Skoda Citigo: Grow Big With The Smallest

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

The Skoda Citigo will roll into dealerships in May. The price has not yet been determined. The VW subsidiary will only announce this at the Geneva Motor Show. Our test shows what the small car can do.

By Frank Mertens

In May the time has finally come. Then the VW subsidiary Skoda will launch the Citigo mini-car in Germany as a three- and five-door model. The Citigo, which is structurally identical to the Seat Mii and the VW Up except for small details in design, will then be in the price list for the basic model from 9000 euros. Compared to the parent company's model, this would be around 850 euros less. Skoda will only announce the exact prices at the Geneva Motor Show in early March. For the five-door model, a surcharge of 475 euros is due.

Citigo important to Skoda's growth strategy

The Citigo, which is 3.56 meters long, 1.65 meters wide and 1.48 meters high, plays an important role in the growth strategy of the Czechs, who want to increase their sales to 1.5 million by 2018 after 879,000 units in the previous year.

Currently, ten percent of all global car sales are made in the small car segment alone. Skoda hopes to win new customers for the brand with the Citigo, as Karel Sklenar from Skoda sales said at the driving presentation of the Citigo. "It is extremely important for our growth strategy," he says.

Sufficient space in the Skoda Citigo

The Citigo offers the customer a brilliant price-performance ratio. There is enough space for the driver and front passenger in this small car, and even two adults can sit more or less comfortably in the rear seats. With a shoulder width of 1.36 meters for the passengers in the rear, the Citigo sets standards in the segment. The quality impression is not objectionable despite the attractive entry price. The interior makes a tidy, in parts even valuable impression.

It almost goes without saying that you have to cut back on this price. There are power windows at the front, but unfortunately they don't have a tap function and have to be constantly operated to open and close. In addition, the driver can only open his own window, he looks in vain for a button for the passenger side on his side. Well, this may be understandable for reasons of cost, but something like this should be standard.

A little journey through time in the Skoda Citigo

Incidentally, with the three-door model, looking at the rear side windows, you feel a bit on a journey through time. Because there are only display panels here. Otherwise, this small car almost offers a touch of feel-good atmosphere. Entry is extremely easy, even for tall people, the seats are tightly padded, but still comfortable and offer acceptable lateral support when cornering.

With a trunk volume of 251 liters, two small suitcases can be stored intelligently, provided they do not exceed a height of 58 centimeters. If you fold the back seat, it will be 959 liters. As in the VW Up, with which the Citigo is identical except for small details in design, Skoda offers a portable navigation device from Navigon. Not only does it reliably show you the way, it can also function as an on-board computer and also has a Bluetooth interface.

Skoda Citigo with ESP as standard

But we come to the performance of the Skoda Citigo, which is offered with two 1.0-liter three-cylinder engines with 60 and 75 hp. At a later date there will also be a natural gas drive. We tested the 60 hp variant. The three-cylinder engine is certainly not a paragon of sportiness, but nobody really expects that from this small car. The Citigo is intended for the city - and 60 hp is definitely sufficient for this.

Here the Citigo, which has ESP as standard, does its job without any complaints. The three-cylinder requires speed, but it still remains quite quiet. Anyone who drives it on the autobahn can do so, but 60 HP is just 60 HP. Accordingly, this must be taken into account when overtaking. This takes a long 14.4 seconds up to 100 km / h. The top speed is given as 160 km / h. The maximum torque of 95 Nm is between 3000 and 4300 tours.

Shifting is hip with the Skoda Citigo

And when things go uphill, it's time to change gear. Here you need second gear. But once the Citigo rolls, it rolls quite confidently. Its driving behavior gives hardly any cause for complaint, even if it reacts sensitively to transverse joints due to its small wheelbase on the road. Otherwise, it offers steering that is directly responsive and provides good feedback on the road. The manual five-speed gearbox is well coordinated and can be shifted almost crisply. The Citigo makes a coherent impression.

And the consumption? 4.5 liters are promised for the 60 hp variant. This value was not achieved. Here the on-board computer showed 5.9 liters - too much for such a carin this class. Those who value less consumption should opt for the Green-Tec version with brake energy recovery and start-stop function - a consumption of 4.1 liters is promised here.

Waiting for the price of the Skoda Citigo

When the Citigo rolls to the dealerships in May, it will be offered in the three trim levels Active, Ambition and Elegance. Now it remains to be seen how Skoda will ultimately price in the Citigo. In the Czech Republic, the three-door has been available for around 7200 euros since November, but there without ESP.

Now it remains to be seen whether the predicted entry price of 9,000 euros will remain and what the list of surcharges will look like. Because if you are interested in niceties such as the navigation system or the optional City Safe brake assistant - ideally the car is automatically braked up to 30 km / h - you can easily reach over 10,000 euros.

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