Citigo all

HOT on the heels of VW’s all- conquering city car the up! comes Skoda’s little Citigo.

The paintwork could have been hardly dry on the Volkswagen before Skoda’s little city car came into view on the horizon. It was always going to be a tall order trying to emulate the success of the up!, which has been picking up Car of the Year awards on a regular basis.

But Skoda is riding on the crest of a wave at the moment and the early signs indicate that the company will be able to continue its quest for global domination with the Citigo. Just this week it was named by car magazine Auto Express as its Car of the Year. The judging panel announced that “the Citigo offers small car buyers the space, quality and comfort normally associated with much larger cars, but at a fraction of the cost. It’s simply sensational value- for- money.”

And it won’t be the last trophy in the cabinet either – because the Citigo is a great little car at a great little price.

The Citigo is up against a growing number of city cars – apart from its up! stablemate there’s the Fiat 500, SEAT’s Mii and the Kia Picanto to mention just a few.

While the 500 gets the vote for looks, the up! and the Citigo aren’t far behind, and with Skoda being under the protective arm of VW there’s unsurprisingly a strong similarity between the Citigo and the up!.

Appearance- wise its unspectacular but there’s a nicelooking front end and a flattened off rear section, with smooth flanks and big windows.

It looks sturdy rather than funky although my test car did have a black stripe running down the centre of the bonnet and the boot, which raised a few eyebrows in a one- litre car.

Skoda’s cabins are always smart and the Citigo is no different.

It’s very minimalist, with just a couple of gauges for the speed, revs and petrol, a few dials for the heaters, a couple of switches and that’s your lot. Uncluttered doesn’t go half way there.

But the plastics look durable if not luxurious, and everything is well put together and, importantly, things don’t look cheap and nasty. And on the higher trims, like the up!, there is a removable sat nav