Citroen C1 Furio Review

The C1 is a strong contender amongst city car rivals such as the Peugeot 108 and Renault Twingo. It has been around for over ten years and the second generation is definitely a head turner but now Citroen have released a special edition called the Furio, which they have produced to be sporty looking yet affordable with their target the younger driver.

It might be a special edition but there are still two engines available, a PureTech 82 petrol which produces 82hp from its 1.2-litre three cylinder powerplant with 116Nm of torque that is certainly no slouch. Mated with a five speed manual transmission, it’s suprisingly quite powerful and makes for a zippy little runaround.

The VTi 68 998cc petrol has a top speed of 99mph although it won’t break any records with its 0-62mph time of 13 seconds, it has a revvy, typical three pot engine noise, which although takes some getting used to certainly adds to the sportiness of the model.

Citroen have produced a car that has a really good, comfortable ride and if you’re looking for a fun driving experience then this C1 is definitely worth a look. It’s a small car, weighing in at just 855kg, so is really agile with light steering that has high levels of feedback enabling you to really push it with just some slight understeer when cornering.

It really is a practical city car, the light steering makes it easily manoeuvrable to nip into parking spots.

Because it’s a special edition then grey cloth seats, red door mirrors and even red centre wheel caps all make the C1 Furio stand out against the only available Lipizzan White paint work and an added sportiness to the car is the rear diffuser with the centred exhaust.

It’s not that refined in terms of cabin insulation and there is quite a bit of road and wind noise, and the three-cylinder won’t appeal to those wanting a quiet engine.

If you’re looking for a bright cabin then the C1 Furio will not disappoint as red inserts on the doors, gearknob and centre console surrounds give it a modern feel, while it also comes with a

bright rev counter and a round speedo that can been seen on the likes of the rival Fiat 500.

Seats are quite firm and come in a grey ‘Wave’ cloth, they seem comfortable but for a long journey we’re not so convinced although it’s a small car all round visibility is good.

A seven-inch touchscreen which mirrors your smartphone can be hooked up via Bluetooth or the USB socket and this features navigation, DAB digital radio and a reversing camera.

Additional features include air-conditioning, LED daytime running lights and dark, tinted rear windows.

If you’re thinking it’s a small car with not much space then think again as with seats folded it becomes extremely practical holding up to 780-litres. With seats up it holds 196-litres but it’s very deep so there’s quite a lip if you need to haul in luggage or shopping bags.

A nifty addition is that the parcel shelf lifts out of the way when opening the boot, something which is often forgotton about on cars of this size.

Although there is decent head and legroom in the front, passenger legroom is somewhat limiting and because it’s only available as a three-door then it isn’t that easy to get in the rear.

The Citroen C1 Furio is priced from £10,855 for the VTi 68 version while with the PureTech 82 engine it will cost £11,205 and it comes with a three year/60,000 miles warranty.

It is priced competitively as a special edition, for example the Peugeot 108 Roland Garros costs from £13,985 and the Seat Mii by Mango is £11,265 so it’s just a tad cheaper.

The C1 Furio has extremely low running costs, the PureTech 82 petrol engine emits just 99g/km of CO2 so road tax is free and fuel economy could be around the mid sixty range for combined mpg. The VTi 68 is also road tax exempt at just 95g/km and it also is expected to have the same sort of fuel economy figures.

Customer feedback has shown that areas like practicality and ride quality need some improvement for it to shine in the city car segment and if parts do need replacing they are widely available and not costly.

People often assume that when it’s a small car that quality is usually low, but of late they have improved a lot in this area and the C1 Furio is no exception with plenty of durable, bright coloured plastics, tough feeling seat fabric and leather touches to enhance the cabin.

The Citroen C1 scored four stars in the Euro NCAP tests and it comes with six airbags, an electronic stability control system, emergency braking assistance, hill start assist and an anti-locking braking system so you can be sure of a safe drive. Active City Brake, which kicks in if you get too close to the car in front and a lane departure warning system are available as options.

If you’re looking to run it as a family car then the C1 Furio comes with two ISOFIX points in the rear.

An immobiliser and remote central locking with deadlocks come as standard for security.