Skoda Citigo (2011-2020) Review

The Skoda Citigo came out in 2011 as a city car to rival fellow offerings such as Seat’s Mii and Volkswagen’s Up! and in one of the most competitive segments the supermini has made quite the impression.

So can superminis be practical as a family runaround? We had a Skoda Citigo for a week to find out.

Our Colour Edition test car came with a 1.0 MPI petrol engine which produces 60PS, it gets from 0-62mph in 14.4 seconds and has a 100mph top speed. They’re not electrifying figures and at times you’re looking for an extra bit of power to get you up inclines or to overtake on the motorway but it’s perfect for driving around town. This engine is also available with 75PS if you’re going to be doing more motorway miles and although we drove it with a five speed manual gearbox, it is available with an automatic transmission too.

It emits just 101g/km of CO2 so will cost £140 for the first year annually and with a combined 64.2mpg running costs will be low for the Citigo.

The ride does a good job of masking any rough road surfaces, quite surprisingly so and for such a small car it really is comfortable in this area, it’s a fun car to drive and is most at home getting you from A to B, rather than munching up the motorway miles.

The steering is light yet gives plenty of direct feedback and it makes it very nimble and stable on B roads if you want to push it a bit.

The 1.0 MPI is quite a noisy little engine, the three cylinder providing quite the loud hum from the off and at motorway speeds there is a permanent reminder about it being a less than well insulated supermini, as there is a steady drone of wind and road noise seeping into the cabin.

Skoda’s ‘finned’ front grille makes an appearance on the Citigo and it’s sculpted bonnet and box-like rear gives it a stylish design which saw it given a bit of a refresh in 2017. The Colour Edition features body-coloured exterior mirrors and bumpers with privacy glass on the rear windows, while the model comes in a range of vibrant paint colours including Crystal Blue, Kiwi Green and Sunflower Yellow.

Skoda have kept the interior very simple and quite plain, the steering wheel has no multifunction buttons on it unless you go for the SE L trim, the centre console has just a black gloss display screen showing radio, media and phone settings, while above it are manual dials for adjusting climate.

The instrument panel is dominated by the large central speedometer with the option to display temperature or time on the digitial screen within it. The cabin is hugely fuss free and it just works so well, less is more as they say.

There are five trim levels available on the Citigo: S, SE, Colour Edition, SE L and Monte Carlo, the latter for those wanting something a bit racier, and standard features on the Colour Edition we drove include 15-inch alloy wheels, Bluetooth, USB port, a smartphone holder and manual air-conditioning.

Admittedly, when given the choice of a three or five door we opted for the latter as we needed the practicality to put a two year old in the rear.

The Citigo might be a supermini but its dimensions belie its spaciousness as we got a child car seat in with no issues and there was plenty of room for them not to be able to kick the seat in front. Bonus.

The boot is enormous and deep at 251 litres for such a small car, it can swallow up quite a lot of shopping and we managed to fit in a couple of small suitcases too. If you’re looking for even more room with the rear seats down it increases to 959 litres.

Upfront you don’t feel squashed in it either with a substantial amount of head and legroom and it will fit in two adults in the rear with them not feeling like sardines.

The Skoda Citigo is priced from £8,780 for the S 1.0 MPI 60PS with the Colour Edition we tested coming in at £10,900 as an optional £50 space saver wheel came with it.

So what did we think of it?  As a day to day runaround it ticks all the boxes, it drives well, is economical and is hugely practical for its size and it’s cheaper than most of its rivals.  As it’s part of the Volkswagen Group if you didn’t see the badge you could be convinced that it was from one of the sister brands.

For such a small car it’s a well thought out one as there are so many things that Skoda have put into it to help with everyday life. There is an umbrella tucked away under the passenger seat, storage sections for rear passengers at the side of their seats, a ticket holder on the windscreen (no excuse for a parking attendant not to see it) and hooks in the boot to hang bags on.

What Car? named the Skoda Citigo Car of the Year in 2017 in their Best City Car £8 - 10k section and it has taken quite a few awards since its inception from Auto Express and Car Buyer too.

Skoda scored a highly respectable maxmium five stars in the Euro NCAP tests with 89% for adult occupant protection and 80% for a child.

Safety and security features include four airbags, electronic stability control, a tyre pressure monitor, remote central locking and fog lights as standard, with rear parking sensors and City Safe, which can brake at speeds below 19mph should there be any hazards ahead, available as options.