Citigo EV. Source: Skoda
VW Group has just brought yet another full-battery electric vehicle to the European market.
Sadly, it is also one that we will likely never see in Australia. The car? It is the Citigoe iV by VW Group member Skoda, and built at the Volkswagen plant in the Slovakian capital, Bratislava.
The Citigoe iV is an all-new five door, front-wheel drive, full-battery electric vehicle (BEV). It is designed as a city car and boasts a 32.2 kWh usable battery capacity, 61kW electric motor and 212Nm of torque with the reasonable (if not startling) performance figures of 0 to 100km/h in 12.3 sec and a top speed of 130km/h.
In everyday conditions, with a fully charged battery the Citigoe iV has a range of up to 260km on the WLTP cycle. (For an explanation of EV test cycles, see here ).
Charging is at up to 7.2kW on an AC EVSE – which would give it a 0 – 100% charge in around 5hrs. It also charges at a maximum of 40kW on a DC fast-charger, meaning a 0 – 80% fast-charge time of 1hr.
Being a city car – it has compact dimensions at 3,597mm long and 1,645mm high and seating for 4 passengers. By folding down the rear seats, the capacity of the boot can be increased from 250L to 923L.
It is also not a ‘bare-bones’ entrant to the EV market: the Citigoe iV comes standard with fog lights, LED daytime running lights, lane keeping assist and multiple airbags, along with such options as heated front seats, light and rain sensors, a ‘Coming/Leaving Home’ function, rear parking sensors, six speaker sound system and 16-inch alloy wheels. UK pricing begins at around £20,500 before government grants (AU$39,000).
Sadly, given the current Australian fad for large SUVs (that get almost exclusively used for commuting around suburban areas), it is also unlikely to be brought here to Australia. This is despite it being an ideal candidate for a second family vehicle/first taste of practical and affordable full-battery EV ownership.
So over to you: what do you think of the Skoda Citigoe iV? Would you buy one if it became available here?
Bryce Gaton is an expert on electric vehicles and contributor for The Driven and Renew Economy. He has been working in the EV sector since 2008 and is currently working as EV electrical safety trainer/supervisor for the University of Melbourne. He also provides support for the EV Transition to business, government and the public through his EV Transition consultancy EVchoice.
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