After 4 happy years with my very impressive but basic Citigo, I have opted to trade it in. With increasing mobility issues in both hands, I really need electric windows and an auto gearbox. And aircon will be nice if we are to continue with record temperatures.

 

That little car - specially selected in Sunflower Yellow so that I can find it in car parks - has coped with everything including The Beast from the East (top memory of sweeping past a stuck Range Rover by keeping to fresh snow and relying on traction control to keep moving), floods, torrential rain, high winds, mud-slides and the generally tragic state of UK roads. Brought me back home (Bucks/Herts border) from Lands End on one tank of petrol with just one toilet break.

 

On the plus side, I am p/exing for a Skoda Kamiq, which really impressed me on the test drive.

 

I have seen the Citigo touted as an ideal first vehicle. Unless you have a large family, I think it's suitable for all ages and lifestyles.

 

A couple of bad points though: I hate the gear indicator (been driving since 1973 without the need for one); the fuel gauge (apparently I do about 200mpg on the first 3/4 of a tank, then about 3mpg for the rest) and the over-reading speedometer (consistently 10% over). I don't like that the rear parcel shelf doesn't drop on its' own. Other than that - brilliant!

 

A shame to have to change.... 😞

At least you can stay on the forum!

 

Glad that the gripes are pretty small:

 

- I don't even notice the gear indicator on mine - I assume it's the same on all models and year. It would certainly be pointless on an automatic!

 

- As for the speedo, The UK law is based on the EU standard, with some minor changes. A speedo must never show less than the actual speed, and must never show more than 110% of actual speed + 6.25mph. So generally, speedos are set a few percent fast by design.  With standard standard tyre circumferences on  a given car, I have yet to come across  a speedo that was accurate.

 

- Same with the fuel gauge; I have yet to find one that is significantly different to the one you describe! Mind you on a proper modern car, it should be very easy and cheap (~£1 in volume using A-D, software, and D-A), to digitally re-profile the potentiometer reading that comes from the tank, to a corrected voltage to supply the dashboard gauge. The fuel tank needs to be 'modelled' to take into account it is not a uniform-shaped box that the float goes up and down in. Maybe this is done now in a Kamiq? Let us know!

Edited 18 August, 20205 yr by freemansteve

At least the Kamiq has a low fuel warning light which the Citigo doesn't. As someone who regularly plays "low fuel bingo", this has come close to catching me out a couple of times.

The fuel gauge is the most inaccurate I've had on any car I've owned. 1/4 of a tank needs to be used before the needle moves off full and when reading 1/2 full its actually little more than a 1/4 full.

Edited 18 August, 20205 yr by Miller73

41 minutes ago, Miller73 said:

The fuel gauge is the most inaccurate I've had on any car I've owned. 1/4 of a tank needs to be used before the needle moves off full and when reading 1/2 full its actually little more than a 1/4 full.

 

Digital or anologue? 

Yeah that fuel gauge... quite happily plodding up to scotland... na I'm good for fuel... over the moors eek. Lift and coast, lift and coast... 

 

My grans old BX, was amazing... with 0miles left I pulled of a dual carriageway; I'd totally missed it gassing away my mate... drove 5 miles to a village, up a hill, parked for climbing, figured I'd hitch to get a fuel can at the end of the day... anyhow it started, hydraulic suspension bah, rolled down the hill Then back, onto the dual carriage way to the fuel station at the end of the slip road. So we reckon the fuel line had a good 20odd miles in it.

 

Fair to say I was incredibly nervous.

 

@RodTucker I agree it's a great car, and not just a first car. Mother in law has one as run about to save getting her vRS out of the garage. I think she prefers it too. I must admit I've lost my love of small lanes since selling mine and getting the super tanker. At least the kamiq isn't a daft size and you'll really like the extra viewing height. Enjoy it. Been trying to get my mum to look at one under mobility, alas, not happening now, too late.

 

 

 

"At least the Kamiq has a low fuel warning light which the Citigo doesn't"

 

err my Citigo does, and it dings too!

Fantastic little cars. I bought a second hand one for a cheap no fuss runaround after leaving a job with a company car. It served me very well for 2 years.

 

Mine had a fuel light as well.

Mine's an early one (2012) and very basic - no aircon, wind-up windows etc.

A speedometer is an indicator,not a precision instrument,as are most gauges in cars.As stated,only needs to be accurate within 10% by law -  so I tend to keep this in mind.

Never been copped for speeding in 48 yrs driving. The parcel shelf is annoying. I find myself catching my brow on it loading stuff into the tailgate.

