Well whilst the octavia is being serviced and mot Ive been given a citigo for a loaner.

Initial impression is good. Roomier and better visability than the 500.

Engine & stop/start: well the twinair is quicker for one, engine note is sporter in the twinair. But the citigo engine is easier to use, needing far less changes and is a relaxed driving style. At last! A stop/start that actually works! Activates like it should at every stop whist in traffic (unlike twinair) so from that point of view I could see posssible fuel saving.

Driving position: sorry to say but neither win this round! Citigo seat is better and I dont feel offset when sitting in the seat, however the gear change and position is no where nice as the twinair.

Only done about 25 miles all in stop start traffic so will post more once Ive tired it a bit more. One down point is the cabin on the citigo. In traffic it seems to draw in fumes, dunno if this is a common issue or if I'm not using the heater correctly.

Your fuelly is interesting, the Octy is getting better mpg that the 500, any chance you get anything close to the manufacturers claims in the 500 ? I never did in mine & ditched it just before it was 2 years old.

You might have the recirculation on ?

No where near, its one of my gripes! My fuelly hasn't been updated for a few months but trip states its around the 34-35mpg.

I dont think so but will check it. So far in traffic the citigo has done about 60 miles on the first white point on the gauge to the bottom of the red part.

I recently did a Bristol to London to Bristol round trip in

our 1.2 500. Total time at the wheel about 6 hours and approx 300 miles.

I've got to say I wasn't uncomfortable in the least. I find the seats in

that car suit my dimunitive frame very well indeed.

Would have liked cruise control though. But that's down to breaking

my right ankle some years back and is uncomfortable for me in any car

whatever the size. No cruise on the S3 yet but I'll be having it retro fitted soon.

We run our 500 on super unleaded, it runs better in the cold and sod

the economy. It's the same price as regular diesel so why not eh?

Grr666,

I think the 1.2 is better on fuel from what I've read on fiat forums. The twinair needs alot of work to get good results. Best I've ever got was 46mpg.

Don't get me wrong I like the 500 for many things, but a cheap city car it is not! I feel the twinair should be market towards the eco hot hatch class, something sporty for a youngster.

Interesting that in the citigo I covered 140 miles and added 3.5 gallons. Taking it nearly a quarter of a tank more than the dealer gave it to me (gauge reading only).

That is 40mpg which is better than the twinair on traffic based travel.

Having owned a 500, & had a loan citigo on tuesday ,i now feel i can comment properly.

500 - layout of the dials & info contained is absolutely superb, its all contained within a central viewing area, very easy to read , seats are firm & feel as though youre perched on them, & not sitting in them, the location of the gear stick is so natural, i dont understand why its not standard. Car has a bulky, heavy feel (bloated) even tho it isnt.

Citigo, I had an SE auto, 5 door, dial are modern & have a standard layout, the seats were firm & comfortable, the auto box in drive mode is atrocious,very jerky change( just like the Smart) however in Manual mode is similar to an early DSG, only slightly jerky on change. the car feels light & the 60ps engine is a little cracker the car feels light & airy, the one feature i did like about the car is that the rear windows in the rear doors are not wind down, they retain the same opening as the 3 door, it reminded me of the original Mini.

If skoda could put a 1.4tsi engine in this body & tighten up the suspension, it would be an absolute cracker of a GTi.( i would definitely have one )

Having now driven one, the citigo-go project is looking scary & i now really want to have a ride in it once completed

If skoda could put a 1.4tsi engine in this body & tighten up the suspension, it would be an absolute cracker of a GTi.( i would definitely have one )

Don't forget, VW are going to use a turbocharged version of the 1.0 triple in the Up! GT. 109bhp, 0-60 in 8.5 sec and still able to do 60+ mpg. Am I hoping for too much that Skoda produce a Citigo vRS with that engine?

Did know about the up GT, but having researched there is still no release date,even though the technical engineer director is using one daily and its proving a hit.

Skoda have hinted that they wont be doing a GT version.

Don't forget, VW are going to use a turbocharged version of the 1.0 triple in the Up! GT. 109bhp, 0-60 in 8.5 sec and still able to do 60+ mpg. Am I hoping for too much that Skoda produce a Citigo vRS with that engine?

it should be out next year according to the press... I will be looking at it Mike

Having owned a 500, & had a loan citigo on tuesday ,i now feel i can comment properly.

