Car Reviews > Skoda > Citigo > Skoda Citigo Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Prices: £7500 (estimated)
Engine: 1.0-litre 3-cylinder
Gearbox: 5-speed manual
Power/torque: 59 bhp and 74 bhp/ 95 Nm @ 3000 revs per minute 0-60 mph: 13.9 seconds and 12.7 seconds
Top Speed: 99 miles per hour and 106 miles per hour
Economy: 62.8 miles per gallon and 60.1 miles per gallon
Emissions: 105g per kilometre and 108g per kilometre
Equipment: Air conditioning, stereo, central locking, electric windows
On Sale: June 2012

Skoda’s own version of the Volkswagen Up! gives all the quality, space, and style of the VW – but for a lot less cash

A catchy name is very far from being the only thing needed to make a successful car, though it certainly does not hurt. While Kia plays for the cute factor with the Picanto, and the Fiat 500 tries to take you down memory lane, Skoda has made the Citigo memorably simple – a car to get you going in the city, get it?

The Citigo is, as has been noted, basically pretty much the exact same vehicle as the VW Up! and the SEAT Mii, but with both featuring a front grille from the sexy Skoda Mission L Frankfurt concept car, plus the fact that the price seems likely to be as much as £500 lower than the VW when it arrives in the United Kingdom during the summer of next year, the Skoda is a lot more than just a VW clone.

Not that there is any denying that this is the model of Skoda that is the most similar to the VW, though. Except for the badges, squarer dash windows, a different boot door and dash graphics, this is effectively exactly the same vehicle as the Up! Not that that is in any way a bad thing, given the quality of that vehicle, which means that the Citigo is every bit as good, only a lot less expensive into the bargain.

For such a small vehicle, there is a seriously grownup feel to it, all the way from the sheer quality of the cabin to the way in which the car rides through the bumps on the road on the test route in Prague, the home city of Skoda.

The 3-cylinder engine is perky enough in both of its incarnations, either the 60 or the 75 bhp versions, the latter of which is able to cut the 0-62 mph time down by a further 1.2 seconds to just 12.7 seconds, and also manages to improve the average economy by 2.7 to 60.1 miles per gallon. The figures for performance are reasonable, but the economy rating is in truth little more than just okay, particularly given the corresponding CO2 emissions figures of 105g per kilometre and 108g per kilometre respectively.

Skoda does have energy recovery and stop-start systems that can drop the CO2 emissions figures to under 100g per kilometre, and they apparently will arrive in a Greenline version sooner or later, although they might also be given as either standard or as an option on luxury Elegance models.

The 59 bhp vehicle starts at £7500, with the 74 bhp model costing a further £350, with yet another £350 premium on top of that for 5-door models, although the entry level S models will come with neither electric windows or air conditioning. SE trim has both of those as well as more besides, and is likely to be the most successful choice, even if does add a further £700 to the price, while the Elegance will be yet another £700 extra as well, meaning a 70 bhp top-spec 5-door Citigo will cost around £10,600.

by Autoweb