It’s the Skoda Citigo, Skoda’s take on the VW Up!

Skoda has revealed its own version of the VW Up – the Skoda Citigo – with a choice of two 1.0 litre three-cylinder engines. On sale UK mid 2012.

If the latest addition to the Skoda range – the Skoda Citigo – looks familiar, that’s because it’s the Czech maker’s take on Volkswagen’s own city car, the VW Up! It gets a daft name too, but at least it doesn’t get the exclamation at the end.

Sensibly, with a big chunk of the world falling in love with little cars designed for use in our congested cities (and about time too), Skoda has chosen to jump on the bandwagon quickly with its Citigo, with the baby Skoda arriving on its home turf – the Czech Republic – this year and the rest of Europe by Summer 2012.

Just like the Up!, the Citigo offers a very sensible package for a city car, with a decent wheelbase offering decent amounts of room for passengers at the same time as a compact footprint. A bit like the original Mercedes A-Class.

There’s hints of the Skoda MissionL concept going on with the style makeover on the Citigo, with a chrome-framed slatted grill proclaiming this little car a new Skoda.

As you would hope, both versions of the 1.0 litre three-pot on offer – 59bhp and 74bhp – manage to squeeze in to the sub-100g/km bracket in their ‘Green-Tec’ variants. The 59bhp version of the Citigo Green-Tec manages 97g/km and 67.3mpg, with the more powerful 74bhp Green-Tec doing 65.7 mpg and 99g/km.

But the standard versions are a bit less tax-friendly, with the 59bhp doing 62.8mpg and 105g/km and the 74bhp 60.1 mpg and 108g/km. Which doesn’t actually seem all that clever for a little 3-pot.

Equipment levels are half decent with detachable SatNav, Bluetooth and Skoda’s collision avoidance brake assist on offer.

No prices have been revealed yet for the Skoda Citigo, but expect a starting point around £7k.

Making the Citigo yet another car that makes EVs a pointless exercise.

Skoda Citigo Technical specifications

Engine		1.0 MPI/60PS	1.0 MPI/75PS
Cylinders		3	3
Displacement	[cm3]	999	999
Max. engine performance/revs	[kW at rpm]	44/5000–6000	55/6200
Max. torque/revs	[Nm at rpm]	95/3000–4300	95/3000–4300
Transmission		manual 5-speed	manual 5-speed
Dimensions
Length/width/height	[mm]	3563/1641/1478	3563/1641/1478
Wheel base	[mm]	2420	2420
Track front/rear	[mm]	1428/1424	1428/1424
Wheels		5J×14″	5J×14″
Tyres		165/70 R14	165/70 R14
Storage capacity/with rear seat backrests folded down	[l]	251/951	251/951
Width of front/rear seats	[mm]	1417/1389	1417/1389
Headroom in front/rear seats	[mm]	993/947	993/947
Body
Drag coefficient cw		0,33	0,33
Weights
Kerb weight – incl. driver*	[kg]	929	929
Payload – incl. driver*	[kg]	436	436
Performance/consumption
Maximum speed	[mph]	99	106
Acceleration 0–62mph	[secs]	13.9	12.7
Consumption – combined (1999/100/EC)	[mpg]	62.8	60.1
CO2 emissions	[g/km]	105	108

* Figures apply to basic version, weight of driver 75 kg.