Citroen C1 1.0

We were pleased with this car at first - it's a nippy city car that's easy to manoeuvre and park. But drawbacks soon became apparent, starting with the clutch, which needed replacing after just 2 years. The car is now 6 years old and will shortly be receiving its 4th clutch. This is a well known problem, yet Citroen seems to have made no attempt to fix the design, and we're always just out of warranty when we need a new one. The water pump is another part that commonly goes wrong; we had that replaced 2 years ago and are looking at having to do it again. On top of this, my key has been sticking in the locks for the past 2 years and now will no longer open the boot. My husband's key still works for some unfathomable reason, and I had it copied, but it still won't work in the boot while his will. Do I want to pay £500 to get all the locks replaced? Do I, hell. Add to this, very little interior space, and a tiny boot (when I am able to use it), and I am seriously regretting our choice of car. Will not buy from Citroen again. Just to add, the rip-off merchants at the Citroen garage where we bought the car are a whole different story; we now use an established local garage that specialises in Citroens and charges much less.

Do not use this site! Waited 8 weeks for a wiper blade with no luck & no replies to countless emails asking for a refund. do not think i will see my money!!!

First and foremost, this is not a good first car!

If you've just passed you're test or you're learning to drive expect to have trouble with a C1. If you're an experienced driver expect to have to adapt your technique somewhat. It may be cheap but you have to know how to drive one to do so well.

A matter of revs - a balance between too many and too few. This car has a small clutch which is easy to overheat if you're not used to it, and if done frequently it will fail soon. But this car has a very small engine which thrives on higher rev counts. Try not to let the revs go over 2,000 when moving off, but be warned this is very difficult if you've not driven a C1 much before and requires quick and careful compensation with the throttle. Avoid 'setting-the-gas' as taught to new drivers. When you lift the clutch the revs will fall too far. You need to balance it carefully to keep the revs as constant as possible. Your left and right feet must be reactive, maintaining the revs while moderating the power to the wheels. You won't be able to let the pedals rest in any one position for most manoeuvres.

It can sometimes be easier to perform manoeuvres (particularly on inclines) faster than you've been taught as a learner. Be prepared to slow down or stop, but try to keep decent momentum in the car. You'll easily overheat the clutch if you get stuck on a driveway curb. Move forward and get a run-up.

When making a hill-start, don't rely on finding the biting point on the clutch before releasing the handbrake. It's difficult to tell if you've found it without stalling. Instead practice lifting the clutch quickly enough not to roll back/forward but stopping just as you reach the biting point. With experience you'll learn how far to depress the throttle to avoid stalling.

Handling and speed - It won't do the work for you. A short wheel base and responsive steering means you need be careful not to steer too fast and too tightly. Straightening out bends on winding roads is a must, but only if you've been trained to do so safely.

When turning, if you feel yourself being pressed against the offside door or thrown into the middle of the car you're cornering too fast for the turning circle. If you go into a skid it can be difficult to resolve due to the short wheel base. You may have to drive slower than you would in other vehicles.

Crosswinds can be a big issue if you've not encountered them in this car before. It can be thrown around very easily and you must have good control of the steering and be able to react quickly but smoothly to correct for it.

Because the C1 has such a small engine, engine braking is minimal. On motorways an dual-carrigeways try to reduce your speed slightly (without braking!) before reaching the brow of a hill. Else you'll be doing over 80mph at the bottom. If you find the car gaining speed down a hill with your foot off the throttle, even if you exceed the speed limit, never brake on a motorway/dual-carrigeway unless you have to! Just learn for next time and slow down a bit more before you reach that hill.

On roads with a speed limit of 60, 5th gear is your friend. In 4th your revs will be too high for long journeys. Try to manage your speed for hills as it will drop on an incline.

Visibility and controls - care and technique, again. You will have a hard time reversing if you're looking out the rear window. Even using the rear-view mirror will be hard. Use your wing mirrors frequently as they usually give you far better visibility than looking behind you. Don't neglect to check to the sides and directly behind.

The A-pillars on the windscreen will be in the way an alarming amount of the time. Try to position the car so you get a clear view through either the windscreen or your side window.

Beware the headlamp controls. They're on a rotating switch on the indicator stalk. It is alarmingly easy to knock them off completely when you indicate or switch on/off your high beam lights. If this happens, slow down immediately! In most cases it will be far safer to stop than continue in the dark. Be mindful that other vehicles might not be able to see you. Don't fumble with the controls, remember how to operate them in every position.

