2017 Citroën C1 Owner’s Manual

The 2017 Citroen C1 is a small city car that aims to please users with decent performance at a reasonable price. It stacks up against some big city car competitors, like the Renault Clio and the Volkswagen Up, and does fall short in some areas, like performance and infotainment. But, if you’re looking for a cheap and dependable city car, the 2017 C1 isn’t a bad choice by any means.

The 2017 model is virtually the same as the 2016 Citroen C1. Minor changes have been made to the styling and interior tech, but if you were to look at a 2016 and 2017 model side-by-side, you’d struggle to see the difference. The same story goes for the C1’s performance, too.

Under the hood, the 2017 C1 comes equipped with a 1.0-liter three-cylinder petrol, producing less than 80 horsepower. This might seem pathetic, and it is. Even for a city car, the C1 is extremely slow and taking it out of a 30 zone can feel scary. The C1 does have great fuel economy because of this tiny engine though, which is at least a positive.

The overall performance of the C1 isn’t anything ground-breaking. The suspension is pretty firm, leaving you with a bumpy and uncomfortable ride, which can’t compete with the more refined Volkswagen Up. The steering is light and accurate though, which can make cornering fun. Beware of body lean and roll though, as the C1 doesn’t have the best-placed center of gravity.

For a small car, the interior of the C1 is pretty spacious. Backseat passengers might feel a little uncomfortable, but the front seats are roomy. However, the boot is tiny when compared to competitors, which makes the C1 pretty impractical. You might even struggle to fit your weekly food shop in the boot.