The mighty Skoda Citigo Monte Carlo
Discussion
motormadfrosty said:
Here is mine - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=152...
I reckon new boots all round and a set of discs and pads will equate to 6 months of the PCP payments.
Give the brakes a good spanking, likely pad build up cant see the brakes needing attention on a 16k small car like that I reckon new boots all round and a set of discs and pads will equate to 6 months of the PCP payments.
motormadfrosty said:
Here is mine - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=152...
The first "niggle" was when I checked the oil level
Next, the clutch. Since the day we got it, no matter how we pull away from a incline, we always smell clutch.
It has developed a shake under down hill braking
all 4 tyres are near the limit
Final grumble is the mpg. The PID display shows our long term average at 47.1mpg, not horrendous but not as good as we were expecting.
OK, so oil, yes, annoying, but when we bought ours dealer advised us that they had a habit and needed checking regularly, touch wood ours seems to be fine, we did very gently run ours in though.The first "niggle" was when I checked the oil level
Next, the clutch. Since the day we got it, no matter how we pull away from a incline, we always smell clutch.
It has developed a shake under down hill braking
all 4 tyres are near the limit
Final grumble is the mpg. The PID display shows our long term average at 47.1mpg, not horrendous but not as good as we were expecting.
Clutch, it's a VERY soft clutch and bites over a massive amount of travel, so yeah, sucks, especially if you have a full car and a hill......
Brake shudder would indicate warped disks, which would normally mean you've done some big braking on cold disks regularly. For a car that light I can't imagine how, but it all depends on driving style.
When it comes to driving style, 16k and ALL FOUR on the limit?!? Again, light car etc etc. For reference ours has done 9k and the tyres aren't even close to half way worn.
MPG, meh, totally depends on when, where and how the car is driven. Ours gets circa 50mpg, as low as mid 40s, normally 47-55 range. Driven like a saint on a dual carriageway, like any car, it'll do better with some 50mph driving. For reference I did get 59mpg driving from the North East to Alton Towers and back with luggage and three people in the car, and I wasn't driving purely for economy.
Thought I'd update this thread with some pictures and a little write up after owning the Citigo for a little over a year now. Only a few weeks after picked it up it became responsible for taking me 65 miles to and from work each day (mainly thanks to my excellent under-estimation of how much the train actually costs!), mostly on the M5.
I know some people on here would have you believe that trying to take 59 bhp up a slip road will see you immediately and brutally killed but in the last year of doing this I haven't even been killed once. What I have been, though, is surprised that this little city car also makes an excellent motorway cruiser. I've driven a fair few modern hatchbacks of varying sizes but the Citigo is by far the most refined of the lot, and it is more than happy to sit at 0.85-0.9 leptons for 45 minutes. It's been a genuinely good companion in taking me to work for the last year and long may it continue!
As far as fuel economy goes, I don't tend to measure it on every fill up. I did go through a phase of using fuelly to keep track a few months back and the lowest I got was around 48 mpg, which is pretty darn impressive. Generally, you would have to be trying pretty hard to see it drop below 45 mpg, even when 'making progress' down a twisty B Road.
Tyres are 185/55R15 and are therefore ridiculously cheap, it's in insurance group 2E and is tax band B. All of this makes for cheap motoring indeed.
Practicality wise, it's fine. 4 seats and an OK boot. The mother-in-law proclaimed that she was very comfortable in the back when we made the 100 mile or so jaunt to London a while ago (though she is tiny), and that's all I really have to say about practicality (it's not high on my list of priorities). We have got our first baby on the way though and while it won't be the main family car, it'll be interesting to see how it manages with the assortment of various baby necessities it will be carrying every now and then.
---
Right, that's the boring stuff out of the way, what about the rest?
Well, the noise from the 3 pot engine still brings a smile to my face every time it goes above 4k rpm, and with the back seats down you get a nice little rasp from the exhaust too (I thought I heard it pop once too but I think that was something in the boot banging around
). When you've got so little power at your disposal you really need to plan ahead (especially when overtaking) as exiting in a corner in the wrong gear will see absolutely nothing happening when you try to accelerate away. This, I feel, is one of the joys of driving an underpowered car, because when you get it right it's a great feeling (even more so when you leave much more powerful cars behind)!
