20k pa in a Citigo - Am I mad?

[DC-1]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am about to order a new Citigo Monte Carlo with quite a few options with the intentions to make it my daily driver and keep the miles down on my other car.

 

I will likely be doing close to 20,000 miles per year in the car with mostly motorway and A roads making up the vast majority of the journey.

 

I've read all the reviews, browsed the forum and took a brief test drive of a 2016 plate MC which seemed very compliant on the mixed road test drive.

 

I was wondering if anyone else communtes as many miles per year in their Citigo and how they find it. Am I mad to be considering such a small car for this type of commute?

 

I've specified the car with most options to aid in the creature comfort factor. I noticed the front seats when slid forward to access the rear do not seem to auto-reset to their original position . . .did I do something wrong there and do they indeed reset somehow?

 

Anyway, apologies for the long-winded first post and I look forward to your feedback.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

D

[VRS Mike]

46 minutes ago, DC-1 said:

Hello Everyone,

 

I am about to order a new Citigo Monte Carlo with quite a few options with the intentions to make it my daily driver and keep the miles down on my other car.

 

I will likely be doing close to 20,000 miles per year in the car with mostly motorway and A roads making up the vast majority of the journey.

 

I've read all the reviews, browsed the forum and took a brief test drive of a 2016 plate MC which seemed very compliant on the mixed road test drive.

 

I was wondering if anyone else communtes as many miles per year in their Citigo and how they find it. Am I mad to be considering such a small car for this type of commute?

 

I've specified the car with most options to aid in the creature comfort factor. I noticed the front seats when slid forward to access the rear do not seem to auto-reset to their original position . . .did I do something wrong there and do they indeed reset somehow?

 

Anyway, apologies for the long-winded first post and I look forward to your feedback.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

D

 

Unfortunately the thing with the seat is what they all do, there is only an option that makes the distance go back to what it was before.

 

In terms of mileage I think the Citigo is more than up to it, I did always feel slightly vulnerable on motorways due to how small the citigo is, but I used mine for many long trips mainly because how cheap it was to run.

 

[DC-1]

34 minutes ago, VRS Mike said:

 

Unfortunately the thing with the seat is what they all do, there is only an option that makes the distance go back to what it was before.

 

In terms of mileage I think the Citigo is more than up to it, I did always feel slightly vulnerable on motorways due to how small the citigo is, but I used mine for many long trips mainly because how cheap it was to run.

 

 

Thanks for the reply.  It certainly felt quite composed on the motorway during the test drive today. The economy is whats really tempting as I can finance the car and fuel it for a month cheaper than fuel alone for my other car.  It pays for itself really!!! At least thats what my man maths keep telling me!

[Jonny118118]

2 hours ago, DC-1 said:

Hello Everyone,

 

I am about to order a new Citigo Monte Carlo with quite a few options with the intentions to make it my daily driver and keep the miles down on my other car.

 

I will likely be doing close to 20,000 miles per year in the car with mostly motorway and A roads making up the vast majority of the journey.

 

I've read all the reviews, browsed the forum and took a brief test drive of a 2016 plate MC which seemed very compliant on the mixed road test drive.

 

I was wondering if anyone else communtes as many miles per year in their Citigo and how they find it. Am I mad to be considering such a small car for this type of commute?

 

I've specified the car with most options to aid in the creature comfort factor. I noticed the front seats when slid forward to access the rear do not seem to auto-reset to their original position . . .did I do something wrong there and do they indeed reset somehow?

 

Anyway, apologies for the long-winded first post and I look forward to your feedback.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

D

Only way to get past the sliding front seat ; you’d have to go 5 door as far as I’m aware. 

The Škoda Citigo Monte Carlo is a really fun car to drive, even if it is my first car to drive 

Edited 23 January, 2018 by Jonny118118

[DC-1]

23 minutes ago, Jonny118118 said:

Only way to get past the sliding front seat ; you’d have to go 5 door as far as I’m aware. 

