CITROEN C1 1.0i Rhythm 5dr (2005)

Citroen C1 Review - Want rid of it, scary faults

When the brakes fail on your car, there isn't much you can say to bring back your confidence. This was supposed to be more reliable than things like the Astra. But the Citroen C1 has let us down and really I just want rid of it now. I admit I might be jittery about this cos I've got my two little babies in the back, but I think that's fair enough really, and when the brakes don't quite work (ok maybe not totally failed but certainly weren't engaging properly) then it's bye bye car.

That's not the only thing though. I find it hard to change the gears in our Citroen C1. The clutch I'm sure is just off somehow, worse than when we got it I'm sure. It's generally not a nice car to drive either, the squeaking noise from *somewhere* is just doing my head in, and as soon as you get up to about 70 the sound generally is really too much. Driving at night is tricky too cos the interior lights aren't much use, and parking is tricky despite the size cos of the tiny rear window.

Of course none of these things occurred to us during the test drive. We just saw a nice small car, excellent fuel economy and a good safety record (on paper). The fuel thing isn't quite what was advertised. They said 60 mpg but I reckon closer to 50, maybe a touch lower.

It's also been more annoying that I'd considered to only have two seats in the back. I've seen plenty of small cars fit three back there, but the Citroen C1 seems to have trimmed some cost here. That's my fault for not thinking it through, but just really think about whether you're ever likely to want to move 5 people about, ever, cos in the Citroen C1 you can't.