Driven: 2012 Skoda Citigo

Fuel prices are sky-high (that's an uncontentious statement for me to start with), but they're also rising faster than a rocket on bonfire night. So let’s be totally honest here; looking on the market for a gas-guzzling behemoth that does four yards to the gallon isn’t really the cleverest of choices. Oh, you can have one of course, but don’t expect any sympathy from me when Mr Cameron, Mr Osborne and their cronies plunder your wallet every time you need to fill up your tank. As a full-on petrol-head, it does rather pain me to say it; but choosing a diesel-powered car or a smaller, more frugal petrol-powered city car is probably the more sensible choice right now.

If you’re a petrol-head (who isn’t here on Car Throttle?) who has to commute long distances, and like me you tend to consider words like ‘train’, ‘bus’ and ‘public transport’ taboo, you may wish to opt for an oil-burner. You may even have a company car – lucky you. But if you’re in the market for a small city run-around, you’ve got a new contender to consider that’s just been thrown into the mix from Skoda.

For the first time in their 117-year history, Skoda has launched their first-ever city car into the market. It’s called the Citigo, and we've driven it once before in Lisbon. Designed by Skoda’s Head of Design, Jozef Kaban, it looks simple but effective and has been cleverly designed. Obviously Mr Kaban saw a sign in his office with their advertising slogan “Simply Clever”. He probably even knew their slogan. It would make sense, I suppose.

Anyway, there are three models available: the standard Citigo S, mid-range SE, or the top-spec Elegance, each available with differing levels of trim. All models in the S and SE range have 1.0 litre petrol engines with 58bhp, and you simply opt for a 5-speed manual or 5-speed automatic gearbox and whether you’d like 3 or 5 doors. Simple. Obviously, there is a small premium on the 5 door; well, when I say ‘small’ I mean £350. And if you decide to go for the top-spec Elegance model, boy oh boy are you in for a treat. Here, you can opt for a 58bhp engine or a 74bhp engine.

Tween drivers listen up as this next paragraph is for you...

If you opt for a 3-door 74bhp Elegance version you can choose from options like red paint, 15” black alloys and a black racing stripe (the stripe is £180 extra, but it’ll save you some cash at Halfords, won’t it?) all for a pittance over £10,000 of your (parents’) hard-earned quid. Even with 5 doors (which is what I would personally go for) it’s only the extra £350. And you’ll stand out in a friends' cars line-up fo' sho'.

And because it has the largest boot space in the sector at 251 litres, there’s even enough room for your million-watt subwoofer. The sub you will need to get at Halfords, unlike the stripe. That’s what kids like these days, isn’t it – big subs and racing stripes? Although having said that, the stereo in the Citigo is already top notch.

In terms of performance there isn’t an awful lot. 0-62mph takes 14.4 seconds with 58bhp, or 13.2 with a 74bhp engine. Top speeds are 99mph and 107mph respectively. A certain Jeremy Clarkson might say it's “biblically slow”. And in all honesty, it struggles to accelerate when joining the on-ramp of the motorway. You better hope the slip road is a long one.

But once it (eventually) reaches 70mph it's more than happy burbling along for miles and miles. Now if you’re 17 and have recently passed your test, I know you’ll want something quicker than the Citigo – all lads your age will. But as you’ll soon find out, it’s the insurance that'll be your killer. Simply put, you can’t have a Ford Focus RS or a Subaru Impreza. You just can’t, sorry. To be honest, you’d be lucky if an insurer even gave you a quote price at all. The Citigo on the other hand is in Insurance Group 1. Basically, it’s in the cheapest bracket out there. If you have an Elegance model with 74 rampaging stallions under the bonnet, it’s still only Group 2. And now that there are 50 Groups in the new rating system, you’re onto a winner, lads. Trust me.

Choose a GreenTech engine and you won’t pay any road tax at all. The most you’ll ever pay is £20 road tax for a non-GreenTech engine. Further, 'going GreenTech' means you don’t pay congestion charge. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but as we all know, these things quickly add up. And all the while, you could be getting up to 68.9mpg. Who said you need a hybrid for economy?

As well as it being cheap – to buy, insure and run – it’s safe. The Citigo recently gained a full 5-star Euro NCAP crash test rating. ESP (traction control to you and me) is standard on SE and Elegance models, and an additional extra for the basic S model. Here’s the really “Simply Clever” bit though – City Safe Drive. Again as an extra that is available to add to all models, it’s an emergency braking function activated under 19mph if the car thinks you’ve lost concentration and are about to hit something in front. You might look a bit stupid when you stop dead with a spine-shattering jolt 6 inches from the car in front and the engine stalls, but at least you’ve avoided an accident. Top marks for Skoda. And, it holds the roads well too. Chucking it into corners on country lanes it lapped them up with eagerness and ease, with not a hint of understeer. Although, that may have just been me driving slowly, I'm not sure. So parents your sons may just avoid that tree if they’re driving this car. Surely an easy sell?

At the UK launch in Birmingham this week, I was apprehensive about the Citigo. First impressions are a big thing for me, and I couldn’t actually decipher what mine were. The first thing I thought was ‘simple but functional – sweet’. I was handed the keys to the top-spec Citigo Elegance model, with the full-blooded 74bhp engine. Luckily, my co-driver and I got the one in the bright red paint, black 15” alloys and black racing stripe. And it did actually look really rather good. So I started it up and drove away following the pre-programmed route on the Navigon PID – Portable Infotainment Device – which is also available to all Citigo models.

And I absolutely loved it. It put an immediate smile on my face after about 20 yards.

It didn’t matter where I drove it – in Birmingham city centre, the country lanes, open main roads or the motorways – I couldn’t wipe that smile off my face for ages. I think my co-driver must have thought there was something wrong with me with that grin on my face stretching from ear-to-ear. I was still struggling 90 minutes later when I stopped for lunch. And then I got it straight back after lunch. I had fun in that car. Generally, I like fast cars. As a petrol-head, who doesn’t? But in this case I genuinely didn’t care that it took more than 13 seconds for it to shift from a standstill to 62mph. It gave me the sort of buzz I don’t get driving day-to-day in a BMW 118d. We even got the admiring looks over the other plain-coloured Citigos when we were in convoy – bonus!

Overall, it was a laugh, and my co-driver on the launch arrived at the same conclusion. We were all very impressed with the Citigo. Despite potentially better looks from Volkswagen's up!, dodgy punctuation aside, the Citigo might actually be the cheaper and 'simply clever' choice. If you’re in the market for a small city car, Skoda’s new Citigo is a real contender for your (or your parents’) cash.

This is a guest post by Tom Dolby, friend of Car Throttle and owner of the Mazda RX-8 we featured last month. Tom came to the rescue after none of Car Throttle's editorial team were available for the Citigo press launch, so it's thanks to him you've got this excellent review to check out! Follow Tom on Twitter @thomaspeter_58