The Škoda Citigo Monte Carlo is a really fun car to drive, even if it is my first car to drive 

 

Thanks.  I'll find a way around it if it bothers me too much.  Even if I need to jam the runner with a temporary stopper of some kind.

 

Glad you're enjoying the car.

[VRS Mike]

13 minutes ago, DC-1 said:

 

Thanks.  I'll find a way around it if it bothers me too much.  Even if I need to jam the runner with a temporary stopper of some kind.

 

Glad you're enjoying the car.

 

Just don't fold the drivers seat forward!

[ronime]

20k per year is a lot of seat time, a lot of fuel and a big hit on residuals that are not great to begin with.

 

I would suggest a diesel automatic to cover that kind of mileage.

[VRS Mike]

10 hours ago, ronime said:

20k per year is a lot of seat time, a lot of fuel and a big hit on residuals that are not great to begin with.

 

I would suggest a diesel automatic to cover that kind of mileage.

 

If his other car is an M4 then I doubt residuals are a concern

[Rooted]

20,000 miles PA in Scotland or crossing the Borders, even with A77 / M77, A9. A90 Average Speed Cameras, 

get a comfy car, and one that is economic. 

Look at UpMiiCitigo like on the torrential rain Yesterday, winds today.

Great fun, great back roads & nipping on, but on Dual Carriageway / Motorway, just any Trunk route you are abused and tailgated by BMW  M4 (generilisation) / McBurney HGV type drivers even if exceeding the speed limits.

(it becomes annoying over a period of time when every vehicle behind you thinks they should be infront of you or in your place.

Is that paranoia?, 

try driving a Toyota iQ or a Smart!)

Edited 24 January, 2018 by AwaoffSki

[DC-1]

3 hours ago, VRS Mike said:

 

If his other car is an M4 then I doubt residuals are a concern

 

Try owning a BMW in general if you want to feel the pain in depreciation! Lol. 

[Rooted]

Get something used that can claim its place on the road, and with powerful enough windscreen washers that can have that tailgaters wipers functioning.

& something with a cloak of invisibility when you want to nip on...  Seat Leon nondescript & some others can do that. 

[Gerrycan]

I think it will be an entertaining experience if nothing else.

70 mph (or thereabouts) is the same speed in any car and there are a few posting here who claim their Citigo is stable on motorways and returning very respectable economy figures as well.

As long as you find the seats comfortable, it should be a practical proposition.

 

If you carry any loads and/or have to contend with many steep hills then the lack of power could be a bit frustrating, but these small engines love to rev.

I run a similar power 14 yo micro car and find it fun on a 500km round trip I occasionally do, just requires a bit of planning when overtaking B-doubles on Australian interstate single lane highways

 

 

 

 

 

 

[VRS Mike]

22 minutes ago, DC-1 said:

 

Try owning a BMW in general if you want to feel the pain in depreciation! Lol. 

 

I've got an M135I (admittedly only had it 4 days!)

[Rooted]

The Lease Company and person leasing took the first depreciation hit mostly, 

you might now just have £1,500-£2,000 a year hit depends how long you keep it. 

 

Many smaller cars might only cost £1,000-£1,500 a year depreciation if you keep them 5 years, and lower servicing / running costs,

down to £1,000 a year if you keep them 8 years and worth something still then.

Enter, Kia, Hyundai etc and a 7 year warranty, or a Toyota maybe.

Yaris, mid sized, comfortable, even get a Hybrid for using when in town & not hoofing it.

[DC-1]

56 minutes ago, VRS Mike said:

 

I've got an M135I (admittedly only had it 4 days!)

 

Great car with a fantastic engine. Hope you're enjoying it! 

