Skoda Citigo E-iV - long-term review

Manufacturers measure the efficiency of their cars using something called the Worldwide harmonised Light-vehicle Test Protocol (WLTP). For petrol- and diesel-powered cars this gives you fuel consumption (mpg) and CO2 (g/km), while for an EV it gives you range and energy efficiency (usually in wh/km, which can be extrapolated out to our preferred kWh/mile).

WLTP is way more accurate than the old NEDC test, but it still isn’t perfect. Some cars are better than others, but best practice is usually to take the manufacturer’s claimed range and subtract maybe 15 per cent, thereby giving you the kind of distance you can realistically expect to cover between charges. Though obviously range still varies massively depending on how fast you drive and the weather. EVs are the opposite of ICE cars, more efficient in town than on the motorway, and they hate the cold.

Which makes it really difficult to answer the seemingly simple question “how far does it go on a charge?”. But we’re gonna give it a go anyway. Skoda claims the Citigo does 160 miles between charges, which is more than the Honda e or Mini Electric, but a bit behind the Peugeot e-208 or Renault Zoe. Remember, the Skoda costs less (significantly, in some cases) than any of those cars.

We’ve done a little over 1,000 miles in our Citigo, charging the battery to 100 per cent and running it low as we dare – to around 15 miles of range remaining – and the conclusion is thus: driven ‘normally’ on a mixture of roads in British summertime, it’s good for around 140 miles. Not bad at all. Since we’ve had the Citigo it’s averaged a whopping 4.9 miles per kWh, beating Skoda’s official figure and making it the most efficient EV I’ve tested to date.

Here’s how it goes down. When you’re into the red on the battery gauge with maybe 20 miles left in the tank, the Citigo automatically pops you into Eco mode, which limits power and restricts the air conditioning. BUT you can still switch it back into Normal mode. Halfway through the red the Citigo locks you into Eco + mode, which isn’t much fun. The bongs urging you to stop and charge get more insistent, the air conditioning is totally deactivated and you’re pegged to 60mph.

Most Citigo E-iV owners will never do a 140-mile trip in one go, of course. The longest journey I’ve done in it is 97 miles, and it was a comfortable and totally painless experience at a 70mph cruise. But hey, it’s nice to know you can. Right?

Next month we’re talking charging, and how Skoda’s made things more difficult than we’d like.