Used Car Focus: VW up!, SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo
The Volkswagen up!, Skoda Citigo and SEAT Mii were Volkswagen Group’s three-pronged attack on the city car market – but almost a decade on, how do they stack up as used cars? Craig Cheetham tries them for size.
All based on the same bodyshell and engine – which model is best to go for?
Small cars generally mean small running costs, and Volkswagen Group’s tiny trio are no exception, especially when you factor in their strong residual values.
The Group’s ‘NSF’ models (New
Small Family) were unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, with the VW up!, SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo all being revealed simultaneously, with sales of all three beginning in December that year. The models were available in three or five-door form.
Initially, the trio were offered with the same powertrain – a 1.0-litre threecylinder engine developing either 60PS or 75PS depending on model. They were produced, and still are, at the Volkswagen Bratislava plant in Slovakia, a former Skoda factory.
The three cars are extremely similar visually, with the only notable differences being to the front- and rear-end styling. The up! features a Volkswagen family grille, with the Skoda and SEAT both having more distinctive styling, albeit arguably less harmonious. The rear tailgate is made of glass and makes up almost the entire rear facia of the car.
The VW range was all about names rather than trim levels, with Take up!, Move up!, High up!, up! Black and up! White being the core trim levels, the last two retail-focused and highly specced. There’s more: Black Edition, White Edition, Look up!, up! Beats, Rock up!, Groove up!, Street up!, Club up! up! Beats and up! R-line. We think that’s it!
For Skoda, the trim names were more traditional – S, SE, SE-L, Elegance and Sport, the last being renamed ‘Monte Carlo’ in late 2012 to reflect Skoda’s rallying exploits.
Meanwhile, the SEAT Mii range was more conservative. S, SE, i-tech, Sport and Ecomotive were the main trim levels.
Special editions were offered across all three. For SEAT, there was the race-inspired TOCA, while the Mii by Cosmopolitan and the Mii by Mango were unashamedly focused at fashionconscious female buyers.
Skoda, meanwhile, offered the lowemission Greentech, Colour Edition, and the stylish Black Edition.
In 2014, Volkswagen produced the e-up!, which wasn’t targeted at Yorkshiremen as its name suggested, but was the first electric model, initially offered on a trial basis in limited numbers only. But from 2017 the e-up!, along with EV variants of the Citigo and Mii, became integral parts of each manufacturer’s model range, with VW Group saying that in future electricity would be the only powertrain for its next generation of city cars.
In 2017, all three models were given a mid-cycle facelift, with a vastly improved cabin and new infotainment systems that incorporated Apple Carplay and Android Auto, along with automatic emergency braking as standard – a first for the city car sector.
In 2018, Volkswagen revealed the up! GTI, which brought the famous badge to the company’s smallest car. The GTI uses the same three-cylinder engine as its range mates, but fitted with a highpressure turbo to increase its power output to 115PS – more than enough in such a diminutive model.
The up! and its siblings remained strong sellers well into 2020, with an allev replacement rumoured to be in the wings for the summer of 2022.
All three were awarded the best five-star Euro NCAP crash safety rating for both collision performance and pedestrian protection – an impressive result for such a small car. All have sold strongly and remain popular used choices, but as the first examples start to get older and the owner profile less diligent where maintenance is concerned there are a couple of things to watch out.
Here’s what you need to know to keep up! with the Joneses.
Bodywork
The up! and its siblings feel like highquality, well-made cars but there are a few areas for concern around the older models.
All of the three come with a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty that covers against ‘perforation’ where a car hasn’t sustained external damage, though how this is covered is open to interpretation. One thing that’s definite, though, is that there have been quite a few cases reported of rust bubbles appearing around the petrol filler flap.
It’s a known issue and, while most dealers will honour a repair, we very much doubt that this involves cutting out the affected rear quarter and replacing with fresh metal, so don’t expect a fix to be anything more than a tidy-up and blow over. It’s well worth examining any car closely for signs of a previous repair; and if you can get a digital micrometer check the thickness of the paint in this area. If it’s thicker than normal then a fix has been carried out.
There are no other reported instances of corrosion but there are other niggles to be aware of, notably door handles that pack-up and jam from the outside. The problem occurs when a locknut pops off the internal cable and a repair isn’t too onerous, though it does involve stripping the inside of the door to get to the area.
Other minor niggles include rear lamp lenses misting up due to water ingress and faulty rear washer jets, where the nonreturn valve in the washer system packs up and allows the washer to continue to dribble water out of the washer nozzle. Hardly a major problem, though!
Also, cars made in 2016 and fitted with a panoramic glass roof were recalled because a number of them were finished with poor bonding between the glass and the roof panel. It’s worth checking with your local dealer if your car is subject to the recall and, if not, check it for signs of rattling or water leaks – which could mean the problem is still apparent.
Interior
All models have hard-wearing cloth interiors and even high-milers tend to look smart, with no splits in the side bolsters or seat cushions. A common failure, though, is the seat height adjustment mechanism. Where a car is often used by more than one driver with a different driving position, the ratchet mechanism in the height-adjustment gear can wear, meaning the seat won’t stay in position.
It’s a known issue and the manufacturer will reportedly mend it for free, but it hasn’t yet been the cause of a recall.
There was a recall issued in 2013 for cars built in the first half of the year, the reason being a faulty airbag sensor that may not detect a fault if the SRS system isn’t working properly. It only affects cars built in the first six months of that particular year.
A recall was also issued on five-door models built between November 2015 and April 2016 due to a fault with the child safety locks not engaging on the rear passenger doors.
Finally, a random one. Several owners have reported a faint ‘buzzing’ noise from inside the cabin – the source is unknown. Suggestions are wear to the glovebox latch or the gearlever trim surround.