Has anyone swapped their Fabia for a Citigo and if so how is the Citigo to live with in comparison. I just love my Fabia 1.2 HTP (70) but must say the Citigo is so appealing I just might even consider it when I next change.... or would I find it a step down?

Hello horking my friend, nice to see you on the board. Funny you should ask that question because I'm doing the same thing. As you know I'm a bit nutty about diesel engines and have been most of my life. To be honest there are those that say I'm just a bit nutty anyway irrespective of wether it's about cars or not!! But recently due to various circumstances I hanker after an auto box and a car that warms up just that bit faster. We absolutely love our Fabia like you do but my wife and I don't need too much space now and we don't do more than around 6-7k mikes per year in the car. I actually do more than that on my motorcycles. However, the Citigo is such a nice car to look at and the specs seem good. It's actually about the same size inside (slightly wider and taller though) but has a smaller boot. We can live with that. The 75ps engine is a peach by all accounts and is capable of near 80mpg in manual form. I've sat in one but not driven yet. If we change it won't be until next year. I've been watching the chaps and chapesses on here to get a feel for it. Cortina GT has a good handle on his and speaks highly of it as do many others. If you happen to go for a drive in one do let me/us know what you think horkin. Again nice to speak with you.

Hi Estate man, they always say great minds think alike!! Yes I seem to have all the same issues as you and do about the same mileage these days. I was hoping someone might have made the swap and be able to report on the comparison. It certainly seems those who have already bought the Citigo are well pleased with it and the motoring press can't speak highly enough. Same as you it will not be until next year and maybe towards the end of the year before I consider a swap, I only have 20k on the Fabia, so I will keep watching and reading this page with interest. Nice hearing from you again, I do keep up to speed with the Fabia page and comments.

While I do tend to swap cars a bit I did have a 2011 Fabia Greenline II (1.2 diesel 3cyl) last year and I did 20,000 miles in it.

Compared to the Citigo, my observations would be:

Fabia is heavier, so feels more planted on the road and more stable in crosswinds.

Citigo is lighter, so it feels more nimble and nippy, but can be affected a litlte more by crosswinds. It also feels faster because it's so responsive, so with a similar power engine it's more fun to drive. The way it goes round corners is impressive, although there is some body roll, and it'll get well over the national speed limit and remain stable.

Driver space I would say is pretty much equal, but you are around 10cm short of total passenger space, so while it will take four adults the Citigo will be short of rear leg space more if you have a tall driver to sit behind. Plus it's a strict four seater, no middle seat belt on the rear bench.

For one or two people I think the Citigo is a cracking car, but I have to admit that you are not realistically going to squeeze a family into it. With the VAT free deal you can get a cheap Fabia estate for not much more money. So that would be my choice with children if looking for a budget car.

I also think it's worth noting that the 60PS and 75PS do not drive very differently until you are revving them harshly.

The power and torque figures are identical until you go over 5000rpm, with the 75PS making maximum bhp just over it's redline of 6k rpm.

So unless you plan on giving the car some stick I'm not so sure the 75PS is worth the extra.

I have the 75PS and in hindsight for a runaround the 60PS is fine.

I couldn't tell the difference (project car was a 60PS) until driving it aggressively.

Expect fuel economy to be around 50mpg driven sensibly. So more than a petrol Fabia in normal conditions, but not that much more.

Driving as economically as possible I could get my Greenline diesel fabia into the 70s, or the Citigo just into the 60s.

So I'd expect the economy of the Citigo to fall between the petrol and diesel Fabia.

Overall I would like to add that the Citigo does feel like a more modern car than the Fabia, it's focus is on saving weight and fun and the car does feel well balanced.

But it's clearly been designed to do a job for a price and as part of this you have to accept some cost cutting.

Like a parcel shelf that doesn't move up and down with the boot, no reach adjustment on the steering wheel and no passenger electric window switch on the driver door.

Did somebody mention my name?

I hope the following helps, albeit my change was an by even wider margin, that from an Octavia to a Citigo, although I was considering the Fabia initially. Having always had larger cars, until the Citigo arrived on the scene, no small car had grabbed my attention.

