NEWS FLASH! we appear to have eibach springs, that explains alot...

[sharkrider]

I was going to review my courtesy car (basic citigo 's') that I have had since my vRS has been in for body repairs (storm damage) directly against Ash's (SWMBO) citigo (ex demonstrator, loaded with every option)

 

here is the only pic I have of the courtesy car, next to Black&white's...

 

 

and this is Ash's

 

 

 

its NOT a sport, it was one of the first ever made, and spent the first six months of its life unregistered on a trailer, going to tracks ect for press launches, hence all the extras added on (eibachs [i'll explain shortly] sunset glass, 15 inch alloys wearin 185/55/15 tyres, full sunroof, upgraded stereo, PID, citysafe, ect ect [maybe some things I've missed!])

 

ok, comparison time, and we will start with the ride and handling.... I have often said on here that Ash's car "grips" as well as my vRS (RARB eibachs ect) , and I have said (to the suprise of some) that my vRS has a better ride, and most on here were "well surely not, mine is smooth and comfy.." ect etc.. well now I realise... the courtesty car (lets call it "blue" ) is MUCH smoother than Ash's (lets call it B&W) and doesn't crash into holes ect .. NOW, I thought it could be the skinny little hankook eco tyres fitted to blue, as they are higher profile, but I kept thinking cant just be that to make so much of a difference, then i drove blue to work for 2 days (80 miles total, fast A-roads/twisty b's) and was quite disconcerted how little grip blue has :( granted ash's is wearing top range continental winters, in 185/55/15 flavour, and its wet and 4C, but really B&W had 10X the grip of blue..... at speed blue feels unpredictable and uncertain, it moves about the straight ahead position, and inspires NO confidence, B&W feels like a go kart, is FLAT in corners, and grips incredibly, (to the expense of comfort! like I said, harder than my vRS!) ... today I measured the wheel arch gap... they should be the same RR as they are both skoda approved sizes (ok gonna do the maths to be sure,,, 185/55/15 vs 165/70/14's = -0.34% , so near as dammit exactly the same!) and blue sits 3 inch gap front, B&W sits 2 inch gap! 1 inch = 2.54 cm, so a "standard for springs" 25mm drop! rear sits 4 inch on blue and 3 inch on B&W so standard 25 mill drop again! (could be different springs to eibach's but they are the skoda approved ones on their parts list) bear in mind B&W is based on a standard SE with all the trimmings!

 

eurika! a reason why I sometimes clash with others on the ride and handling, seeing as my only citigo experiance is B&W .... going to get it checked at its next service in march to see if dampers are standard, and to "identify" the springs.... as I know the SE should have the same suspension as the S....

 

ok... I reccomend lowering springs and big wheels/tyres if you want your citigo to handle like a gokart

 

other things, blue's stereo is woefull compaired to B&W, of course I cant stream from my phone as no PID, but the sound is poor, if you are ordering and enjoy music, i would reccomend the stereo upgrade...

 

gearbox is just as nice in blue, gear selector isn't.

 

engine is hesitant in blue , seems to "miss" in 2nd on full throttle, if it was mine I'd take it back to the dealer for this to be fixed, ash's is smooth.

 

I wont go into looks and sunroof ect , as this isn't really relivent, they are what they are, and taste/cost each to own ect ... (but the sunroof IS awesome!)

 

this is NOT to diss the standard "s" for all you s owners out there, its just a nice suprise to realise why my experiances with B&W were SO different to others on here with citigos, and to express if someone wants theres to handle like a go kart, get the suspension and wheels we have

 

Shark

[Damo]

So finally we understand why we disagreed on ride comfort

[sharkrider]

exactly, just been to the supermarket in B&W now, and its amazing how different the cars are!, gonnabe taking blue on his last journey to work tonight, then I get phantom back tomorow! yay!

[Neo_VR]

If you get chance - have a look under Ash's car and see if you can get the colour codes off one of the (probably rear) springs.. - then it can be compared with Sport/GreenTec models.

 

Interestingly my car is the same with it "hesitating" when changing gear. Do you know if the blue car has ESP?

[sharkrider]

No ESP mate, it's an option on the S , it's done about the same miles as ashs too.. I have no idea what the hesitation is... I'm gonna have the garage check out the spec of the suspension , too cold and wet to get under it now! Lol it could be green line springs, but they don't drop that far do they? And it IS harder than my vRS , which has eibachs and a RARB I'd go back to the dealer with the hesitation, maybe cured by an ecu update or something...