Citroën C1 (2012-2014)

MODELS COVERED:

(3/5 door city car: 1.0 petrol [VT, VTR, VTR+, Edition, Platinum, Connexion])

BY Jonathan Crouch

Introduction

The C1 has undoubtedly been a success story for Citroën in the UK. With 80,000 sales between its initial launch in 2005 and the refreshed model we look at here, which arrived in 2012, this popular city car did all that could reasonably be asked of it. Ultimately, it was overtaken by newer and smarter rivals but as a used buy, it makes a great deal of sense. Here's what to look for when tracking down a used example.

History

Citroën is a company with a distinguished track record in small cars and the C1 joined the ranks of the most successful. It pioneered a new citycar market niche for Citroën, as their previous tot, the Saxo, campaigned in the next supermini class up. Originally launched in 2007, the C1 was sister car to the Peugeot 107 and the Toyota Aygo, all three cars built at the Kolin factory in the Czech Republic. The C1 was facelifted in 2009 and then again in 2012 and it's these post-2012 cars we look at here.

The big change with the April 2012 car was that the diesel engine option was deleted. Citroën pushed the new Efficient Tronic Gearbox (ETG) quite hard in their promotions, despite it being one of the worst transmissions foisted on a citycar since Smart's awful lash-up in the City Coupe. Needless to say, by far the majority of sales went to manual cars.

In August 2012, Citroën launched the rather gimmicky Connexion special edition which was claimed to be crowdsourced from Facebook fans ideas. Despite the rather naff concept, the car itself wasn't at all bad. Based on the C1 VTR trim, the C1 Connexion got 14"alloy wheels, dark tinted rear windows, Caldera Black metallic paint and Scarlet Red exterior and interior detailing, adding £500 to the asking price in the process. The C1's trim levels were revised at the end of 2013. Out went VT, VTR and VTR+ and in came VT, Edition and Platinum. A new Citroën C1 was unveiled at the 2014 Geneva Show. Not before time, some would argue.

What To Look For

The C1 is a pretty tough little thing given the amount of abuse it has to soak up. Not a lot ever goes wrong with the 1.0-litre engine and the electrical systems are also reliable. What aren't quite so good are the parts where cost has clearly been taken out of the car. The carpets can wear quickly, plus the parcel shelf is flimsy and owners report it sagging. Check for kerbed alloy wheels and the usual inner city trolley rash. The ETG gearbox can occasionally be temperamental, so check that all gears engage cleanly. Don't worry if it jolts and lurches. They all do that.

On The Road

You're not going to get a whole lot of choice when it comes to the engine in these later first generation C1 models. There's but one powerplant, a 998cc petrol unit with a trio of tiny cylinders that thrum away tunefully. Drive it as if you'd stolen it and you'll see 60mph come and go in 14 seconds, but most customers will be a little more circumspect with the throttle and will instead enjoy the C1's crisp drive off the line, ability to squeeze through tight gaps and its handy 3.44m turning circle.

Of course, there are many who choose a citycar exactly because most of their driving is in nose to tail traffic, and a good proportion of these people see a manual gearchange as a fitment that makes a tedious activity only more onerous. Citroën has an answer here in the form of the ETG transmission complete with steering-mounted paddle controls. It takes quite some getting used to in order to drive smoothly but it will certainly save your left leg a whole lot of effort. We'd rather stick with a manual and avoid the frustration.

Overall

Looking back at its production life, the first generation Citroën C1 citycar seemed to have more refreshes, relaunches and re-releases than virtually any other model this side of a Bugatti Veyron, but don't worry too much about the details. At its heart, the C1 remains a fundamentally good design, with a willing 1.0-litre petrol engine, a space-efficient cabin, a respectable amount of safety kit and ultra-low running costs.

If anything, it's even more appealing as a used purchase, especially if you can pick up a clean low mileage example of a later post-2012 car like those we’ve been looking at here, ideally one that's just been used to nip to the local shops. For younger drivers looking for a first runabout that's affordable but not a total snooze and rightly considering this C1 as one of their main options, it’s really hard to go too far wrong.