However, when my immaculate 7,800 mile 1.4 TSI Elegance DSG failed its first MOT twice because of emissions, I was a bit shaken. Despite the fact I would drive it quickly, I was apparently not driving it hard enough to keep the system clean! A long hard drive in sport mode enabled a pass on the third attempt, but it was a wake-up call for me. (Being now retired, my mileage is low – about 2k per year as we also have a second car.) Even more of a shock was discussing part-exchanges, discovering that my Octy had lost about £2,700 per year over 3 years!

So it was time for a total re-think, particularly taking into consideration capital and running costs and depreciation. Also the fact that I did not need an excess of BHP which I could not properly use and would likely end-up with another first MOT emissions failure!

Whilst my Octavia was at the dealers, the dealer apologised and said the only car they could loan me was a Mii Sport, as all their Fabia's were out. They hoped I would not mind! What a revelation! A few days later a further test drive in a Citigo 60PS Greentech confirmed that was the way for me to go and so my dealer got me a 75PS that was at Grimsby at the time.

What have I done? Well saved myself a lot of expenditure - no RF tax, incredibly cheap insurance (£110 fully comp with only £100excess), excellent mpg, low depreciation (It's the same as the Up! according to the VW website comparator and you start at a low purchase price, so it's win, win!). The Citigo might seem to have a small boot, but it's bigger than any in the city car class and identical to my wife's K12 Micra at 152 litres. Because of the boot shape I find it easier to load the weekly shopping into it than any of the larger cars, where items had to be slid forward and jammed into place. You also had to bend right forward to get the items out too – not good for backs!

The inside is like a Tardis – it seems as if you are in a much larger car inside, but when you step out and look back it seems strange the car is so small externally. A contact who is in the design studio of a large UK manufacturer told me that the Up! caused quite a stir in design circles when it first appeared.

The Citigo is very easy and fun to drive, with very light controls and unless you do a lot of heavy traffic driving, this makes manual gearchanging, as opposed to auto, much less of a chore. (I remember those heavy diesel clutches!) The gear ratios are a bit wide low down and slightly ponderous. The revs don't drop quickly, my considered opinion being because VAG have used a heavy'ish flywheel to reduce the 3cylinder vibration, which in turn should reduce gearbox chatter that might probably be more apparent than normal due to the very light components. Perhaps a VRS version would have a lightened flywheel with its 6 gears!

So, in conclusion – it's a great car and also fun to drive once the tyres are fully bedded in (a test drive on a new car suffered more understeer). If you want to save yourself some capital and get a few more mpg, get a 60PS. It is stated to be just over 1 second slower to 62mph. Of course, if you are like some of the rest of us who cant help ourselves, get the 75PS! Although you do need to rev this as max bhp is at 6,200rpm! Due to my type of mileage I get between 56 - 60mpg indicated.

I hope this helps somewhat!

Edited 10 November, 201213 yr by CortinaGT

...However, when my immaculate 7,800 mile 1.4 TSI Elegance DSG failed its first MOT twice because of emissions, I was a bit shaken. Despite the fact I would drive it quickly, I was apparently not driving it hard enough to keep the system clean! A long hard drive in sport mode enabled a pass on the third attempt,

I'm bewildered by that, never heard of this type of thing with a Catalytic Converter equipped petrol car. An older diesel needing an Italian tune-up, yes, but a newer petrol?? Wonder if the petrol had gone off a bit with being left standing for a period of non-use?

You Guys certainly make a good case for the Citigo. Being Skoda smitten anyway, I aim to test drive the car and make a decision sometime next year. Theres no panic, the Fabia is easy to live with and I love it to bits so I guess its mainly a case of seeing the car in the flesh, which as yet I havent, and than making a decision. Being retired and usually travelling with just me and 'er in doors I am well tempted.

I'm going from Fabia to Citigo too, though mostly for financial reasons. It will be just as easy to live with as the Fabia IMHO and it feels quite "grown up", certainly not noisy or cramped. Yes, it's built to a price, but it's also built well, rides well, handles well, and goes well.

I think I'm gonna like it.

One more thing... How many other small cars give you heated seats and sat nav as standard for £10k ?

The extended 5 year warranty is worth a look too.

It's a shame it's only an option on factory orders, but well worth 260 pounds IMO.

