Talk to me about the Citigo.

[TheInsanity1234]

The lack of an alarm is a very little publicised fact. I think Skoda are hoping that the perception of all cars being fitted with an alarm is enough to put off people who break a window to grab a sat nav or something.

I only found out about the lack of an alarm after putting my deposit down, but it hasn't stopped me from wanting one of these cars. It just means I have to avoid parking it in rather questionable places.

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[fabandy]

Do any other cars in this price-sensitive category have alarms? 108, C1, Aygo, i10? I can see the point with regard to someone grabbing your sat nav but the immobiliser is why cars are more rarely stolen. Personally, I sold my MINI Cooper because they were incapable of sorting the alarm out and it woke me up at night (not to mention the neighbours). I ended up just leaving it unlocked - probably not the most sensible thing to do!

[DampDog]

Seems a slightly odd omission from the spec, given we live in a world full of scallies and it gives the insurers just another reason to crank up the premiums. I can't find a mention of immobiliser either,  so are we to assume the car simply comes "as-is" I suppose we are at the cheap and cheerful end of the car market so saving money on build cost ranks highly. Disappointing though, even the little city cars are the wrong side of 10K with a few options. 

 

That said I have had two vehicles broken into over 35 years of driving, on bother occasions folk were were just standing around listening to the alarm sound. 

[leckman]

Do any other cars in this price-sensitive category have alarms? 108, C1, Aygo, i10? I can see the point with regard to someone grabbing your sat nav but the immobiliser is why cars are more rarely stolen. Personally, I sold my MINI Cooper because they were incapable of sorting the alarm out and it woke me up at night (not to mention the neighbours). I ended up just leaving it unlocked - probably not the most sensible thing to do!

The Hyundai i10 has an alarm as standard but no deadlocks which the Citigo has.

[TheInsanity1234]

No, the car does come with an immobiliser, I've ordered a third key for mine, and it has to be coded to the immobiliser meaning about a week after I pick it up, I've got to take it back to the garage so they can code the key.

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[Gyp]

Why what did you think you knew and what have you learned? I'm trying to get to grips with the specs (Up!/Mii/CitiGo) Skoda seem exceptionally stingy with options. I know they are cheap and cheerful city-cars but I would have thought electric door mirrors would be a given on modern vehicles.

 

Mainly about the shiny dash trim. I'm not a fan.

 

I don't think electric door mirrors is a real problem on a car where you can reach them both from the drivers' seat; i tend to adjust them once when I get the car and that's it

[ColinD]

I'd take deadlocks and immobiliser over an alarm no one will actually do anything about.

 

If I park my car, I'm either in ear shot of a broken window or not in earshot of the alarm.

 

I think most people will not know it's not got an alarm, except the scallies and one hopes citi car pickings are less than the bigger luxo barges.  The only crime I've personally heard of in cities/urban of late is either full vehicle theft, or smash and grab sat in traffic. Of course there is the obvious left my tablet on front seat now it's gone.

 

I used one of those £5 car washes a couple of years back. I was moving a load of IT kit, laptops, servers.... I  wasn't concerned at all in parking it in manchester. I was concerned when my boot was opened and another guy rapped on the window to ask me what I wanted doing... he seemed surprised I got out and moved the conversation.

 

-- my only gripe on the citigo is the one sided window operations. I know thats an option... but come on it must actually be harder to make a one & two sided switch casing

[DampDog]

Mainly about the shiny dash trim. I'm not a fan.

 

I don't think electric door mirrors is a real problem on a car where you can reach them both from the drivers' seat; i tend to adjust them once when I get the car and that's it

 

I'm not a fan of the "shiny-dash" either, textured finish is far better to my eye's, but I'm an old git. I hear what you say about the door mirrors, once set they tend never to be moved again, I'm just a sucker for my creature comforts. I know it's a city-car, but a few nice bits don't hurt.

 

I thought they now come with a dual window switch on the drivers side. (I think lots of folk moaned so they added it)

Edited 2 May, 2016 by DampDog

[TheInsanity1234]

-- my only gripe on the citigo is the one sided window operations. I know thats an option... but come on it must actually be harder to make a one & two sided switch casing

Nope, any Citigo with electric windows will have two switches on the drivers side now. Another addition is the strings to the parcel shelf meaning you don't have to flip up and down the shelf now.

