Skoda Citigo-E iV review

VW Group’s triplet of tiny hatchbacks – the near-identical Volkswagen Up, Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo – are getting with the times. Now only the VW – traditionally the most expensive and indeed best of the three – is available with an internal combustion engine. With the other two it’s electric or nowt, as Seat and Skoda race to cut average CO2 emissions in the face of tough new EU rules. 

Obviously the Skoda is the cheapest. It’s available in a bare-bones SE spec the others aren’t, costing from £17,455 (after a £3,000 Government grant) and making Skoda’s first-ever electric car one of the cheapest EVs you can buy in Britain. But in like-for-like SE L trim, that gets all the same kit as the e-Up and Mii Electric, it’s the same price as the Seat and only about £400 cheaper than the VW.

For your almost £20,000 (after the same grant. That’s about £285/month on a three-year, 30,000 mile PCP with £2,000 down) you get a 36.8kWh lithium-ion battery mounted under the floor. So while there’s a weight penalty of a few hundred kilos, the Citigo has the same 250-litre boot and space for four as it did when it had an actual engine. Which is excellent news – to fill the Citigo’s boot with batteries would have robbed it of space it can ill afford to lose. 

An 80 per cent recharge takes just over four hours on the 7kW wallbox you should absolutely install if you have the means to do so. And with a full charge you’re looking at, best case, up to 170 miles of range. That’s more than you’ll get from a Mini Electric or Honda e. But don’t be fooled – even with the decent claimed range, with a top speed of 81mph and 0-62mph in 12.3 seconds, this isn’t a car for venturing beyond the confines of the M25...

It’s all well and good having the added alloys, heated seats and CCS charging of the more expensive Citigo, but we’d argue it makes more sense as a cheaper car. Providing you’re not relying on public charging to fit an EV info your lifestyle, the SE gives you everything you need – air-con, DAB, ISOFIX and so-on. If you want all the fancy stuff spend a bit more and get a better-looking Up, or better yet a Zoe, e-208, Mini or Honda e, which are more modern-feeling items. You’re buying the Citigo (which remember has the same powertrain and looks/feels almost exactly the same as the VW) because of its price (and because there’s no more straightforward way to drive through a town in an actual car), so you may as well get the cheap one.