S 1.0 60 MPI 5dr Hatchback

Great little car let down by penny-pinching design and obstructive gearbox

My car is actually the SE version, bought from Motorpoint last summer. Incidentally, Motorpoint's service was excellent, and their trade-in for my old car very fair. They did try to sell various 'extras' at £299 each, but there was no pressure to buy when I declined.

The Citigo appears to be well-made, but a lot of the internal finish is very cheap and tinny. There is no sound insulation in the doors, so quite a lot of external noise comes in. The glass is thin all round, so noise comes in via the windows too. Ergonomics are generally fine, but I do wonder about the few Euro Cents saved by not putting a double window switch on the driver's door - yes, you can lean across to the passenger door to lower the window on that side, but it's not something that's advisable on the move. They could have placed the window switches in the middle of the dashboard and saved the same money, but without the ergonomic penalty. Visibility is good all round.

The seats are excellent and are the main reason for choosing the Citigo over a Fiat Panda. The seat fabric does not shrug off dirt, though, so I have bought a set of tailored 'premium leatherette' covers from http://www.jcseatcovers.co.uk/skoda_citigo_165.html , which can be heartily recommended, since they do look like real leather, fit perfectly, and are a doddle to clean.

In terms of driving, the Citigo has a well-composed ride, quite possibly the best that I've experienced in a small car. The ride is fairly quiet, too, on the Falken Sincera tyres. Handling is neat and tidy, but the steering manages to be numb and oddly treacly; not one of the car's best attributes. The gearchange is really rather poor, particularly moving between 1st and 2nd, and very particularly when cold, when engaging 1st gear requires quite a bit of force. The synchromesh sometimes seems not to engage between 1st and 2nd, leading to some embarrassing grating gear noises. The gear lever has just a touch too much spring action between planes for my preference too. Gear changing in this car is a chore, unlike in the Fiat Panda where it is a joy.

On the open road, the Citigo turns out to be quite an accomplished cruiser, with acceptable overall noise levels. It does lack power, of course, but that's partly compensated for by the sheer verve of its little engine, which feels almost like a diesel at lower speeds, such is its lusty nature. Shame about the rattly and whiny gearbox, though.

In summary, anyone expecting mini-Golf standards of build are likely to be disappointed by the Citigo or any of the Up! triplets, but there is still much to recommend. Fuel economy is decent enough for a small petrol at 45-55mpg and (gearbox and steering aside) it's a good drive and ride. Buying nearly new from somewhere like Motorpoint means that an unhealthy slug of initial depreciation is avoided, so ongoing running costs are as low as anything else out there. So, a good little car let down by scratchy interior quality and nasty gearbox.

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