 

There's been a bunch of other small changes, I think they happened around the time the Elegance was changed to the SE L.

[ColinD]

Good to know it's resolved It's my gripe on my 3yr old model

[TheInsanity1234]

Good to know it's resolved It's my gripe on my 3yr old model

I have to say, looking at the future plans and the history, I think the best time to get the Citigo would be before September, as I believe they're planning on releasing a facelift version this September, so the current model is going to be as well sorted as it'll get before the facelift. After the facelift, it'll probably end up with a few more teething issues.

 

Good job for me, as I'm planning on keeping mine until the engine falls out 

[oldstan]

No-one seems to have mentioned the use of electric mirrors to assist in parking it tight to the kerb.  I have to admit to wanting my wheels within a whisker of the kerb...but not touching it. Anything more than a couple of inches away and I'm afraid of it sticking out too far and risking a scrape from the outer edge. But I'm paranoid about scratches and damage generally so the wheel rims are something I hate seeing scratched. Hence electric windows are used to tilt down so I can see the rear wheels and get them accurate within an inch or two at the most.

[TheInsanity1234]

No-one seems to have mentioned the use of electric mirrors to assist in parking it tight to the kerb.  I have to admit to wanting my wheels within a whisker of the kerb...but not touching it. Anything more than a couple of inches away and I'm afraid of it sticking out too far and risking a scrape from the outer edge. But I'm paranoid about scratches and damage generally so the wheel rims are something I hate seeing scratched. Hence electric windows are used to tilt down so I can see the rear wheels and get them accurate within an inch or two at the most.

I have tried this once or twice, but it got too much of a hassle to dip the mirror then right it every time I decided to park it near a kerb.

[oldstan]

It all depends on whether you're fussed about scratching the wheels on the kerb...coz if you look at most cars on the road the majority have scuffs, scratches, digs etc on the wheels due to kerbing. There will be those who observe that repeated kerbing is hardly good for the tyre walls as well as incurring unsightly rim damage. There will be others who are clever enough to park within an inch of the kerb every single time and never touch the kerb. On the other hand there are plenty who just whack the rear wheels into the kerb (or even mount the kerb) when backing into a gap and straighten up with a bit more scuffing at the front...and consider it job done irrespective of the damage.

 

Horses for courses.

 

I see you've reversed into a bush outside the pub whilst celebrating the purchase of your first car and asked the best way to fix the damage.  Maybe (hopefully) you'll want to keep it clean and damage free and won't want scratched wheels. So as you're not going to use the mirror to aid your parallel parking into gaps then it'll be interesting to see how you get on. Good luck either way.

[TheInsanity1234]

It all depends on whether you're fussed about scratching the wheels on the kerb...coz if you look at most cars on the road the majority have scuffs, scratches, digs etc on the wheels due to kerbing. There will be those who observe that repeated kerbing is hardly good for the tyre walls as well as incurring unsightly rim damage. There will be others who are clever enough to park within an inch of the kerb every single time and never touch the kerb. On the other hand there are plenty who just whack the rear wheels into the kerb (or even mount the kerb) when backing into a gap and straighten up with a bit more scuffing at the front...and consider it job done irrespective of the damage.

 

Horses for courses.

 

I see you've reversed into a bush outside the pub whilst celebrating the purchase of your first car and asked the best way to fix the damage.  Maybe (hopefully) you'll want to keep it clean and damage free and won't want scratched wheels. So as you're not going to use the mirror to aid your parallel parking into gaps then it'll be interesting to see how you get on. Good luck either way.

I should make it clear that I was talking about my experience in the Yeti, where the wing mirror control is on the vertical side, and thus, is rather awkward to operate.

 

I was parallel parking the Citigo into a space at 6th form, and thought to myself "I wonder how comfortable it is to operate the wing mirror whilst parking", and the way the control was set up means it's a lot easier to dip the mirror.

 

Consequently, I can now appreciate the benefits that the mirror dipping offers as it's a lot more convenient in my car to do it!

