Citroen C1 mini review

[Dr Zoidberg]

My car's in for a service today and the dealer is a Skoda and Citroen franchise so I ended up with a C1 , 1.0 Rhythm as a courtesy car. They did apologise for not giving me a skoda which I thought was nice though I've been wanting to drive one of these for a while.

Anyway , first impressions are good. I like the look of them (the Aygo looks nicer) and it feels nice and solid as you get in and close the door.



The interior is nice too.

The one I have doesn't have the bright red trim in this photo but is otherwise the same.



It looks reasonably modern without being too gimmicky and more importantly is very well screwed together. All the switchgear works well with a good positive action and doesn't feel like it will self destruct.

Considering how small the vehicle is , it's incredibly spacious. I'm 6ft1 and had plenty of room around me , and with the seat comfortable there is still room behind me for other adults to sit without removing their legs first.

The downside to this is that the boot is pathetic , but if you do a lot of shopping then there are split rear seats that can be folded down.

On the move things continue in a positive vein. You don't expect much in the way of performance from a 1.0 litre three cylinder engine but I was very pleasantly surprised. The gearing is spot on , and it will pull from low revs and low speed but runs clearly up to the red line. 60mph in second gear is easy which is better than my octavia manages.

It does get a bit noisy when thrashed but that's no great surprise , and when driven more gently it's nice and quiet. It was happy doing the motorway run to my office keeping up with traffic.

It's 68bhp has a believable 0-60 time of 13.7 seconds and should still get over 60mpg combined , which is excellent. The diesel version claims nearly 70mpg combined

It handles very well as a rollerskate should do and feels more solidly planted than it's c2 big brother. The brakes are excellent and combined with a light car mean that it stops almost instantly.

Trim levels are decent. This is a mid-range one and has a CD player , Electric windows , remote locking and side airbags all for £7535 , and with citroen's usual discounts plus £600 cashback on this one I think , it'll be well below £7k. I'd use the money saved to add air-con as an option.

Would I buy one?
Absolutely , though I'd have to check the 107 and Aygo alternatives carefully as the deals are all slightly different.

[roblatus]

I have been given one of the C1's a couple of times as a courtesy car by my local dealer and i have to say it was pants in my opinion.

Felt flimsy, slow, noisy and very very plasticy inside......and out come to think of it.


It reminded me of the toy cars my 4 year old son plays with.

[Johnwg]

Saved me doing a write up on my other halfs Aygo there.. echo many of your sentiments except the Aygo looks better, which you yourself hint at.

The only thing I can pick the Aygo up on is that the boot size is way to small and very hard to access, and the rear doors (5 dr version) make such a tinney noise when closed it detracts from the quality feel of the rest of the car.

The sound the 3 cylinder engine makes is quality and it goes very well for its size - more like 1.2's I've driven in the past infact

Would I have one... if I lived in a large city and did the majority of my driving around it yes .... Aygo Sport in Red, with the nifty rear spolier for me please

[Dr Zoidberg]

The rear doors don't sound as solid as the fronts , I agree.

I think the higher spec sport version with the alloys and toys looks very nice , but the price does rise quite a bit. With some options it's possible to get one of these costing over £10k which is a hell of a lot of money for something that size.

A basic one for not much more than £6k makes a lot more sense