sthodgson

Hello again, I bought a used Citigo from a main dealer 2 weeks ago - 65, SE-L greentech. Lovely condition and the reason I went to a main dealer and paid more was because of the thorough checks and peace of mind. Car all good apart from the dreaded knocking from the rear (noticed it more and more and didn’t really hear on test drive) and awful economy - 37mpg normal, 45mpg driving below 2k rpm and being very careful. I’m quite good at hyper-mailing and used to get near 70mpg in my old v50 if I tried. Disappointed with the Citigo. Problem is the dealer is a couple of hours away and they said take it to a local dealer. Local will charge £130 to investigate and then things might not be covered under warranty, which I can only try to claim after the 30 day exchange is over. A bit of a gamble. As for the 30 day policy, it says they will exchange if they can’t fix. Thinking about it that is probably the best idea (although a hassle), but I now wish I had bought a cheaper local car from a non-main dealer and budgeted for little fixes like this. I get the feeling I will be out of pocket. Any advice very welcome. Many thanks.

I only did a short stretch of motorway so didn’t check the rpm. I noticed the speedo said about 75 while the sat nag said around 70. Didn’t seem noisy but plenty of torque still left. Tyre pressures were 30 front and 30 back when I picked it up. Changed to 32 front which seems perhaps a touch firmer. Bridgestone on the back and Nexxen on the front. Getting around 40-45mpg on the short journeys. There might be a knocking from the rear suspension so that is worth an investigation. The PID is proving a bit of a faff. I think I’ll be better with a phone mount but will use it for certain functions. My wife really likes it too - reminds her of her first car, a mk2 golf, in that you just get in and drive it without it beeping and shouting at you. Good result. The torque is quite surprising making it easy to drive around town and 2nd gear offers a lot of flexibility. I can see why people are happy with the 60bho version. However, I do like the way it pulls to the red line when joining fast roads, the extra power high up is a good thing. I don’t think most people use high revs in cars, so it’s a hidden feature, but it’s good to know it’s there to be used when needed. After a few days with it I still think it’s a great little machine.

Thanks all. Picked up my first Citigo today. Drove the 2 year old 1.5tsi dsg Seat Ateca 80 miles as a part exchange. The new Citigo is a 65 plate greentech SE-L so a bit of a downgrade on paper. I haven’t driven a Citigo before so it was a bit of an unknown but the Seat was too much car for us and we needed a small one for short journeys. So, what were my first impressions driving it back on A and B roads through Kent and Surrey? I was expecting an underpowered tin box that did the job is was meant to, I wasn’t expecting something that was quite so much fun. There were a lot of national speed limit B roads and, by ‘eck, I’ve haven’t driven such a fun car in years! Keep it in fourth for the most part and third for the slower corners and it comes alive and laps up the road. Brilliant brakes, superb body control over bumpy roads, decent enough steering (though posssibly a bit light although not a problem), good gearbox if I remember the correct hand position from second to third, and all within reasonable speeds. I overtook a few vehicles without issue but have to say I’m glad of the 75bhp. Keeping the foot in when in second gear up to 5500rpm brings on a nice reserve of top end power up to around 50 I think. I did try to keep it in third on the 60mph twisty roads but it was better in fourth using the torque band, unless it was a sharper corner. Quite a spread of useable revs in a given gear which is really refreshing coming from the narrow power band of diesel turbos. Coming onto the motorway I held it in third up to the top end of the range and it got up to speed well, but fourth would have been fine. It understeered a bit on some tight bumpy corners but was predictable. I didn’t really push it too hard to see if it would bring the back end in, but it doesn’t seem like that sort of car - it’s fun enough without having to slide around. The motorway was fine, if noisier than the Ateca, but the engine sounds quite good and can still pick up speed. Some vibration at idle but minimal, more of a thrum. Might be because it’s got 35000 miles on it. Doesn’t rattle and feels really solid. 51mpg average for that journey and that reflects the style of driving. Seems easy around town, not the fastest off the line but perfectly adequate. So, there you go, it appears I quite like it.

