The Gallic alternatives
Let’s start with Citroën’s C1, which arrived on the market in base Vibe trim and costing £6495 in three-door form. Another £900 would get you a better-equipped, five-door Rhythm, while £8445 was needed to get behind the wheel of the oil-burning version, which was parsimonious but slow. June 2006 saw the Airplay model join the range, featuring electric windows, remote central locking and ipod compatibility, and in February 2008, the Code boasted alloy wheels and Alcantara/leather seat trim. Trim levels became VT and VTR a year later, with the VTR+ arriving in January 2010, taking the C1 through to a facelift in March 2012 and the offer of a £1000 cashback deal to tempt value-conscious buyers.
Peugeot launched its version solely in Urban trim, although it did come with electric windows, remote locking, a radio/cd player with MP3 and tinted glass as standard. The Urban Lite appeared in October 2006, followed by the Urban Move in summer 2007, which featured metallic paint, air-conditioning and a rev counter. June 2008’s 107 KISS was a tie-in with the radio station, which meant musically-inclined buyers got an upgraded Clarion hi-fi, along with better speakers and a subwoofer. From there on it was mostly a shuffling of trim levels, with the range comprising the Urban Lite and Verve from January 2009 and then Access, Active and Allure from January 2012, which aligned the 107’s badging with that of other Peugeot models.