Visibility in the rear view mirror is minimal so you should get used to using your wing mirrors for most of your observations. If you need to carry passengers or transport a large object your view through the rear window may be obscured anyway.

From a cold start you will need more revs to change up a gear on an incline, but don't race the engine. Give it time to warm up. You may need to drive slower in a lower gear until it does.

If you stall a C1, sometimes it can be difficult to tell right away as the engine goes quiet if you've not used enough revs to move off. If you lose power, check for indicators on the dashboard to see if you've unknowingly stalled. Even the most experienced driver will stall a C1 occasionally/frequently, so familiarise yourself with the routine of restarting the engine. The quicker you can do it the less hate you'll get from other drivers. Don't get flustered, just try again.

Make sure you take the car out of gear when you restart the engine, not only to relieve strain but also to make sure you're moving off in 1st gear. It's quite easy to mistakenly select 3rd - if you restart the engine by just depressing the clutch you'll stall it again before you realise.

Unfortunately, I bought a C1 for my daughters 18th birthday. I thought.... a good first car,cheap to run and maintain and safe.

How wrong and sorry could I be. For such a "basic car" the service costs are astronomical.For example, the replacement clutch cost ( by the way,the clutch failed 5 days after a service and MOT by the certified Citroen garage! which cost £270 pounds) was £599 pounds.

Basically, the intent of a "certified Citroen garage" is to fleece you as much as they can once they have "hooked you with a cheap and now in hindsight.... appalling car)

Do not buy one... the savings you make in petrol will be way out weighed by you service costs

The car has been totally reliable in the 5 years we have owned it. It can be parked anywhere, the handling is brilliant and it goes surprising well for a one litre motor. Ok, its a bit bumpy and perhaps a little noisy, but we bought ours for six grand on the road and it goes for miles on the sniff of a petrol rag. All in all, well worth considering.

Bought my son this car for his 18th. Payed 9,000£ in cash for it 3 years old. When i drove it home, the clutch sempt high and was making a clicking sound, so i took it back, before i gave it to my son, and they said its fine. About 6 days later my son was driving it for the first time and suprise suprise, the clutch broke, and he was stuck in gear. He managed to get the car parked and get the AA out. The garage fixed the car which cost almost 900£ and another 3 months later, the car keeps stalling, and the clicking sound is back! WORST CAR EVER. ID RECOMMEND DELS CAR FROM ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES OVER THIS!

Superb car. Can cut it on the motorway or around town. Struggles with full load, but I bought it as a commuting car so very rarely has full load.

Does exactly what it's meant to do with not many frills, yet very comfortable but still has driver appeal. Aygo looks better but price (£5600) for 5dr VTR (electric windows and remote locking) with metallic paint was about £2000 less than similar spec Aygo, and in any case the C1 is a Toyota. Otherwise why would you buy a French car?

An absolutely wonderful little car.

I drive 400 miles a week to work so needed an economical car, the C1 does not fail there.

The digital fuel gauge has 6 bars, and my record driving at an average 55mph is 300 miles with just 2 bars gone!

My current record for MPG is 68.8, as you use the engine more it loosens up, the tank full that I am on at the moment is easily going to be in excess of 70 MPG.

If you drive this car sensibly, 70 MPG is easily achieved.

So many people report that they can only get in the 40s for MPG,thats because they seem to forget that the C1 is built for economy and its not a Ferrari!

My tip to get top mileage is,drive as if you had a cup of coffee on the dash and you must not spill a drop!

If you are after fuel economy,then buy a C1.

The car has exceded my expectations. Its fun to drive(even though i use it for work as well as social driving)it is cheap to run, comparitive to the cost of motoring in 2010.

The only problem i have had is with the clutch. Driving ok until all of a sudden it was difficult to engage gear. I do aknowledge i have done 39000 miles,but no indication there was a clutch problem. Ie slipping/high revving gear change etc. Took it to Citroen and they said there was a notice that there may be a problem and offered an adjustment. It cost £44.00 , AS IT WAS NOT COVERED BY THE WARRENTY. It made no difference. To replace the clutch at Citroen is £600.00. I have read on other sites that the clutch can be a particuler problem on the C1. The price for parts is not excessive but the labour cost is .I know overheads are high in dealerships but a good technician can change the clutch in 50 minutes. that does not warrent a £400.00 labour charge. Amen.

Love my little C1. The only problems I have had are leaking rear window seals which were replaced under warranty and most recently my clutch has started playing up after only 18k miles, we use the car each day but low miles travelled. It has taken my family of three up to London and back luggage and all with no problems. Great car !!