IOL Motoring Staff
You might love it, you might hate it; but you can't really ignore the new Citroën C1 as if it's just another bland city car offering.
Though sharing its body structure, side panels and most of its rear styling language with the recently unveiled Peugeot 108 , the C1 has its very own face and it's a face that's going to create waves. While its split frontal lighting set-up is a continuation of a theme that Citroën has already used on the latest Picasso, this round-eyed, eyebrowed C1 certainly owes some royalties to the Nissan Juke .
Available in three-door, five-door and open-top (Airscape) body styles, Citroën describes its new baby as "a car with a strong personality, delivering an upbeat response to urban mobility requirements."
ALL ABOUT COLOUR
Its upbeat character is further underlined by bi-tone versions and brightly coloured interiors, but we'll have to take Citroën's word for that as no cabin pictures have been released to date.
What owners can expect, however, is a seven-inch touch-screen with 'Mirror Screentechnology' that can run smartphone apps. Other high-end options include a reverse camera, hill-start assist, automatic climate control, heated seats and keyless entry and start.
The new baby is certain to be zippy in town, with its overall length of just 3.46 metres, turning circle of 4.8m and 840kg kerb weight.
To tug it along, Citroën offers the choice between two three-cylinder, normally aspirated petrol engines - a 51kW 1-litre and 61kW 1.2-litre. According to its maker, the latter sips just 4.2 l/100km on the combined cycle and emits 99g/km of CO2.
We're currently awaiting word on the new C1's local introduction.