500 - layout of the dials & info contained is absolutely superb, its all contained within a central viewing area, very easy to read , seats are firm & feel as though youre perched on them, & not sitting in them, the location of the gear stick is so natural, i dont understand why its not standard. Car has a bulky, heavy feel (bloated) even tho it isnt.

Citigo, I had an SE auto, 5 door, dial are modern & have a standard layout, the seats were firm & comfortable, the auto box in drive mode is atrocious,very jerky change( just like the Smart) however in Manual mode is similar to an early DSG, only slightly jerky on change. the car feels light & the 60ps engine is a little cracker the car feels light & airy, the one feature i did like about the car is that the rear windows in the rear doors are not wind down, they retain the same opening as the 3 door, it reminded me of the original Mini.

Spot on with the driving position, really like where the gear stick is on it.

Don't get me wrong the 500 it self is a great car, well packaged, fun and retro looking. My feeling is the twinair is marketed wrong (which is backed up on fiat forums) its not as great on fuel as is says on the "tin".

I also found the citigo less twitchy on the bends than the 500.

The Fiat 500 and it's twin sister the Ford Ka are girly cars, the Citygo, much less so!

Skoda might miss a trick by not doing a vRS, though I suppose they are selling more than they can make of the standard cars as it is. I would be tempted into a VW dealership for an UP! GT if I can afford one. We shall see...

The Fiat 500 and it's twin sister the Ford Ka are girly cars, the Citygo, much less so!

One of the 500s strong points is just how different they can make it look. Take one in classic colours like YeYe green with a bit of chrome and it looks very retro, but then the Abarth version in white pearl or some of the dark metallics looks bang up to date

Some of them are pretty girly but most small cars will be seen that way.

Edited 23 December, 201213 yr by Dr Zoidberg

A girl up the road has a Fiat 500 in shocking pink, so you are right there.

Fiat 500 = motorised handbag.

That said they are quite retro and stylish.

I'd agree some models are girlie, but the twinair edition with spoiler and black wheels does give it a slight more manly appeal.....in the metrosexual way!

There is interesting comparison with similar engines. - http://similarcar.com/en/Fiat-500-II-Hatchback-3d-1.3-TD-75HP-manual-versus-Skoda-Citigo-Hatchback-3d-1.0-75HP-manual

Pity these retro mobiles aren't faithful to the original cars..... they look like buckets of lard......

 

Old Fiat 500     LxWxH (cm)  297x132x132      weighing in at 497kg

New Fiat 500    LxWxH (cm)  355x162x149      weighing in at 865kg

Edited 16 September, 201411 yr by EikokuSanzoku

 they look like buckets of lard......

 

Old Fiat 500     LxWxH (cm)  297x132x132      weighing in at 497kg

New Fiat 500    LxWxH (cm)  355x162x149      weighing in at 865kg

New Fiat 500 - Lard with 5* N cap rating.... and 7 airbags as standard. Crisp handling

and although a little snug will sit 4 adults. And even the 1.2 will sit at 80 all day long. 

 

Old Fiat 500 - Not as safe in a crash as a motorbike is.

And 80 represents how many days it would be before one started to rust. 

 

Our new 500 is 6 years old now and parked outdoors. No rust anywhere.

And apart from needing a new battery has never ever let us down.

£40 and 5 mins later it was back on the road with an uprated Bosch battery.   

I believe the TG quote on the twin air went like this -

JC - there is a bit of a problem with this fuel saving car though, isnt there?

JM - Yes. It uses rather a lot of fuel....

 

I get what they were doing, reiviving the old model etc, along the lines of the mini given its success,

but i just look at the new 500, and the people who drive them (in general not all...) are the same people who will queue for days to buy the new iphone etc...

its a fashion accessory...

though i also do know SOME people do own them for the driving experience etc

Yeah, we've got the 1.2 which is a well proven engine Fiat have used for donkeys.

Neither of us have a facebook account or an i phone though. :no:

Fashion accessory... Maybe. But also a decent city car that's cheap to tax and fuel and fun to drive.

And I can see an Arbarth version in the near future if mrs g gets her way.

Yeah, we've got the 1.2 which is a well proven engine Fiat have used for donkeys.

Neither of us have a facebook account or an i phone though. :no:

Fashion accessory... Maybe. But also a decent city car that's cheap to tax and fuel and fun to drive.

And I can see an Arbarth version in the near future when mrs g gets her way.

Edited :P

Oh no it's definitely an if. 

We are sharing the next car and the executive decision is mine.