Skoda Citigo is a real ‘city’ car

I HAVE been spending a lot of time in Skoda cars in recent weeks. Over Christmas I really appreciated the massive boot space that the Skoda Superb offered and it was an ideal car to have as we welcomed home our Danish relations who came with lots of bags. It really is Superb by name and superb by nature.

Early January I was in another Skoda, this time something much smaller, the new Citigo. As I said in these pages last month the VW group produced three very similar small cars last year: VW Up!, Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo. The test models all came in bright colours: The Up! model I drove was red, the Mii was yellow and the Citigo came in green in what is supposed to be a superstitious year.

The spacious Skoda Superb will cost you

?¬26,195, while the Citigo starts at

?¬10,425 for the three-door version. I drove the five-door version, where prices start at

?¬10,935. These are the new prices after the December budget and the new road tax rate is now

?¬190 for all versions of the Citigo.

We are often told that green cars are supposed to be unlucky, but there is no real proof of that of that claim and it’s also claimed that green cars depreciate quickly in value. Maybe those surveys were conducted many years ago when we didn’t have modern small cars like the cute Citigo.

As the name implies, the Citigo is a

‘city’ car and it’s ideal for manoeuvring around narrow streets and back alleys. And you won’t have a problem finding a parking space. No problems on the motorway either, but naturally there is a bit of road noise, but nothing that the excellent radio won’t drown out. The interior is very bright and there is room for four adults or two adults plus three children. And you get plenty of headroom for front and back seat passengers.

Power is provided by the one-litre three cylinder engine. My test model had Sat Nav and while Sat Nav is free on the Yeti, Octavia and Superb models, it’s not yet free with the Citigo.

At the front you get the standard Skoda design on the grille, while the rear has very attractive vertical lights. The boot is narrow but deep and you get a full-size spare wheel. From a driver’s point of view I found that all the controls were within reach and easy to use. Also there are plenty of cubby holes to hold mobiles phones, pens, coins etc.

The Citigo should appeal to a wide range of motorists and there is an automatic version available for an extra

?¬765.

All three new cars from the VW group: VW Up!, Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo are very similar in design and price and it’s difficult to decide which one of the cars to go for. From speaking to garage owners and drivers over the years I know that in Ireland it often comes down to what your local showroom has to offer. The Citigo will put a smile on your face and you should get a return of around 70 miles per gallon and that’s value for money from any garage. And if you don’t fancy the rather loud Spring Green, there are always

‘safer’ colours like silver, black or red.