If I push it up to lock ,I usually am reminded when I get back in the driving seat that it is still up.....so get back out again.

The car lacks power on hills,but change down early and listen to the growl......

Edited 19 August, 20205 yr by Blackcountryman

On advice from seeing YouTube review, I have a small bottle of water in the cupholder, which I can chuck at the parcel shelf and then recover it later.

 

Never found it to be really wanting for power and point-to-point times on B-roads (my preference) are very similar to those of my slightly tweaked 1998 MGF 1.8. Happily sits at 70 on motorway/dual-carriageway except for really steep hills.

 

I use the satnav readout for speed. 

 

Will be very sorry to see her go but looking forward to the Kamiq.

I'd forgotten about the parcel shelf, I was lucky I could just about stretch back and tap it shut.

 

I could never really see the speedo for how I was comfortable, so I just had to learn straight up was 80, then drive accordingly or use the fairly well positioned nav. 30's I could see thankfully

 

That and some magnetic lights for the boot, although invariably I'd knock them off.

 

I totally missed when picking it up the electric windows, drivers side, only had one switch... that was my biggest annoyance when pulling up to talk, or SWMBO wanted to ask a q etc

I think they sorted that on later models.

 

Fun times indeed.

 

 

 

I've had several cars where, when you get the right steering wheel rake, get a comfy position etc, the steering wheel obscures the dials!

Citigo is maybe one of the worst, but oddly I have learned to cope with "sit up and beg" fairly well.

Soon they won't have dials in a binnacle as such - it'll be a display panel mounted on the steering column, or vertically re-positionable on the dash. And they will organize so it cannot be read in direct sunlight! (or maybe it'll be like a Kindle display which is great in any lighting?).

The parcel shelf is easy to sort. On both our Citigo's I bought the following:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-VW-GROUP-PARCEL-SHELF-STRAP-PINS-x2-1M6867574A/254215808063?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2X-Interior-Rear-Parcel-Shelf-String-Tonneau-Cover-Strap-Cord-For-VW-1K6863447A/392285186940?fits=Car+Make%3AVW|Model%3AGolf&hash=item5b5604eb7c:g:lD8AAOSw24hcw-wP

 

At the time it cost under a tenner for each car, took about 10 minutes and ever since have had a parcel shelf that lifts when I open the boot and then lowers as I shut it.

Ebay parts:

 

The lid will not drop if locked in the open/up position (by design, or at least it is like that on my car). Never needed to lock it in open position though!

 

4 minutes ago, freemansteve said:

Ebay parts:

 

The lid will not drop if locked in the open/up position (by design, or at least it is like that on my car). Never needed to lock it in open position though!

 

Never said it would. You set it up so when you open the hatch it lifts the shelf to just short of the lock position.

Wish I had known about this 4 years ago. Bit late now that she goes in as p/ex next Wednesday.

Glad I'm not the only one who finds that shelf a pain in the ass......😁

If it's a pain there, you're using it wrong

Of the dozens of cars I have had that have lifting parcels-helves I have never found any of them to be a problem! Unless you bodge them off the swivels...

 

The only problem with the Citigo parcel shelf is that, once lifted, it doesn't go back down unless you remember to do it manually. As my memory ain't what it used to be and I have also had many cars which weren't a problem, I have left it up several times. Even that wouldn't be a problem if it didn't obscure the rear view so completely.

 

Overall, still a brilliant little car which I will miss - if my deal goes ahead. The dealer is being difficult for no obvious reason. I think they made a mistake on the deal because it did seem and still does seem almost too good.

I'm not following the "it won't go down" thing about the parcel shelf. Maybe the design has changed on more recent Citigos - mine definitely goes up and down with the tailgate and is pulled up by a pair of strings, and down by gravity...

it is clear some don't know what others are talking about.   Apart from the shelf pivots ,newer spec models have another set of lugs either side.This allows the shelf to be pushed up further than the strings take it. It is then clipped up by these lugs,until it physically has to be pulled down .  (RodTucker ..not sure I 'd want to wipe my ass on it....)

My Citigo came with "no strings attached". it pivots up, stays, then has to be brought back down.

 

"It is then clipped up by these lugs"

 

Err yes, mine does this too but you have to quite deliberately put it in the "locking" position; it won't do that just by opening the tailgate.

 

I did not know however, that earlier, or basic spec models, did not have self-raising shelves on strings! Even on a basic, economy car, that is some accountant being insultingly cheap!