Seeing a citigo in the for sale section on here really got my interest and have now booked a test drive for Sunday. I currently drive an Audi A4 1.8t S line but 90% of the time I'm on my own driving my 16 mile a day commute, we also have a family car if we need more space so seems silly having such a big car. I was looking at spending £13k on an 07 plate S3 but this seems a bit pointless and with it being an 8 year old car it will always need money spending on it.

 

With the PCP deals on offer it seems like very cheap hassle free motoring.

 

I'm looking at getting a Monte Carlo with the only extras being the safety pack & convenience pack, was thinking of getting a DAB. I would also add two years to the warranty and the 3 years servicing for £99. Does the extended warranty include everything i.e. if a suspension bush fails? Obviously breaks wouldn't be covered.

 

Couple of questions, what's the 60hp engine like to live with, I would have like the 75hp but it's not available on the Monte Carlo. It's going to have less than a third of the power of my current car, but I don't want a car that struggles with hills etc.

 

What's real life MPG like? My commute is 40mph average and 8 miles each way, I'd expect 50's?

 

Do these have cambelts? What are the differences between the 60 & 75hp engines?

 

Really looking forward to getting out in one, I'm sure I'd get a some stick if I bought one but the thought of hassle free motoring is really appealing!

 

Cheers

 

Mike

"I don't want a car that struggles with hills"

 

They will struggle with hills, depending how steep of course, 60 or 75ps doesn't really matter not much to choose between the two.

 

I found that you need to use the gears more in a Citigo, obviously on hills it does lack the poke in that department but overall a good little car. Very capable on the motorways too, but pushed over 70mph you'll see that mpg come down, otherwise

Edited 19 February, 201511 yr by MickA

Should easily manage mid-50s on that sort of commute.

Hills, well they have zero torque so you have to plan for them, but if you are in the right gear they'll be fine and they cope with motorway hills fine as long as you aren't expecing to overtake uphill.

From what I've read the only difference to the 75bhp is a bit of poke in the upper rev range and nothing in normal use. It's just a different map.

Re: extended warranty...this covers everything that the original warranty covers. It simply extends the three years original factory warranty to five years.

Re: cambelts...these engines have "longlife" cambelts with no scheduled replacements. The first INSPECTION is at 150,000 (or is it 160,000)?miles.

The engine comes alive at 3000rpm as long as you keep it on the boil when you want to move its fine. You will have to drop a cog on steep hills though, but the gear change is excellent! The cars a fine motorway cruiser it will sit at licence losing speeds all day long.

I think the engine has a cam belt but there is doubt as to whether the life is 4 years or 100k, sokda seem a bit unsure on this!!

I'd imagine the warranty wouldn't cover the suspension as they'd class it as wear and tear.

The differences between the 60 and 75 engine is purely software, the difference being the 60 engine peaks at 5000rpm and the 75 engine pulls to 6200rpm. Below 4500 rpm there is no difference in the engines power and torque curves but above this the difference is noticeable .

The cars on the sport suspension handle brilliantly and are fun to drive on a twisty road! certainly much better than your a4 would be or even an s3 for that matter.

As for mpg, if it's stop start expect high 40s if not , expect mid 50s on a run high 50s and at 60 mph mid 60s mpg.

The main annoyances with the car are no boot light, leaving the parcel shelf up (there are diy fixes for both of these) and no passenger window switch on the drivers side ( I believe this has now been fixed too??)

Hope this helps. If VAG got their fingers out and released a model with the 110bhp 1.0 tsi version they'd have a winner on their hands!,

I was in exact same position as you end of last year, ended up swapping my chipped Saab 9-3 and to be honest the Citigo gets me to work and back which is all I want. My trip is @14 miles each way but in slow moving traffic and returns about 50mpg. Also a lot of hills round here so got to drop down a gear or 2 at times. Sometimes miss the fun of the extra 120bhp but with the money I save running the Skoda I can treat myself to a decent hire car for long journeys if I fancy.

(snip)

 

I'm sure I'd get a some stick if I bought one but the thought of hassle free motoring is really appealing!

 

Cheers

 

Mike

 

I am a middle aged bloke and drive a yellow Mii.

 

If anyone gives you any stick, take them for a drive in it and show them your fuel consumption. That will wipe the grin off their faces!

 

As noted above the real surprise with these cars is how capable the are on the motorway, and fun on twisties. Enjoy the test drive, let us know how you get on. 

thanks for the comments, yes a 110hp version would be immense!

 

I'm looking at this as a cheap car option but also like the look of the monte carlo. Looking forward to getting out in one.

Cheers

 

Mike

I am a middle aged bloke and drive a yellow Mii.

 

If anyone gives you any stick, take them for a drive in it and show them your fuel consumption. That will wipe the grin off their faces!

 

As noted above the real surprise with these cars is how capable the are on the motorway, and fun on twisties. Enjoy the test drive, let us know how you get on. 

Fair comment, I'm 31 and expect to get some jip from my team mates at footy. I think my kids will love it though.

