Skoda Citigo test drive 5 doors since 2012 Hatchback

Skoda Citigo. Good small

In early March, Skoda introduced in Lisbon a new compact hatchback Citigo. Czechs are good -natured people (not judged by hockey players), which has long been reflected in the national auto industry.

Skoda Citigo. Price: n. D. on sale: second half of 2012

Andrey Mashnin, 49 years old, deputy. The editor -in -chief of the magazine, driving experience 13 years, personal car - Mitsubishi Galant.

Their cars are quite cute and human in everything is visible about convenience. At the same time, the designers do not forget about savings. In this case, we can say that Skoda Citigo is a typically Czech car in all respects

Citigo is already sold in the Czech Republic, and very successfully. The joy of the fact that the project was a success was perfectly felt during the presentation. Representatives of Skoda looked like birthday, and this festive mood was probably conveyed to all journalists. Forty pieces drove cars, and in the parking lot at the hotel this bright multi -colored flock looked very nice.

The motley company Citigo had 3- and 5-door options, 60- and 75-horsepower. We were invited to drive along a rather long route, scored in an option navigator, and in the control point about the middle of the journey could meet with colleagues and change cars, i.e. Take a car with another body and engine.


The instrument shield is pretty and concise

I must say that Citigo, which is produced in Bratislava, is already the seventh, the youngest model in the Skoda line. With a length of 3.56, width 1.65 and a height of 1.48 meters, Citigo is one of the most compact and at the same time the most spacious cars of this actively developing segment. And Skoda has high hopes on her novelty. The chairman of the Board of Directors of Vinfrid Faland, the chairman of the board of directors of the company, emphasized that the Citigo is of paramount importance in the strategy for increasing sales: the novelty represents our brand in the car class, whose share in the global automobile market is almost 10%today. A quarter of the total number of sales falls on European markets. Demand for compact cars with low fuel consumption, attractive price and modest operating costs will increase greatly this year. Skoda Citigo appears at the most suitable time and will be able to win the hearts of many customers, especially in Europe. Here he is such a serious fighter, this newborn, despite small growth.


A separate navigator does not impress standard equipment

Citigo looks nice enough, harmonious. The front part is decorated in a corporate identity, well recognizable. A large glazing area provides good overview in all directions. Special thanks for the new emblem. When I went in the fall to meet with the designers of Skoda, I was going to ask why they should not refuse the green emblem, make it just metal. But the first thing that was introduced to us at that seminar turned out to be just a new emblem. And now it is first installed on a serial car.


The mirrors look beautiful and provide a sufficient review

The end is simply decorated, there are no pretentious details, everything is on the case. There are a lot of useful little things: nets for bottles on the inner side of the front seats, the cup holders on the floor along the rounded edges of the rear sofa, a holder for plastic cards, for photographs, a stand for a mobile phone; In general, where something needed could be attached, they attached it there. The volume of the luggage compartment is 251 liters with a folded back of the rear seat increases to 959 liters. For safe transportation of objects in the luggage compartment, a practical set of nets is attached. The width of the salon is 1.36 m allows the crew to feel free. Planting and ease in the 3-door version require effort (the machine is small), but if you do not have to do it many times in a row, then there is no problem. The front seats easily lean back and simultaneously drive forward (Easy Entry function). The instrument panel is quite traditional, without delights, that I personally always welcome, the testimony is clearly visible.


The salon is modestly decorated, but everything you need is

Much attention was paid to safety when creating the machine. As a result, at the Crash tests, Euro NCAP Citigo received the highest rating of five stars. For the first time for the Skoda brand, a side pillow was used to protect the head and chest of the driver and the front passenger. The new product is the new active brake assistant City Safe Drive. The optional function of emergency braking is automatically activated at a speed of less than 30 km/h, when the danger of a collision is recognized using a laser sensor. Automatic inclusion of brakes, taking into account speed and road conditions, allows you to soften the consequences of an accident or even completely prevent a collision.

The car is produced with two new three -cylinder gasoline engines with a working volume of 1.0 liters, with a capacity of 60 and 75 liters. With. In the most economical version of Green Tec, the average fuel consumption is a little more than 4 liters per hundred. Despite a small working volume, power units develop a high torque and are distinguished by silent work. In addition, in the future it is planned to equip a Citigo engine operating on natural gas. All the cars presented to us had a mechanical gearbox, but by the beginning of sales in Russia an automatic machine should also appear.

I have the most pleasant impressions of the trip to Citigo. On the highway, 120 is normal with a crew of three people. The suspension is simply normal, without accents. On a not very high -quality road, does not shake the soul, at least. In the back row you can go together for a long time. In the bends there are very well kept belts, do not let them fall out. Noise isolation is good, visibility is really beautiful.

At what price the promising Citigo will be put up in our market is still unknown, but the comrades from Skoda assure that the car will be inexpensive relative to competitors.

 
Our verdict
The successful start of sales of the new Skoda model in the Czech Republic allows us to hope that it will be in demand with us. Much depends on the price. If the car is not too expensive, and even with a machine gun, as promise, then there will probably be a lot of people who want to buy it.
 

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
+
A nice appearance, an angry speaker, a convenient salon in a 5-door version.
-
In the three -door it is quite difficult to climb the back row, even despite the fact that the front seats, along with the back of the back, move forward.

Driving
More than a hundred on the highway, a loaded car is easy with any of the two engines.

Salon
A small car has more salon than you expect.

Comfort
Good suspension, comfortable seats, many pockets, nets, cup holders.

Safety
5 Stars Euro NCAP A great characteristic of the car. There are front and side pillows.

Price
Russian prices are still unknown, but Skoda says that Citigo will be cheaper than competitors.


We do not love

Freshly
The new proprietary emblem has become monochrome and is now much better suitable for any body color.

Practical
The salon is replete with various kinds of devices that allow you to decompose the road detail.

Enough
The trunk is not great, but quite convenient if you do not be touched by products for a month.


SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions 3563x1645x1478mm
Base 2420 mm
Equipped mass 929 kg
Hello load 436 kg
Clearance 135 mm
Trunk volume 251/959 l
The volume of the fuel tank is 35 liters
Gasoline engine, 3-cylinder., 999cm3, 75/6200l.s./min-1, 95/3000-4300 Nm/min-1
Transmission 5-speed manual transmission
Dynamics 171 km/h; 13.2SDO100km/h
Fuel consumption 4.7 liters per 100 km
Competitors Citroen C1, Chevrolet Spark, Kia Picanto, Volkswagen Up

Source: Magazine 5 wheel [April 2012]