 

So I shall probably end up doing it much more in the Citigo.

[oldstan]

Sorry about the misunderstanding re. Yeti.

 

Glad to hear that the mirrors will be easy for you to to use. I do have the Yeti and have got used to dipping the mirrors prior to backing in to a space but yearn for the automatically dipping ones that operate when yopu select reverse...that must be the height of convenience :-)

 

There are those who mock the installation of reversing sensors in small cars (or even ANY cars). They can mock if they wish.  In my own case I find that the older you get the less your head/neck swivelling facility works like it did when you were 16. Hence coming to rely on the rear reversing sensors to act as an extra precaution.The sensors can save you making (expensive) contact with short posts/bollards...the ones that are out of your field of vision but still capable of inflicting a nasty ding if you catch one in a moment of inattention.  Again, there will be those who say you shouldn't allow yourself any moments of inattention...in which case I bow to their superiority and admire their greatness and exemption from ever making a mistake.

 

I now insist on fitting them if they're not already built in to the car. Costs me £200 to have them independently fitted - but if it saves just one dink or scratch then they've paid for themselves. 

 

Lastly, there's another thread here in which a member mentions the benefits of a new/young driver taking some extra lessons (and hopefully the test that completes the course) having passed the standard driving test. Look up Pass Plus or IAM.  If time and resources permit I urge you to have a look...it might be something you'll enjoy and value as well as saving a bit on insurance premiums.

 

Good luck.

[TheInsanity1234]

I have to admit, the moment I heard the crunch of the bumper after I'd backed into the bush, I immediately wished I'd paid the extra £600 for the convenience pack!

But now I'm not too concerned about it, the damage is relatively minor, and I can thank the angels that it was a bush I'd reversed into, and not another car!

I have already done pass plus, I did it in March last year, about 2 weeks after I'd passed my test! I've been researching advanced driving but haven't gotten around to sorting out some sessions, as I've been busy at 6th form!

I'm hoping to get some sessions of advanced driving tuition/coaching under my belt this summer, and until then, I shall drive to the best of my ability!

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[oldstan]

Good man!

[Gyp]

I have to admit that I'm all for advanced training; not necessarily with the aim of getting an IAM or ROSPA qualification, nor necessarily driving to the police "system" [1] but having a qualified professional cast a critical eye over your driving is never a bad thing.

 

I've done bikesafe a couple of time and the car equivalent, all of which involved an observed/critiqued drive, and I have paid for a police instructor to take me out for a day, all of which have been massively worthwhile.

 

The one observation made to me by the police is that those that go along for advanced training are typically those that are interested in driving safely and are generally making a good job of it; the ones that really need the training are the ones that know they don't need it

 

 

[1] I don't agree 100% with all of the bits of these systems, but they're a good guide.

[ettlz]

The one observation made to me by the police is that those that go along for advanced training are typically those that are interested in driving safely and are generally making a good job of it; the ones that really need the training are the ones that know they don't need it

 

As a former volunteer for one of those organisations, I'd broadly agree with that. I never saw any hardcore bad-boys.

 

There were plenty of outright petrol-heads who loved cars and driving. They all wanted to drive the best they could, and would typically pick up on Roadcraft System quickly and become very good drivers. The idea that advanced motoring consisting of wheel-shuffling grandads pootling around in Honda Civics is very incorrect (and if you're shuffling, you're doing Pull-Push wrong).

 

(Actually, when it comes to sheer petrol-headism, I seem to recall the coppers being the 'worst' for this. Especially those Class 1s...)

Edited 14 May, 2016 by ettlz

[DampDog]

I've done a stint as an instructor for my sins and have to say I enjoyed the training side more than I did the instructing by quite a margin. Most folk I've spoken to who have taken additional training either due to career of just out of interest have enjoyed it far more than they expected to.

 

Car wise, due to other commitments I've not been looking in anger this week. Only car I've seen that caught my eye is this one. It's a 75ps version one of only a few I could spot, they appear to be predominantly 60ps versions, but it looks too expensive to my eye.

 

 

http://www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=605693195

Edited 15 May, 2016 by DampDog