Hello, it’s a long time since I’ve been on here as I sold my Fabian Vrs about 7 years ago. I’m looking at a Citigo as they seem the best value of the trio, although I’d really like an Up gti, but don’t tell anyone. I’ve researched a few issues but not sure if they just relate to the Skoda or all three. Firstly it’s the rusty filler housing and wheel arches. Is that just Skoda? Does the up come with arch liners that the Skoda doesn’t? I’m looking at a 2015 SE-l greentech and it looks good but I’m assuming this should have had its cam belt done. I would probably prefer the facelift but the budget won’t stretch. Anything obvious to look out for? many thanks.

I’ve just moved from a Volvo to a SEAT. So far so good and waaaaay cheaper than the equivalent Volvo. I do like a Volvo, but also have a budget.

Thanks for all of the input. Started off as a Skoda thread and ended up going over to SEAT. Well, they are both made in the same Skoda factory. We are getting an Ateca I'm afraid, and I couldn't possibly say which engine due to looking foolish, but it not a diesel and and it has DSG. We shall see how it goes, but at least there is a warranty, for what it's worth. First time venturing into a new car and I'm not 100% convinced it is the right thing to do, but we need to change and the deal is good.

Yep, got 0%. Don't get as much off list price, but can happily spread it over a longer period.

Thanks for the info on this. I called them, they have the exact car I wanted in stock - MY19 (access to more stock than dealer), matched the price and gave me a hint that there might be a £250 voucher on the SEAT website. After filling in a survey up popped the voucher. Better price on px too. Oh, and they said the 0% deal was finishing.

Ateca 1.5 petrol SE DSG Skoda is more expensive even for the 1.0 SE DSG. It's all well and good getting a big discount on the list price, but we can't afford to "buy" the car. The deals tend to have a higher percentage when you get a bigger discount, so it works out very similar, but the 0% can be stretched a little longer without paying more.

But when you are on the limit on an off-camber corner, in the wet, with your family in the back, channelling Alonso, you'll be glad of that extra bit of "sportiness". Not sure what to do now. Can I live with it for 4 years? It wasn't that bad, but... Really on a tight budget and I'm putting myself under pressure as the deal runs out tomorrow.

What size wheels did that have? Sounds like a top of the range so would probably have had 19" pram wheels? Skoda holds 44.6% of value over 4 years, the SEAT 42.8%, a 1.8% difference. Not much in it but interesting. How does that translate to monthly payments?

I would have thought if the Karoq held it's value better then the total cost would be less over the term, so lower monthlies? If the Ateca will lose more value but is still £50 cheaper a month (that's about 20 percent less a month), then it sounds quite good to me. I could be wrong, probably am. I didn't check the pressures but all the press say the Ateca has a firmer ride. I'm still not sure why family cars have 18" or bigger wheels, even 17" seems a bit silly. I'd prefer a 15" or 16" with much larger profile tyres, but I guess I'm used to our XC90 that lollops down the road like a floppy dog.

Well, I can't find a deal that beats the one at SEAT. We test drove one on Sunday and it's an interesting comparison to the "identical" Karoq. The roads were different but the ride was definitely firmer on the Ateca, although we tested one on the silly 18" wheels, and would get one with the slightly less ridiculous 17" wheels. I preferred the ride on the Karoq if I'm honest. The steering was a little sharper - possible higher geared - and coming from a Volvo boat felt a bit twitchy. I preferred the Karoq steering to be fair. But, these details were not a huge deal and I get used to things quickly, and certainly not enough to make the £50 a month difference. It also has drive modes and flappy paddles, which is just space age to me, but probably a bit of a gimmick. Looks like I'm going for SEAT and my third Skoda will have to wait.

Thanks. We won't be going for a NAV option - Apple link and google maps, so solves that problem. I've got 2 days to decide - I don't like pressure!

So, we test drove a karoq SE manual 1.0tsi. These automobile things sure have come a long way in 15 years. Quiet, spacious (took the kids with their seats), smooth, easy, full of gadgets, just really nice. Not fast but perfectly acceptable performance. Did I say quiet? Wife liked it too, even in manual with its light clutch. Looking at options now and talking about deals with the dealer. Then, the elephant in the room appeared when I looked at the Seat Ateca. 0% finance with 10% deposit so can save £60 a month on similar spec car or £30 on a ‘better’ spec with 1.5 and dsg. Not sure that Skoda can match that at the moment. 48 month deal though, but at 0% it doesn’t really matter, does it? £214 a month just seems a massive bargain, but I’m always suspicious I’ve missed something important. What are your thoughts? Is it silly not to go for the Seat? Thanks for all the input.