[TheInsanity1234]

I don't do 20k miles pa, but I'd say perhaps 70% of my mileage clocked up on my car has been on motorways. My sister uses it for her very short commute, and I use it when I have to go somewhere, which always seems to end up being a long motorway journey, and I can reassure you that at 70 mph it feels perfectly sound. I've had it up to a speed very close to it's 100 mph top speed (GPS verified) on multiple occasions, and even then it was a stable enough cruising experience. Admittedly, the very short wheelbase does make big bumps on the motorway feel that little bit more pogo-y, but otherwise I can't complain about it at all. The one thing I'd say would be, make sure you've got cruise control. I forgot to add the tech pack on my MY16 citigo and I kick myself every time I end up in roadworks as the car is so keen to accelerate you really have to concentrate on keeping it at 50ish. Oddly enough this isn't a problem at any other speed. I think it's the combination of a relatively low cruising speed in top gear meaning you're tickling the throttle to keep it cruising at 50, so consequently any sort of pressure on the pedal seems to get the car gradually speeding up.

 

The fuel economy is excellent. I still average 40ish mpg when cruising at 90 mph. I've had it giving me 67/68 mpg averages on motorway journeys where I've been in heavy congestion doing 50/60 most of the way. All the numbers were taken from the trip computer, so I'd knock off a couple of mpg to get the real number, but I challenge you to find any other car that could be that fuel efficient while being driven by someone who drives like their hair is on fire all the time.

[DC-1]

16 minutes ago, TheInsanity1234 said:

I don't do 20k miles pa, but I'd say perhaps 70% of my mileage clocked up on my car has been on motorways. My sister uses it for her very short commute, and I use it when I have to go somewhere, which always seems to end up being a long motorway journey, and I can reassure you that at 70 mph it feels perfectly sound. I've had it up to a speed very close to it's 100 mph top speed (GPS verified) on multiple occasions, and even then it was a stable enough cruising experience. Admittedly, the very short wheelbase does make big bumps on the motorway feel that little bit more pogo-y, but otherwise I can't complain about it at all. The one thing I'd say would be, make sure you've got cruise control. I forgot to add the tech pack on my MY16 citigo and I kick myself every time I end up in roadworks as the car is so keen to accelerate you really have to concentrate on keeping it at 50ish. Oddly enough this isn't a problem at any other speed. I think it's the combination of a relatively low cruising speed in top gear meaning you're tickling the throttle to keep it cruising at 50, so consequently any sort of pressure on the pedal seems to get the car gradually speeding up.

 

The fuel economy is excellent. I still average 40ish mpg when cruising at 90 mph. I've had it giving me 67/68 mpg averages on motorway journeys where I've been in heavy congestion doing 50/60 most of the way. All the numbers were taken from the trip computer, so I'd knock off a couple of mpg to get the real number, but I challenge you to find any other car that could be that fuel efficient while being driven by someone who drives like their hair is on fire all the time.

 

That's an extremely helpful post. Thank you for that. 

 

I've researched the car extensively and this pretty much matches up exactly with your experience. 

 

I have specified city, convenience and winter packs along with climate control and multi function display so it should be a comfortable little cruiser! 

[TheInsanity1234]

20 minutes ago, DC-1 said:

 

That's an extremely helpful post. Thank you for that. 

 

I've researched the car extensively and this pretty much matches up exactly with your experience. 

 

I have specified city, convenience and winter packs along with climate control and multi function display so it should be a comfortable little cruiser! 

Consider me jealous! Must admit to being tempted to skip out of my PCP early (only have two free services included) and dropping a deposit on a newer one with better equipment.

 

But then I see VW have released the Up! GTI which has got me incredibly interested... My car is bloody good fun with just 60 hp, imagine what it'd be like with (almost) double the power... 

[Jonny118118]

27 minutes ago, DC-1 said:

 

That's an extremely helpful post. Thank you for that. 

 

I've researched the car extensively and this pretty much matches up exactly with your experience. 

 

I have specified city, convenience and winter packs along with climate control and multi function display so it should be a comfortable little cruiser! 

If you listen to the radio a lot, then the DAB radio is worth having if it’s not in the convenience pack. 

[DC-1]

36 minutes ago, Jonny118118 said:

37 minutes ago, TheInsanity1234 said:

Consider me jealous! Must admit to being tempted to skip out of my PCP early (only have two free services included) and dropping a deposit on a newer one with better equipment.