You Guys certainly make a good case for the Citigo. Being Skoda smitten anyway, I aim to test drive the car and make a decision sometime next year. Theres no panic, the Fabia is easy to live with and I love it to bits so I guess its mainly a case of seeing the car in the flesh, which as yet I havent, and than making a decision. Being retired and usually travelling with just me and 'er in doors I am well tempted.

I can certainly endorse what's been said above about the Citigo. I first pitched up at a Skoda dealer with the intention of buying a Fabia, It was I think going to be a 1.4 petrol, and was about to take a test drive on a "11" plate used car seen locally. After browsing the Skoda website and seeing the TV ads I decided to go take a look at the Citigo at the same dealer, but they didn't have a car to show me. Anyway I was off on holiday soon so decided to wait until I returned to make a final decision about what to buy. Soon enough I passed a couple of Skoda dealers on my holiday travels down in Cornwall and couldn't resist one day when I saw a gleaming white Citigo sitting outside one of them when passing. I asked if I could look around one and loved the look of it, inside and out over the Fabia.

Needless to say after a test drive at a local Dealer when we got back home we ordered a Citigo. After driving a big 1.9 diesel (Vx Signum) previously I can honestly say the Citigo is just as comfortable on short, even longer trips as that and of course better on fuel too. Downside of course is the room but hey it's a city car and like yourself I don't need much space anymore with just the two of us most of the time. It's got the creature comforts too of my previous car in Sat nav, air con, heated seats etc.

I never got to test drive the Fabia I was interested in, that had 14k miles on the clock. A new Citigo looked a better deal at just over £10,300 with extras OTR, the Fabia would have been £9,000, if I had paid the ticket price. Coupled with the fact you would pay road tax, more insurance and less MPG with the Fabia I reckon we made the right choice.

Go take that test drive, apparently you would have to wait until next year now for a factory spec car.

Mick

The extended 5 year warranty is worth a look too.

It's a shame it's only an option on factory orders, but well worth 260 pounds IMO.

Actually my dealer added an extra year at my request when I purchased the Citigo. He said that you no longer have to pre-order the extended warranty, only add it before delivery.

I'm bewildered by that, never heard of this type of thing with a Catalytic Converter equipped petrol car. An older diesel needing an Italian tune-up, yes, but a newer petrol?? Wonder if the petrol had gone off a bit with being left standing for a period of non-use?

I don't want to hijack this thread, but to answer your question, it was quite a worry. I only ever use Texaco petrol, but in the second and third years the Octy would have periods of starting up as if on 3 cylinders. Only by using some throttle would it start cleanly. The dealers could never find a fault code. At MOT time the car was in for 2 1/2 days to try to get it to pass and even Skoda's computer did not have a solution. The workshop controller suggested the hard driving and then it passed.

Maybe the petrol had 'gone-off', but the car was always used at least once a week and then properly warmed up with a reasonable run. Using an additive did not help either, so gummed injectors did not seem to be the problem.

The conclusion by the garage was that the catalytic converter was probably clogged.

So it seems that both particulate filters and CAT’s can have their problems.

For me any car replacement had to be one that the CAT would be kept from clogging by driving it with some 'loud' pedal from time to time! The Citigo was even more so the obvious choice!

Edited 11 November, 201213 yr by CortinaGT

Just to add my 2 pence worth!

About a year ago we decided to rationalise our cars, I had an 04 plate octy 1.9 TDi elegance estate. It was low mileage and a fantastic car to drive, and it was great for the tip run.

SWMBO drove a 55 plate 320d, it was not my cup of tea but she liked it.

The octy developed wet foot wells in the rear due to a leaky sunroof so it was time to move it on which was a shame.

I don't do much long distance driving so we decided to go for a city car style vehicle.

At that time the Hyundai i10 was the class leader and whilst it was not perfect (what car is?) we were impressed on a test drive.

The dealer had a top spec pre-reged model at a silly discount so we bought it there and then.

The biggest disappointment was the fuel consumption, I struggled to get 50mpg out of it (its a 1.2 85ps engine).

Next step was to swap out the 320, we had driven the Yeti a couple of times at various dealers and loved it, so we joined the queue and twiddled our thumbs.

Whilst waiting for it to arrive I strayed into this forum, there are a few forum yeti owners in here who had a lot of good things to say about the citigo, so (perhaps) foolishly we went for a test drive in one.

