Geneva show: Citroen C1 revealed

CITROEN has revealed the rather chic second-generation C1, its version of the city car shared with stable-mate Peugeot and joint-venture partner Toyota.

The other member of the trio is the Toyota Aygo, which is yet to be revealed.

All three members of the French-Japanese triumvirate will be on public display at the Geneva motor show from March 6.

Made in the Czech Republic and aimed squarely at the Volkswagen Up, the C1 will be available in three- or five-door configurations like its Peugeot 108 twin, both of which also come with an optional roll-back fabric roof a la the DS3 Cabrio and the defunct C3 Pluriel.

What won’t be available, however, is an Australian test drive. Citroen’s Australian importer has ruled it out for local distribution.

“No, the C1 won’t be coming to Australia. It’s not a category we want to play in. But it does show that globally Citroen and PSA are back on the attack,” said national marketing manager Manuel Tyras.

Compared to its more demure Peugeot twin, the C1 has a more adventurous look, most notably from its tiered cluster headlights with a passing resemblance to the Nissan Juke.

Visual differentiation also come from the black A-pillars, different grille, glass tail-gate and optional ‘bi-tone’ colour co-ordination. There are no images of the cabin, but upmarket versions get a seven-inch touch-screen, key-less start and heated seats with a memory function.

Power comes from a French-made 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine producing 61kW and 118Nm that consumes a claimed 3.6L/100km, or a smaller 50kW 1.0-litre petrol. Transmission options are a conventional five-speed manual or a five-speed ETG robotised clutchless manual.

Dimensions are miniscule – at 3460mm long and 1620mm wide the three-door is even smaller than the Up – while the turning circle is a city friendly 9.6 metres.

The novel fabric top, meanwhile, measures 800mm long by 760mm wide – enough to cover most of the roof – and is electrically adjustable. With a spare wheel, rear cargo space is 196 litres – 16L more than the 108 – growing to 780L with the 50:50 rear seats folded down.

Citroen has changed the springs and shocks over the old C1, added a larger anti-roll bar and fitted a 4kg lighter rear axle. Kerb weight is as low as 840kg, the same as the Peugeot version.