The gearbox is just a touch on the notchy side of perfect but it's pretty good, with a nice short-ish throw. I'm still learning how to heel and toe and the pedals are just a bit too far apart to make it easy, but I'm getting there.
There is a touch more body roll when cornering than I'd like but stiffening the suspension even more would ruin the ride, which I think is excellent at the moment. I spend 2-3 hours in it every day and never feel drained afterwards. The steering is very direct and accurate, with a perfect weight to it and the Traction Control seems to give you a healthy bit of leeway before stepping in (in fact, its only kicked in twice since I've had it, and both times were in the same place trying to floor it up a very steep hill with an awful road surface).
TL;DR the Citigo Monte Carlo is cheap, tremendously fun and surprisingly good on the motorway.
---
Now for some pictures:
Parked behind a, er, slightly quicker 4 seater:
Parked next to its big brother:
A fine surfboard carrier!
Packing the....essentials for a weekend away (the WKD isn't mine I promise!):
I know some people on here would have you believe that trying to take 59 bhp up a slip road will see you immediately and brutally killed but in the last year of doing this I haven't even been killed once. What I have been, though, is surprised that this little city car also makes an excellent motorway cruiser. I've driven a fair few modern hatchbacks of varying sizes but the Citigo is by far the most refined of the lot, and it is more than happy to sit at 0.85-0.9 leptons for 45 minutes. It's been a genuinely good companion in taking me to work for the last year and long may it continue!
As far as fuel economy goes, I don't tend to measure it on every fill up. I did go through a phase of using fuelly to keep track a few months back and the lowest I got was around 48 mpg, which is pretty darn impressive. Generally, you would have to be trying pretty hard to see it drop below 45 mpg, even when 'making progress' down a twisty B Road.
Tyres are 185/55R15 and are therefore ridiculously cheap, it's in insurance group 2E and is tax band B. All of this makes for cheap motoring indeed.
Practicality wise, it's fine. 4 seats and an OK boot. The mother-in-law proclaimed that she was very comfortable in the back when we made the 100 mile or so jaunt to London a while ago (though she is tiny), and that's all I really have to say about practicality (it's not high on my list of priorities). We have got our first baby on the way though and while it won't be the main family car, it'll be interesting to see how it manages with the assortment of various baby necessities it will be carrying every now and then.
---
Right, that's the boring stuff out of the way, what about the rest?
Well, the noise from the 3 pot engine still brings a smile to my face every time it goes above 4k rpm, and with the back seats down you get a nice little rasp from the exhaust too (I thought I heard it pop once too but I think that was something in the boot banging around
). When you've got so little power at your disposal you really need to plan ahead (especially when overtaking) as exiting in a corner in the wrong gear will see absolutely nothing happening when you try to accelerate away. This, I feel, is one of the joys of driving an underpowered car, because when you get it right it's a great feeling (even more so when you leave much more powerful cars behind)!The gearbox is just a touch on the notchy side of perfect but it's pretty good, with a nice short-ish throw. I'm still learning how to heel and toe and the pedals are just a bit too far apart to make it easy, but I'm getting there.
There is a touch more body roll when cornering than I'd like but stiffening the suspension even more would ruin the ride, which I think is excellent at the moment. I spend 2-3 hours in it every day and never feel drained afterwards. The steering is very direct and accurate, with a perfect weight to it and the Traction Control seems to give you a healthy bit of leeway before stepping in (in fact, its only kicked in twice since I've had it, and both times were in the same place trying to floor it up a very steep hill with an awful road surface).
TL;DR the Citigo Monte Carlo is cheap, tremendously fun and surprisingly good on the motorway.
---
Now for some pictures:
Parked behind a, er, slightly quicker 4 seater:
Parked next to its big brother:
A fine surfboard carrier!
Packing the....essentials for a weekend away (the WKD isn't mine I promise!):
Great little bit of kit these, yours look great too with the black wheels and the stripes, I've never seen one before, I don't think we got the Monte Carlos here tbh which is a shame.
I just got an Up 75hp as a second car/daily, 13000 miles and one owner so it's in great nick. (Citigos are alot tougher to come by here in Sweden) and I really like the little thing. Fun to drive, spacious despite it's tiny size, loads of kit. Was looking for a 3-door aswell, they look a little funkier but my practical side took over plus the fact that there are very few 3-doors available made me go for a 5-door. I'll run it for a year or two and then get the newer 90 hp turbo one.