The difference over the i10 was astonishing, the citigo felt more solid, more planted on the road, the interior was streets ahead in terms of quality and it drove like a dream.

Needless to say we were hooked, fortunately, because we had bought the i10 at such a good price the margin on the new citigo was not too painful.

I got a good price for it privately.

Lookers at Stockport also knocked £600 of the cost if the citigo, probably because I had bought the yeti from them too ( with a good discount as well)

So yesterday for the second time in 2 weeks I caught the train from Weymouth to Stockport and collected yet another new car!!!

I love the citigo as much as the yeti but for completely different reasons.

SWMBO is looking fwd to driving it this morning, she actually enjoyed driving the i10 quite a lot, the biggest downside for her was that the cheap plastic on the steering wheel caused the palms of her hands to develop a rash......

Keeping it short - exactly the same here - gone from BMW 320d and a VW Scirocco to a Yet and a Citigo all in about 8 months. Mine was the Scirocco and now I have the Citigo which is a seriously different car. Every day I enjoy driving the wee car and for whatever reason I find far more fun. It was only intended to be a city runabout but its turned out far more than that - a little cracker. My wife's Yeti - a cracker too but for different reasons - I think Skoda are in a good place at the moment.

I'm bewildered by that, never heard of this type of thing with a Catalytic Converter equipped petrol car. An older diesel needing an Italian tune-up, yes, but a newer petrol?? Wonder if the petrol had gone off a bit with being left standing for a period of non-use?

Yes, it's less common for petrol engines but when used for lower mileages it can happen. They become sooty and slightly oily as they don't warm up enough to burn themselves clean. My friend has the Fabia 1.2TSI and he does just 3k miles per year all intown. The car started to run badly and was even misfiring on occasions. I checked the engine over prior to him taking it to the dealers and could not find anything wrong, except the oil looked pretty bad, even with some water beads in it. Engine coolant was ok so I did not suspect anything wrong with the cylinder head gasket. Most of his mileage was short trips and often the engine didn't warm up properly. That gave me the clue that maybe the engine was in need of a proper run. Subsequently I took the car on a 40 mile drive. Steady to start with using intermediate revs and then once fully warmed up started to let the revs climb a bit more. She misfired a bit and some smoke came out the back, the dash engine management lights came on so I pulled over. Turned off and sat for a few minutes whilst I checked the oil. The level was going down slightly due to water evap. But there was plenty there. So started her up again and there were no lights showing. Off I went again and this time gave it some more revs and more power for longer periods she misfired again and the lights came on. So stopped and restarted. No lights again and off I went one more time. This time when revved harder it was fine, no misfiring just some minor smoke out the back which cleared and she ran as sweet as a nut. Problem solved. Once home I checked the oil again to find it had travelled about a quarter of the way down the stick as the condensation in the oil had evaporated. After topping up he took it for a drive and found it to be a completely different car. It has been ever since as he now goes the long way home once a week and it keeps the engine clean.

It has been ever since as he now goes the long way home once a week and it keeps the engine clean.

This is why very low mileage "one lady owner from new" cars are rarely the bargain they seem to be

Did somebody call me 'one lady owner' !!! ;-)

Did somebody call me 'one lady owner' !!! ;-)

well, if the cap fits

time to add my 2p's worth

in may this years i was helping my daughter look for a new car and was looking at the citigo (trying to guide her away from a tacky vauxhall astra a sales was not trying to sell efficiently),

she settled on a monte diesel, i was looking for a replacement for my deceased roomster (came off worst in a coming together with a volvo rear end)

was looking for something cheap to buy and run for a few years, looked at the citigo greentech was impressed with the space and interior, was concerned about lack of boot space and shortness of bonnet ( i like some crupple space around me before i get crumpled)

speaking to the salesman he mentioned the VAT free offer on the fabia, looked at the greenline, compared the stats on paper no brainer greenline better mpg but about 2k more on cost so not so cheap

so do i look at a smaller cheaper car, or a larger cheaper to run car, i do 18-20k/year i do use my car as a bit of a workhorse (modernising a house and camp a bit)

after a couple of weeks working through figures (projected fuel use, tax, servicing, insurance) i decided on the fabia GLII estate 1.2TDI

on thing i have noticed which also seems to be a theme on the citigo, i was pleasantly surprised at the power of such a small engine in the size of car (would love to see the 1.2tdi in a citigo) you only really notice it when accelerating at motoway speeds

would i have been happy with a citigo if the fabia had not been on "vat free" offer?

