Skoda the Czech automobile gaint has unveiled its new small car, Skoda Citigo which is based on the same platform as used by the VW for the Up, unveiled recently. The Citigo however has a Skoda face. Being the first small car of the company, Skoda plans to make it big in this growing segment with the Citigo.
“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 H C Winfried Vahland. “The Skoda Citigo is literally a ‘Simply Clever’ car,” he added. With the increase in sales of the small passenger cars around the world, Skoda has decided to take the right jump, with their all new Citigo.
The interior of Skoda Citigo is a combination of beauty and comfort. It boasts several storage compartments, cup holders and multimedia systems. The car will be available in three door and five door variants. In the three doors variant the front seats can be moved forward and folded for easy ingress and egress from the back seats. The car also comes with a portable navigation system (a first on the Skoda) with a 5-inch touch screen, which can be taken off on the go so that passengers can use it when the driver is driving. The system will also come with Bluetooth phone connectivity and an infotainment system.
Skoda Citigo will have the characteristic Skoda exteriors with the finned grille and loads of chrome, added to it will be unique xenon headlamps. Fog lamps have been installed on both side of air intake grille for enhancing safety in unfavorable weather conditions. Along with the large and elevated body colored bumpers a rear wiper is also provided at the rear side. The tail lights of the Skoda Citigo will be vertically placed, in a deviation from conventional hatchbacks. However the rear windshield will be rectangular and small in length.
The car measures in at 3.56m long, 1.65m wide and 1.48m high. The boot is a sizeable 251 litres, which can be extended to 951 litres by folding down the rear seats. Powering the Citigo is a 1- litre engine which is offered in two states of tune. The first will be a 60bhp and the second will offer 75bhp. Both engines will be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. A diesel option is yet to be announced, but the probability of thre same is high.
Skoda Citigo will be on sale in the Czech Republic by this year end and will enter other European markets by early 2012. However the good news is that Citigo will also come to India, but only by next year.
