The new Citroen C1 is busy trying to differentiate itself from its closely allied siblings, the Toyota Aygo and Peugeot 108. Thankfully, this time around, they do stand apart style-wise.

Citroen has tried to individualise the C1 with plenty of personalisation options, as well as offering the C1 Airscape.

A semi-convertible model, the C1 Airscape has a folding fabric roof, something of a glorified sunroof, which injects some (hopefully) sunny fun into city car motoring and costs an extra £200 on top of the standard C1.

It’s a small and stylish choice for those wanting some wind-in-your-hair driving without having to fork out on a bigger coupe.

Performance

Being blown away by a city car in the performance stakes is mission impossible but, then again, typical drivers will merely want to go from A to B in an unflustered manner.

The 67bhp three cylinder 1.0-litre engine copes well with this in mind, completing the benchmark sprint in 14.3 seconds, making it fit for purpose. Overtaking is best avoided on single-lane carriageways, and expect to work the five-speed manual ‘box for any major acceleration.

If you want a bit more of a boost, a new 81bhp 1.2-litre PureTech unit is also available, cutting the 0-62mph time to a nippy 11.0 seconds.

Only making short journeys? We recommend the 67bhp 1.0-litre version with Stop & Start technology, as the engine offers enough for small trips, while also being the most frugal.

Ride and Handling

The steering is light, focusing on helping drivers park rather than giving feedback to an enthusiastic driver. This makes it easy to drive around the city.

Dynamic? No. Sporty? No. But does the chassis perform how we’d expect? Absolutely. This is a car for the urban jungle and this is where it receives honours. It’s nippy up to around 30mph, agile and ride is comfortable – which is a boon given the amount of potholes on our roads. The steering is light, focusing on helping drivers park rather than giving feedback to an enthusiastic driver. This makes it easy to drive around the city. Crank up the power, take it out of town and it can be found wanting; there is a fair amount of bodyroll but then that’s hardly surprising given its job. Rivals such as the Skoda Citigo and VW up! are much better, offering a more composed ride and better driving dynamics.

Interior and Equipment

The Citroen C1 shares the same platform as the Peugeot 108 and Toyota Aygo.

Citroen has really upped its game on the interior front, even if cars like the VW up! use classier materials. The original generation was drab but our test car was filled with kit, such as a seven-inch multimedia system which includes radio, Bluetooth, video player and an on-board computer. Our Airscape Feel model’s fabric roof opens and shuts at the flick of a switch located on the roof, which is handy. The personalisation continues as Citroen offers eight exterior colours and there’s the option for the Airscape roof to be either black, grey or red to contrast or match the bodywork. A superb way of attracting the youth market in to the brand. Four adults will fit in the C1, although if you’re six-foot plus you may feel a tad hemmed in. Boot space is around average: 196 litres with the seats in place (identical to the Peugeot 108) and 780 litres with the rear bench folded.

Cost

On average this car will return a claimed figure of 68mpg and it emits 95g/km of CO2 emission - meaning no road tax to pay.

The Citroen C1 is an affordable way into motoring for many, thanks to sharing parts with the Toyota Aygo and Peugeot 108. This means that our C1 Airscape 1.0-litre VTi Feel 3dr, starts at £10,495 – not bad for a cabriolet of sorts. On average this car will return a claimed figure of 68mpg and it emits 95g/km of CO2 emission - meaning no road tax to pay. Looking at its rivals, the most fuel efficient VW up!, for example, will return 68.9mpg and emit the same 95g/km of CO2. Being a city car, leasing costs are inexpensive and will suit private buyers – although the C1 does enjoy a large fleet presence. The model is available from £99 per month upwards and is expected to have high residual values

Our Verdict

The new Citroen C1 is worlds apart from the old model. It is colourful, fun and drives well enough in towns to please most buyers. Our droptop version, for a little bit extra cost, is worth having – a great talking point when you sell on and wind-in-your-hair motoring for a relatively low price. The C1 is not quite top dog but it certainly has its rivals, like the up!, Citigo and its own sister models, in its sights. High on style and low on emissions, the Citroen C1 would be great for private buyers and business fleet owners alike.