Skoda announces new city car
Skoda has announced it intends to launch a new city car in the UK during the summer of 2012. Called Citigo, the sixth production model from the Czech carmaker is a close sibling of the Volkswagen up! which received so much positive attention at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show.
Promising impressive amounts of space, four seats, and some highly economical petrol engines, the Citigo will be available in three-door and five-door configurations.
“The Citigo is one of the pillars of our growth strategy. It paves the way for tremendous opportunities in a new segment,” said Skoda Board Chairman Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland. “The Citigo is literally a ‘Simply Clever’ car. Despite its small size, it offers ample interior space; it is agile while frugal. Put simply: it’s an attractive choice offering many clever ideas. The car offers all of Skoda’s values in a compact package and fits perfectly with our aims.”
With the Citigo, Skoda is entering a new sector. “The demand for small cars with low fuel consumption, at a favourable price and with reasonable operating costs, is growing,” continues Prof. Vahland. “Skoda’s new small vehicle is a reaction to this trend. We are entering new ground and the Citigo will attract prospects mainly in our European markets.”
Measuring just 3.56 metres long, the Citigo is compact and ideal for the urban environment, and the designers have given the front of the car a distinctive ‘Skoda’ look to separate it from the VW up. With its long wheel base there’s enough room in the rear to comfortably accommodate two adults, while the boot is a decent 251 litres, extending to 951 litres when the rear seats are folded.
The car will also launch with features rarely seen in the A-segment, including ‘City Safe Drive’ a new brake assistance system, and a sat nav system which can be removed from the dashboard and used elsewhere. The system also comes with a 5” touchscreen and bluetooth.
The innovation doesn’t end there either, with Skoda getting their hands on a couple of new Volkswagen Group developed small petrol engines. Expected to be made available soon after the Citigo launches these two three-cylinder 1.0-litre engines offer impressively low fuel consumption figures of 67.3mpg and 65.7mpg, depending on whether its the 60PS or 75PS version.
Both engines also emit under 100g/km of CO2, (97g/km and 99g/km), making them tax efficient too.
At launch the fuel consumption and emission levels for the standard engines are also low – 62.8mpg and 105g CO2/km with the 60PS engine and 60.1mpg and 108g CO2/km with the 75PS unit.
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