted as standard and there’s a refreshing lack of gimmicks and nonsense that can plague some small cars as manufacturers look to differentiate their wares. With this Citroen, you just get a citycar that’s small, manoeuvrable, easy to see out of and very simple to operate.

It’s almost comical how little car there is behind the rear seats and when reversing into a multi-storey bay, it’s worth remembering that you can afford to leave yourself some breathing room at the back. Quite what a tailgating articulated truck would look like to a rear seat passenger is the flip side of that characteristic! Both the engines have something to be said for them but the petrol unit that most choose does feel more willing and revvy and perhaps a little more suited to the C1’s up and at ‘em personality. The steering feels somewhat artificial and takes some getting used to but it doesn’t require much effort to twirl the car into a parking space.

The C1’s exterior has been given a smart upgrade in recent times, with changes to the car’s front end, complementing the looks of the updated C2. There are revised wheels and trims, whilst inside there is better quality upholstery and smarter materials. Unlike a number of its rival tiny runabouts, the C1 offers a choice of either three or five-door body styles. The glass tailgate looks good but unlike that on the C2, doesn’t extend down to bumper level, which might be a pain if you’re constantly wanting to load in heavy shopping. The wheelarches are surprisingly beefy and the rear set are sculpted a little further forward in the three-door body style. The five-door car sees its rear doors meet the rear light clusters in a very neat piece of packaging.

Citroen have been regaining their reputation for bold and exciting interiors of late and the C1 continues that trend. Headroom inside the car isn’t at all bad, even for someone well over six feet tall and the big glass area up front gives an airy feel to the cabin. The rear of the three-door car is notably more claustrophobic and is really only suitable for kids and short journeys. Rear kneeroom in the five door car is little better but at least the car’s beltline is a little lower, making it feel a little less hemmed in. Bootspace is the same, whether you choose