Plans are to fit rear arch liners and perhaps some insulation under the split floors, but honestly it's not really that noisy even at speed.
Here with it's big brother from another mother the M5
I just got an Up 75hp as a second car/daily, 13000 miles and one owner so it's in great nick. (Citigos are alot tougher to come by here in Sweden) and I really like the little thing. Fun to drive, spacious despite it's tiny size, loads of kit. Was looking for a 3-door aswell, they look a little funkier but my practical side took over plus the fact that there are very few 3-doors available made me go for a 5-door. I'll run it for a year or two and then get the newer 90 hp turbo one.
Plans are to fit rear arch liners and perhaps some insulation under the split floors, but honestly it's not really that noisy even at speed.
Here with it's big brother from another mother the M5
Just sent my 75bhp Up! Back to Volkswagen after 2.5 yrs of ownership and agree with everything you’ve said regarding driving them. Brought back memories of my Mini’s from 30 years ago in terms of using most of the power most of the time, whilst grinning like a maniac. Made my commute to work everyday a blast. Will miss it dearly, but just leased a Scirocco for 2 years (first lease). I imagine I’ll be back in something small engined with fun handling again in the future, whether it be an Up! GTI or something else. Your Monte Carlo looks great in red, with the stripes and the wheels. Hope you continue to enjoy it.
Jonesy
Jonesy
Thanks guys 
PowerslideSWE said:
Plans are to fit rear arch liners and perhaps some insulation under the split floors, but honestly it's not really that noisy even at speed.
I’ve heard this recommended before, but like you I don’t think it’s that noisy at speed, I certainly don’t notice any noise from the rear, though when driving over grit etc. it does get a bit noisy back there!Jonesy1972 said:
I imagine I’ll be back in something small engined with fun handling again in the future, whether it be an Up! GTI or something else.
I’ve been fancying an Up! GTI when this goes back, never thought I’d own essentially the same car twice in a row! Thanks for the updates. I still think these look great.
Most days now im using SWMBOs 107 (she is using the Picasso)and it's good fun to hoon around - however, having as mentioned previously driven up!s and citigos, I'd say they were the more rounded car.
I'd certainly like to get one to replace the 107 one day but SWMBO isn't keen, she doesn't like the boxy shape and thinks it's too boring /ugly? Nooooo!
Anyway, maybe one day.
I've since driven the 90PS tsi version of the up! I put my thoughts on here a while ago. I'll dig them and and post them here.
Most days now im using SWMBOs 107 (she is using the Picasso)and it's good fun to hoon around - however, having as mentioned previously driven up!s and citigos, I'd say they were the more rounded car.
I'd certainly like to get one to replace the 107 one day but SWMBO isn't keen, she doesn't like the boxy shape and thinks it's too boring /ugly? Nooooo!
Anyway, maybe one day.
I've since driven the 90PS tsi version of the up! I put my thoughts on here a while ago. I'll dig them and and post them here.
Ranger 6 said:
ajprice said:
...Things to do, if they're not already done as yours is a new one with the LEDs in the headlights, mine's a ye olde 64 reg...:
Link for the LEDs please?PowerslideSWE said:
Plans are to fit rear arch liners and perhaps some insulation under the split floors, but honestly it's not really that noisy even at speed
Thinking of an up as the next runabout if my indestructible Smart ever kicks the bucket. What’s the PH community verdict on there apparently being no rear arch liners? Shouldn’t that be a worry wrt corrosion?
I bought a citygo Monte Carlo for my son when he passed his test a couple of years ago. Cheap as chips to run and great fun. I use it when he is away at uni and love driving it. Agree with the poster about it being decent motorway car. Surprisingly good.
Not really noticed the lack of lining in wheel arches as a big issue. Love the flat bottomed chunky steering wheel. Great car to chuck around and momentum is king.
Second son will pass his test soon and he wants one as well. Heard a rumour from Skoda service department that there may be a hybrid version coming out. Would be good to have some more initial acceleration. May end up with 2 of them in the household.
Not really noticed the lack of lining in wheel arches as a big issue. Love the flat bottomed chunky steering wheel. Great car to chuck around and momentum is king.
Second son will pass his test soon and he wants one as well. Heard a rumour from Skoda service department that there may be a hybrid version coming out. Would be good to have some more initial acceleration. May end up with 2 of them in the household.
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