 

But then I see VW have released the Up! GTI which has got me incredibly interested... My car is bloody good fun with just 60 hp, imagine what it'd be like with (almost) double the power... 

 

Yes the UP GTI does look impressive but I think the basic spec starts at £13.5K. I've maanged to get a craking deal from my locak Skoda dealer after using the best CarWow price as a bargaining tool so the GTI would be much more expensive than the Monte Carlo.

 

Quote

36 minutes ago, Jonny118118 said:

If you listen to the radio a lot, then the DAB radio is worth having if it’s not in the convenience pack. 

If you listen to the radio a lot, then the DAB radio is worth having if it’s not in the convenience pack. 

 

I literally never listen to the DAB in my current car.  I mostly listen to normal radio or podcasts.

Edited 25 January, 2018 by DC-1

[TheInsanity1234]

9 minutes ago, DC-1 said:

 

Yes the UP GTI does look impressive but I think the basic spec starts at £13.5K. I've maanged to get a craking deal from my locak Skoda dealer after using the best CarWow price as a bargaining tool so the GTI would be much more expensive than the Monte Carlo.

However according to this autoexpress article the Up! GTI will have a fair few things as standard that are still optional on the SE-L

 

Speccing up an 5 door SE-L with the 75ps engine with Cruise Control, trip computer, Climate control, and city safe gives an OTR price of £12,905.

The Monte Carlo with climate, convenience pack, and winter pack and city safe (so pretty much the same spec as the SE-L above) gives an OTR price of £13,335.

 

It's not that much more expensive than the top spec Citigos, if you look at the fact it's got almost everything as standard AND has almost double the power and an extra gear.

 

Plus the vast majority of these cars will be on a PCP so with maybe £1k down it'll be a £175 a month kind of thing. Not unreasonably expensive.

[DC-1]

17 minutes ago, TheInsanity1234 said:

However according to this autoexpress article the Up! GTI will have a fair few things as standard that are still optional on the SE-L

 

Speccing up an 5 door SE-L with the 75ps engine with Cruise Control, trip computer, Climate control, and city safe gives an OTR price of £12,905.

The Monte Carlo with climate, convenience pack, and winter pack and city safe (so pretty much the same spec as the SE-L above) gives an OTR price of £13,335.

 

It's not that much more expensive than the top spec Citigos, if you look at the fact it's got almost everything as standard AND has almost double the power and an extra gear.

 

Plus the vast majority of these cars will be on a PCP so with maybe £1k down it'll be a £175 a month kind of thing. Not unreasonably expensive.

 

Yeah agreed.  It will be a cracking little car. 

[ronime]

4 hours ago, TheInsanity1234 said:

However according to this autoexpress article the Up! GTI will have a fair few things as standard that are still optional on the SE-L

 

Speccing up an 5 door SE-L with the 75ps engine with Cruise Control, trip computer, Climate control, and city safe gives an OTR price of £12,905.

The Monte Carlo with climate, convenience pack, and winter pack and city safe (so pretty much the same spec as the SE-L above) gives an OTR price of £13,335.

 

It's not that much more expensive than the top spec Citigos, if you look at the fact it's got almost everything as standard AND has almost double the power and an extra gear.

 

Plus the vast majority of these cars will be on a PCP so with maybe £1k down it'll be a £175 a month kind of thing. Not unreasonably expensive.

 

No doubt the Up! GTi will be much in demand and as such the discounts will be nowhere near those offered on Citigos.

[TheInsanity1234]

20 hours ago, ronime said:

 

No doubt the Up! GTi will be much in demand and as such the discounts will be nowhere near those offered on Citigos.

That's a good point.

[Chris GB]

20,000 per year? Not even trying The Citigo is fine on motorways. When it's chucking it down with rain, the skinny little 175 section tyres cut through the water very well. I do around 50,000 a year in my two over the last 3 3/4 years and it's been good.