The Skoda Citigoᵉ iV is one of the cheapest pure electric hatchbacks right now. coming in at some £17,000, despite a very decent official range of 161 miles. which sounds great to me because we know how good the Skoda Citigo was as a standard petrol city car.
Overview
The Skoda Citigoᵉ iV is notable. because gets a lower spec and you can have it without fast charging which saves you some 2000 pounds. it means that even with a low deposit you can get this car for around about 200 pounds per month which is good. so we know that it is cheap. but is it just about penny-pinching or is this still a good small car.
Charging
The Skoda Citigoᵉ iV is available with two charging levels to go for the base car. you get a straightforward AC type 2 socket that will allow you to charge it up to 7.2 kilowatts which will give you a full battery from a home wall box in under six hours.
The standard three-pin cable that the Skoda comes with will top-up to a 36.8 kWh battery from flat in 16 hours. if you plug it into a standard domestic socket.
If you do plan on doing the occasional long journey, you may want to consider upgrading to the CCS fast charger for 720 pounds or going for the highest back SEL car which gets the fast charger as standard. this CCS socket allows you to plug into a DC rapid charge point of the sort commonly found in most UK motorway services. do this and the maximum 40-kilowatt charging speed will deliver 100 miles of additional range in around 60 minutes.
Whether you go for the highest spec car or not you have to pay 120 pounds for a type 2 cable to allow you to plug into a home wall box or any AC public car charger. all DC rapid charging stations come with cables tethered to the actual plug points. so you don’t need to worry about cables for charging up on the motorway.
Range
Now we know that the Skoda Citigoᵉ iV has an official range of just over 160 miles. when it’s winter like it is now with a bit of rain, and especially if you do a few motorway miles I think 120 miles is more realistic. in the summer warmer weather will always see your range go up a bit. and if you don’t go on to the motorway so much and spend the most time around town, I think you could even be pushing 150 miles.
Regenerative braking
Break regen to is very good so you have got one pedal driving when you’re in town if you want it and you access that just by putting the gear lever back into B, and then you get the highest level of brake regen. I wouldn’t say it’s as strong as it is in the Nissan Leaf. but as long as you’re looking way up the road and judging things well, it bleeds in smoothing is easy to judge. so you can get away without using the brake pedal at all.
More than that, you can stick it into standard drive mode and it’s got three more levels. and you can toggle right through them from level one which is very mild up to two and three. and that’s really nice because it just means you can vary it as you need, and it’s very easy to do.
Handling and performance
The Citigoᵉ iV got good direct very light steering that is perfect for about town. but still feels absolutely fine out on the motorway or on country roads. it’s also got enough performance. so the 0-62 mph acceleration takes 12.3 seconds. not too fast but it will mix it on the motorway perfectly well as well. so the top speed of 81 mph of this car doesn’t inspire much confidence.
It doesn’t feel like the sort of grown-up long-distance electric car that says you know the high-end Ioniq or Kia Niro does. but given the price, you probably wouldn’t expect it to anyway.
Driving comfort
The only thing that lets this car down is the ride comfort now. it’s not bad this car is on 16-inch wheels because it’s an SEL. so they get 16 – standard. and you’re just aware of the weight of those batteries you can feel the car bucking a little bit and it gets a bit lumpy over potholes. it never gets really harsh or brittle or kind of trashy. so I don’t actually think it’s gonna bother most people but it definitely is firmer than the car was when it had a little petrol engine in it. and that might bothersome if you’re going from petrol to electric. as I said even with that factored in this is still just an absolutely brilliant city car.
Interior
The interior of the Skoda Citigoᵉ iV is pretty good. you get a bit of visual interest in the finish on the dash here the driving position in this left-hand-drive car that we’ve driven at least is pretty good.
I find it very easy to get a natural driving position. and I’m a very average five-foot-seven. however, I would say that the steering wheel while it goes up and down it doesn’t go in and out. so you can’t adjust it for reach which some people might find a bit annoying. even so, visibility is good.
No Infotainment System
You don’t get an infotainment touchscreen. you do get a mount up which of course you can just stick your phone in and you have all of your music and navigation on there. and there is a USB input right behind it to charge the phone as well. some people might miss a proper touchscreen. I’m sure I think that’s a pretty good solution. and if it keeps the cost of the car down then I’m all for it.
Specs
On top of that, the equipment on this car is also pretty good. even on the base specs, it ego you still get leather steering wheel digital radio, climate control step up to SEL, and not only do you get the extra fast charging stuff as standard. but you also get parking sensors, body-colored wing mirrors, 16-inch alloys, and heated seats. whether you want to pay the extra couple of grand for that it’s really up to what you want to do with the car. either trim feels like pretty good value. so you can really choose what suits you best. and there you have it I think it’s really neat. well, sorted fit for purpose interior.
Space
Rather impressively, Skoda has managed to keep the space in the electric city go just the same as it was in its petrol predecessor so this little five-door hatch will seek to average-sized adults fairly easily in the back. the boot is big enough at 250 liters but it’s well worth adding the 75-pound variable boot floor as it creates a much more useful cable storage area than the standard if rather a tight cable cubby tucked away below the boot lip. while the city goat is clearly nowhere near as practical as bigger more expensive hatches like the Renault Zoe, Vauxhall Corsa, and Peugeot 208. by City car standards it is still one of the more practical options.
Last words
What we wanted to know is whether the Skoda is just about saving money or if it’s a bit more than that. and I can confidently say that it’s the letter short there are some annoying aspects. namely maybe that infotainment and the ride comfort. but it’s so easy to forgive that given the sort of unpretentious cheerful nature of the Skoda. and ultimately it’s a great electric car. a really really good city car and just an outstanding entry-level electric motor e follow more advice on the Skoda and on every other electric hybrid and plug-in car.
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