- A city car with compact external dimensions
- Decent room up front for driver and passenger
- Less good news in the rear, with a small boot
Given its size, it’s no surprise that Citroen C1 practicality isn’t its strongest selling point – that said, it will (relatively) comfortably sit four adults and even some bags.
Taller adults may struggle to sit behind those of a similar height though, as the seat backs are relatively thick. And it’s made all the more apparent by the optional Airscape trim, the fabric roof and its mechanism robbing rear passengers of headroom by some margin.
If you enjoy the wind-in the hair feeling then the rear seats are for children only. Legroom isn’t perfect back there either, and passengers in a Volkswagen Up enjoy far more space in the back.
Boot space and storage
This is a car best suited to couples rather than families – with plenty of room in the front, with excellent headroom and legroom, coupled with cupholders and roomy storage bins in the doors.
With the rear seats in place, the boot can hold 196 litres of luggage, and if you don’t need to carry passengers then folding the rear seats liberates a total of 780 litres of space. The glass tailgate reveals a relatively wide opening too, though the boot’s depth does mean it can be tricky to lift heavy items in and out.
Is it easy to park?
Yes. It’s compact and slots easily into any UK-sized parking space with room to spare. Better than that, the steering is light and accurate, and the turning circle is small, making positioning in the tightest bay an absolute cinch.
It’s not perfect, though. Visibility could be better, with bulky A-pillars obscuring your view at angled junctions and roundabouts. It’s a similar story at the rear, with your over-the-shoulder view obscured by the large gap between the tailgate glass and the rear passenger window. But the good news is that a rear parking camera is fitted on the mid-range models and up.
Safety
- Four-star Euro NCAP rating from 2014
- Six airbags and two Isofix mounts
- Optional lane-departure warning system
Tested in 2014, the C1 achieved a four-star rating from Euro NCAP. With that in mind, it will lag behind the latest small cars on the market. This is evidenced by the Renault Zoe, also tested in 2014, which recently recently re-tested after seven years on sale, and scored zero stars in the important safety test.
However, there are six airbags fitted to all C1s as standard, comprising a front, side and head system, while the front seatbelts come with pyrotechnic pretensioners to tighten the belt at the moment of impact. And of course the Citroen C1 has tyre pressure monitoring fitted as standard, as well as the usual compliment of stability control and ABS. In the rear you’ll find a pair of Isofix child seat mounting points, too.
From the options list, you can add Active City Brake (autonomous emergency braking), which also comes with lane-departure warning and traffic sign recognition in the same package.