good question, to be honest i am not sure,

performance, no problem,

economy does not seem to be an issue,

i think i would have gone for the 75 and not been happy as the extra power is only right at top of rev range, i would have felt cheated by that one

size, would have been an issue, in particular boot space

equipment, both have similar levels with not to many differences , none that matter to me

hind sight, mpg between the citigo and GLII not to much difference (in fact slightly dissapointed with GLII mpg), but i am noticing a pattern of issues on the citigo, seat mechanism issues, whines (not sure if these are down to quieter engines making other noises more noticable), lack of sound insulation leading to more road noise under certain conditions, all teething problems with a new model and all appear to be common across VW,skoda and seat variants

did i make the right choice, for me yes

well, if the cap fits

Would that be a cap from Holland then?

blue, the Greenline is a superb motor and for doing 18-20k per year is the ideal motor in my book. The Citigo would do it too no doubt but in fact the Greenline will I'm sure be more of a mile eater I suspect, and with a healthy dose of extra mpg too. Your engine's torque figure is considerably more than the Citigo (almost double at 180nm at very low revs) making it ideal for lugging along at any speed. If sensible with the right foot, your mpg will easily achieve 80+mpg with many getting near to 88-89mpg without trying on very long runs, but only after the car has loosened up properly. I don't know how many miles your new Greenline has on the clock but bear in mind it takes at least 8-10k for your Greenline engine to give it's best power and mpg. And the difference can be significant as owners on here can tell you. I'm also making these comments from driving the Greenline and owning the 3cyl 1422cc PD TDI engined Estate with which I am also very happy (I get a regular 65-70mpg on various runs). But, I haven't yet driven the Citigo which I am keen to do.

Edit: don't forget you are running 'Winter Diesel' at this time of year and this knocks off around 4-8mpg on a Greenline depending on the sort of journey you are doing. The Calorific value of the fuel drops slightly, the engine takes longer to warm up so the engine runs the cold map program for longer injecting more fuel than usual. And of course we all use more of those electrical gadgets which drains the tank more. I lose about 4-6mpg in winter.

Edited 13 November, 201213 yr by Estate Man

averaging low mid 60's per tank, but i see high 70's low 80's most days on return home from work, car has 9k on it and is a very different beast from the one i drove off the forecourt in june

i try and keep toys turned off unless i need them, heated wing mirrors seem to make a noticable difference (2-3mpg) alone

If doing 18k+ miles per year I would go for the Greenline II out of the two.

As good as the Citigo is, the Greenline II is a better motorway mile muncher.

I ran one for a year and did 20k miles in it. Good car, averaged over 70mpg during that year.

Reach adjustment on the steering coloumn meant a better driving position too.

I see the case for the greenline but the point is to compare like for like economy wise. Theres a hefty difference in the purchase price between a GL and Citigo and to me that's a big factor. I mean for 8-10k one can have a brand new Citigo with the most recommended SE Citigo starting around £8500. That is approaching £5k.cheaper than a GL. Fabia. For someone like myself doing little miles and largely only two of us purchase cost is what makes the Citigo so attractive. On the other hand if I was looking for space, luxury and performance I would not be considering Citigo. My main concern is whether going from 1.2 htp (70) fabia to Citigo would be a backwards step and from comments above it looks as though it wouldn't.

I see the case for the greenline but the point is to compare like for like economy wise. Theres a hefty difference in the purchase price between a GL and Citigo and to me that's a big factor. I mean for 8-10k one can have a brand new Citigo with the most recommended SE Citigo starting around £8500. That is approaching £5k.cheaper than a GL. Fabia.

The GL Fabia is on the VAT free deal, so you can get one (and they come with a decent standard spec) for a smidge over £11,600.

But the Citigo is such a good car it feels as good or better than the lower model Fabias IMO, other than the lack of steering reach adjustment. As I am tall I can't get as comfortable in the Citigo.