Citroen C1 Rhythm 1.0 (Ideal first car)
Discussion
Thought I'd do a little piece on my sons Citroen C1 which we have had since 2016.
I bought this as my sons first car when he was 17, the C1/Aygo/Peugeot 107 are obvious first choices for learner cars as they are plentiful and parts are cheap but these are really great cars and motoring really doesn't come much cheaper . They are £20 to tax, do at least 55mpg on average , easy to get 65mpg on a run , will sit at motorway speeds comfortably in fact seems to sit happiest at an indicated 75mph
I taught my son to drive in it, which was a real struggle as his instructor used a 1.5 diesel to teach him which makes clutch control easy, not the case in this car which is a good thing imo, but the steering is light and the lock is awesome , generally the controls are really well laid out and easy to use he could drive it well after about 5hours of lessons and has had no issues or mishaps in the four years he has owned it.
When I say parts are cheap a full service kit was around £40 ie oil filter, oil , plugs (3) and air filter , no excuse not to do that each year, a full exhaust was £40 , that's from the manifold/manivertor back , tyres are less than £50 each for premium ones. Insurance was not too bad , first year about £1100, then £800 then £550 and think last year was £300 ish , always fully comp
In the almost 4 years we have owned it I replaced the battery, full exhaust, two tyres and the indicator stalk (£20) and serviced it every year so about £400 all in ! These cars are incredibly easy to work on also with plenty of How-To videos done online
After a lot of prompting I also fitted a decent headunit and some better speakers (Only tiny speakers in the dash as standard) , a pair of Kenwood 6x9 in a custom shelf I made, and fitted a dashcam so he knew that dad was always watching
These cars also come with driver and passenger airbags plus side impact airbags in the seats which is pretty good for cars this age
So if you are currently shopping around for a first car or just a cheap runabout for a while then you should really look at these, the Aygo tends to demand a premium but they all have the same engine and box and are made in the same factory, there are tons around if you look so shop around.
I bought this as my sons first car when he was 17, the C1/Aygo/Peugeot 107 are obvious first choices for learner cars as they are plentiful and parts are cheap but these are really great cars and motoring really doesn't come much cheaper . They are £20 to tax, do at least 55mpg on average , easy to get 65mpg on a run , will sit at motorway speeds comfortably in fact seems to sit happiest at an indicated 75mph
I taught my son to drive in it, which was a real struggle as his instructor used a 1.5 diesel to teach him which makes clutch control easy, not the case in this car which is a good thing imo, but the steering is light and the lock is awesome , generally the controls are really well laid out and easy to use he could drive it well after about 5hours of lessons and has had no issues or mishaps in the four years he has owned it.
When I say parts are cheap a full service kit was around £40 ie oil filter, oil , plugs (3) and air filter , no excuse not to do that each year, a full exhaust was £40 , that's from the manifold/manivertor back , tyres are less than £50 each for premium ones. Insurance was not too bad , first year about £1100, then £800 then £550 and think last year was £300 ish , always fully comp
In the almost 4 years we have owned it I replaced the battery, full exhaust, two tyres and the indicator stalk (£20) and serviced it every year so about £400 all in ! These cars are incredibly easy to work on also with plenty of How-To videos done online
After a lot of prompting I also fitted a decent headunit and some better speakers (Only tiny speakers in the dash as standard) , a pair of Kenwood 6x9 in a custom shelf I made, and fitted a dashcam so he knew that dad was always watching
These cars also come with driver and passenger airbags plus side impact airbags in the seats which is pretty good for cars this age
So if you are currently shopping around for a first car or just a cheap runabout for a while then you should really look at these, the Aygo tends to demand a premium but they all have the same engine and box and are made in the same factory, there are tons around if you look so shop around.
I ran an Aygo as a daily driver for 3-4 years and it's a great package. You won't overtake anything on a B-road (and if you've got passengers, don't even try!) I got exactly 55mpg on average over those years, and only paid out on servicing and tyres. Super cheap to run. And the little 3-pot can sound oddly roarty.
Very cheap inside, though. I bought mine (low miles) from a Toyota dealer, and after signing the paperwork, went and sat in the showroom's Toyota iQ. That's a significant step up in build quality and materials (and price).
There is/was a PHer who put a supercharger into his for 100bhp. When he was selling, I was very tempted.
Very cheap inside, though. I bought mine (low miles) from a Toyota dealer, and after signing the paperwork, went and sat in the showroom's Toyota iQ. That's a significant step up in build quality and materials (and price).
There is/was a PHer who put a supercharger into his for 100bhp. When he was selling, I was very tempted.
I had a 5 door 2010 C1 from new for 60k miles and sold it in 2013 for more than half what I paid for it. Only fault I can remember was the cat needed fixing, which was done under warranty.
Absolutely awesome in the snow.
Would love to put a little bit more power in one and track it. At 800kg it would be great fun.
Absolutely awesome in the snow.
Would love to put a little bit more power in one and track it. At 800kg it would be great fun.
RonaldMcDonaldAteMyCat said:
I had a 5 door 2010 C1 from new for 60k miles and sold it in 2013 for more than half what I paid for it. Only fault I can remember was the cat needed fixing, which was done under warranty.
Absolutely awesome in the snow.
Would love to put a little bit more power in one and track it. At 800kg it would be great fun.
Yep this one had a cat just before we bought it Absolutely awesome in the snow.
Would love to put a little bit more power in one and track it. At 800kg it would be great fun.
We picked one up for the other half a couple of months back as a cheap and reliable runabout. We ended up with a Peugeot (same colour as yours and even with air con!) and you are spot on with your review. One thing we found was picking up a clean one was challenging and we ended up upping our budget a few hundred quid to find one.
Chris
Chris
steveo3002 said:
recently got myself an aygo as a cheap run about ...are they all rattly sounding ? sounds rather rough to me
No they shouldnt sound rattly but they do sound strange when your ears are used to 4 cyl engines , I drive a 3 pot myself now and am more used to it but every set of lights it used to feel rough to me Valve adjustment is a faff on these usually most people just use thicker oil and live with it
(first post here- yay!)
I've got a late 2014 MK2 Aygo- also a first car, bought for my mum about 4 years ago with 11k on it from a Toyota dealer, and it came to me a month or so ago with 31k- and I've been nothing but impressed with it!
It looks cool in orange- stands out in a sea of blue Corsas and black Fiestas at 6th Form and it's very easy to drive- well equipped too. I really do love these, I always felt the older ones (2005-2014) had a certain charm though!
I've got a late 2014 MK2 Aygo- also a first car, bought for my mum about 4 years ago with 11k on it from a Toyota dealer, and it came to me a month or so ago with 31k- and I've been nothing but impressed with it!
It looks cool in orange- stands out in a sea of blue Corsas and black Fiestas at 6th Form and it's very easy to drive- well equipped too. I really do love these, I always felt the older ones (2005-2014) had a certain charm though!
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