Skoda CITI GO unveiled
Skoda CITI GO unveiled Sister car to VW up! gets Skoda styling cues and seats four, could be priced as low as £7,000
Is this the best-value Skoda ever? The brand has released official pictures of its new entry-level model – a Fiat 500-rivalling small car, which is likely to cost as little as £7,000 when sales start in 
June next year. Â
Called the CitiGo, it is Skoda’s version of the brilliant new VW up! (driven in Issue 1,182), and gets the same all-new front-wheel-drive platform, which offers lots of space for four occupants. It’s also very efficient, thanks to a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine.
The CitiGo takes the clean, stylish looks of the up! and 
adds Skoda’s family face to 
the front end. In comes the 
latest interpretation of the 
familiar grille, which is flanked 
by large headlights, along 
with simpler bumpers. At the rear, the CitiGo swaps the up!’s all-glass tailgate for a half-metal affair, and replaces its tail-lights with less flamboyant clusters that ape the look of the Octavia. But while it’s not as 
dramatic, the bigger rear windows make it a more family friendly proposition, and it’s still a handsome and very well proportioned small car.
And it’ll be a roomy one, too. At 3.5m long, 1.6m wide and 1.5m tall, the CitiGo is similar in size 
to the Fiat 500. But thanks to a clever platform – which moves the engine as far forward as 
possible – the wheelbase is 
2.4m long, meaning it rivals 
the VW Polo for interior space.
Flexibility in the four-seater 
is boosted by fold-flat rear seats, extending boot space from 251 litres to 951 litres. In comparison, the 500 offers 185 and 550 litres. Inside, the front seats feature integrated headrests, while there are novel touches such as a photo holder mounted on the centre console, and a convenient bag hook on the outside of the glovebox.Â
Safety kit includes side airbags and City Safety Drive – a clever system which automatically brakes the car at low speeds if it senses an imminent crash. A portable iPad-style device, which incorporates sat-nav and phone functions, plus Bluetooth music streaming, is also available.
Power comes from an all-new 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with 59bhp or 74bhp. Thanks to the inclusion of stop-start, the CitiGo will return 67mpg and emit 97g/km of CO2 in ‘Green Tech’ trim, making it exempt from road tax. Five-speed manual and a sequential auto 
gearbox are both available.
Sales will start in June 2012 in three-door form, 
with a five-door arriving 
two to three months after. Following VW’s debut of the up! GT at the Frankfurt Motor Show, 
it’s possible Skoda will launch a hot vRS variant 
of the CitiGo, too, but Skoda bosses have said that a Fabia Monte Carlo style cosmetic upgrade is much more likely.
While there’s no official 
word on price, Skoda has confirmed that it will charge a lot less than VW does for the up!, which starts at around £8,000. Insiders have hinted that the CitiGo range could kick off at £7,000, undercutting the up! by at least £1,000, and the Toyota Aygo and Ford Ka by as much as £1,500.
However Skoda believe that the main competition in this segment will be from the new Fiat Panda, which made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this month.
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