TAKE SKODA'S NEW city car, the sweetly-named Citigo, and the awesomely fast and powerful Bugatti Veyron. Ok, it’s not often you’ll ever see such extremes of the automotive world placed in the same sentence, but the question is: what do they have in common?
The answer is Josef Kaban. The man who styled the 987bhp, 8.0-litre, 268mph Veyron is exactly the same Slovakian gentleman who has penned the 59bhp, three-cylinder Skoda city car.
The Citigo is the smallest car Skoda has ever built and its first-ever production three-door — it’s also available in five-door form — but most importantly it‘s the biggest change in the company’s history.
Despite its size, the little engine thrives on buzzing around town. Its raspy three-pot exhaust note merely adds to the pleasure, and its nippy acceleration makes city lane-changing fun. Will there be a diesel? According to Skoda insiders, it’s a very definite ‘no’. Too expensive and thus unsaleable, are the reasons. Can’t argue with that.
Why? Because this is the first time it has been able to offer a car which will appeal to any age or gender, so it’s a huge leap forward.
This is the car many people believe will change the general public’s perception of Skoda and bring in a new breed of customer.
But don’t think Skoda’s struggling in the ever-more demanding global car market: far from it. Last year it sold over 879,000 cars – up 15.3% on 2010 – so with the introduction of the Citigo, those figures are only set to improve further.
Built in Bratislava in Slovakia, alongside the near identical Volkswagen up! and the Seat Mi, the Citigo is available in three trim levels —S, SE and Elegance. Prices range from £7630 to £10,065, and there’s only one engine, a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol. It is though available in a choice of two outputs, 59bhp and 73bhp.
Will there be a diesel? According to Skoda insiders, it’s a very definite ‘no’. Too expensive and thus unsaleable, are the reasons. Can’t argue with that.
Both three and five door Citigos have the same dimensions: 3560mm long, 1650mm wide and 1480mm tall. They also both offer the same class-leading 251-litre boot space, which increases to 959 litres with the rear seats folded. A similarly sized Kia Picanto, by contrast, delivers only 200 and 605 litres respectively.
Rear leg room isn’t brilliant, but it is, after all, a small city car which, essentially, will be used by one person at a time: two, probably, at most. It does come though with four seatbelts, so officially it’s a four-seater.
The compact wee cabin is well thought out and put together, plus the quality of finish rivals that of many larger, more expensive cars.
There are nice touches. There are small pockets on the edge of the front seats for a bit of extra storage, and if you’re tired of trying to catch your mobile phone as it goes flying from its resting place in your current car, you’ll be pleased to learn the Citigo has a special holder for a mobile phone which keeps it secure.
Another key feature is the clever 'City Safe Drive' system, that will stop the car automatically at speeds of up to 18mph, when it senses you're unable to do it yourself.
An optional £250 pre-equipped portable navigation system sits cleverly on the top of the dashboard. The Citigo also benefits from a hands-free Bluetooth telephone, infotainment system and on-board trip computer which all utilise the same system.
And the options list includes a Sport & Design package — which includes black metallic or silver decals and the choice of 14, 15 and 16-inch sport alloys in black or silver finish — to personalise the Citigo.
The £8890 Citigo SE's 59bhp Green Tech engine means there’s no road tax to pay, by dint of its low CO2 emissions of 96g/km. It will also return, according to Skoda, 68.9mpg.
Despite its size, the little engine thrives on buzzing around town. Its raspy three-pot exhaust note merely adds to the pleasure, and its nippy acceleration makes city lane-changing fun.
And don’t worry about coping with motorway traffic; even the smallest of the Citigo powerplants is capable of mixing it at 70mph.
All models have stability control (ESP) fitted as standard, and Skoda the five-door is just £350 more expensive than the three-door.
Cleverly, the entry-level Skoda Citigo, the £7630 1.0 MPI 60 S, undercuts the equivalent VW up! by £365 and Seat Mii by £215. At £8530, the SE returns 62.8mpg and, at 95g/km, ducks comfortably below the 100g/km barrier when it comes to CO2 emissions.
So there you have it: VW up!, Seat Mii or the Skoda Citigo? The choice is yours.
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Jim McGill