Just to help you out a little! I have got a 75ps elegance and a friend of mine has the 60ps elegance, we work at the same place and tend to do take turns for the commute ( 80 mile round trip, mainly dual carrigeway ) On paper it would appear that there is very little difference between the two engines, in fact there is nothing wrong with the 60ps version, but my 75ps one does have more `grunt` when pulling away, and is a smoother engine when cruising, both do similar mpg which over the the last 20 fill ups have averages 55, this is true mpg not on the pid, the engines do much better in the warmer months when there are less demands on the engine, the most I have ever had was 76 mpg!

So, nothing wrong with the smaller engine, but as I got my new, I ordered it with the bigger engine. Remember, the Citigo is a very light car even wet through!

If you order one make sure you get a spare wheel.

+1 on the spare wheel!

+2. I got a puncture recently and was so glad I'd specced a spare wheel.

 

 

Couple of questions, what's the 60hp engine like to live with, I would have like the 75hp but it's not available on the Monte Carlo. It's going to have less than a third of the power of my current car, but I don't want a car that struggles with hills etc.

 

What's real life MPG like? My commute is 40mph average and 8 miles each way, I'd expect 50's?

 

What are the differences between the 60 & 75hp engines?

 

 

Cheers

 

Mike

 

To answer your questions; I drive a 60bhp Greentech Elegance. 

(There's no difference between the 60 and 75bhp engine's hardware, the only discernable difference between the engines is the torque band continues past 5300RPM (rough figure, can't remember - but in essence the 60bhp engine has no power to give after about 5000ish, the 75 has power up to the limiter).

 

60bhp is fine to live with. I live up a massive hill. It's one long road that is a very steep incline and my house is 1000 feet above sea level, and I travel upwards from Grangemouth, which is almost exactly sea level. The car is fine if you're in it by yourself. With one passenger or more you may have to drop to second gear rather than 3rd. But for most hills, 3rd gear is comfortable. The car has greater pull than you'd expect for a car of its class. 

 

 

I do different commutes, depending on the day. When commuting to work which is a 6 mile trip, through 30/40 mile an hour speed limits, I have averaged up to 76mph during perfect conditions. Anywhere between 55-70 is normal in busier traffic (using stop/start technology at lights/queues etc)

I also drive to university which is a 25 mile drive on the motorway. On this, I average anywhere between 50-65 miles to gallon, depending on temperature. This was on Tesco standard unleaded, although I've recently started using Shell V-Power, and noticed a significant increase (about 2-3 miles to the gallon) on like-for-like journey's MPG. 

 

 

Hope this helps, and enjoy your test drive. It is a lot of car for your money. 

The gearbox is a joy to use so cog swapping on hills is not an issue (IMHO). Keep it above 3000rpm and it is fine. 50+mpg on that commute should be no problem.

 

I changed from a 200bhp Mondeo Titanium X to a Citigo Monte Carlo and my love of motoring has been renewed; I love it. And you can thoroughly enjoy it without risking your licence (too much!!!).

Thanks for the replies. The Monte Carlo doesn't have stop start? I love the spec and look of the monte, just a shame they don't put the 75hp engine as an option. Going to take the Mrs and 2 kids with me and see how it copes, but could pull the trigger and order. The deals on finance or PCP make this a really cheap hassle free motor

Other conundrum is if I go for three or five doors. I think I actually prefer the five door look

I went 3-door because I preferred how it looked. In hindsight I should perhaps have got the 5-door although I think I've only had rear seat passengers on one journey.

Me too, imho the 3 door looks miles better than the 5 door. But if you intend to use the rear seats you'll need a 5 door.

No 3 door is cooler [emoji106][emoji6]

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If you have any issues with back, shoulders or arms go for the 5 door, reaching behind for the seatbelt is a pain.

3 Doors look great but there is nothing like the convenience of 5 doors. Also the residual value is higher on the 5 door models - FACT.

 

DAB not necessary. Stream to PID from iphone.

 

SE models are on 0% finance with 3 years free servicing.

 

I commute 15 miles a day round trip. 1 mile 30mph, 5 miles A38 dual carriageway, 1.5 mile 30MPH. You can see my true measured fuel in for mile covered on my FUELLY.

Edited 20 February, 201511 yr by Bigredbus4468

Sorry, but stating something on a forum then putting - FACT after it is one of my pet hates!

The fact is that 5 doors in citigos and ups haven't sold as well as the three doors. What the residuals are, who knows? Not enough to make any difference onwards sub 10k car.

As it is the 3 door looks 10x better and if you use the back seats the 5 door is more useful - FACT

I must be odd then as I think I prefer the 5 door look. Was looking at the black edition but I couldn't spec one on the skoda website and I think it's not as well spec'd as standard.

Sorry, but stating something on a forum then putting - FACT after it is one of my pet hates!

 

Mine too. That and "End of" which almost always inspires me to comment just to prove that it wasn't the "End of" the thread!