If there’s one thing the Citroen C1 city car is not, it’s sporty. It is extremely cheap to run, and even quite amusing to drive in the way cars with no power but a game chassis are. But sporty? No.
Even so, Citroen is attempting inject a bit of sportiness to the diminutive hatchback with the new Furio model, in the hope of boosting its appeal to young drivers. Which is actually already pretty strong as the C1 has among the lowest insurance costs of any new car available in the UK.
Anyway, the C1 Furio’s sportiness comes in the form of gloss black, 15-inch ‘Planet’ alloy wheels, ‘Sunrise' red door mirror and wheel center caps, a rear diffuser and center exit exhaust, and “bold” graphics. There’s a choice of white or grey body colors.
The interior spec is shared with the mid-range Feel model, complete with all the connectivity options youngsters want, these days. And added ‘Wave’ upholstery.
As for engines, there’s a choice of two three-cylinder units: a 1.0-liter producing a mighty 68 horsepower, or a 1.2-liter making 82 HP. Performance is fairly leisurely whichever engine is in place, but they bowl along happily enough once up to speed and use very little fuel. And let’s face it: do you really want your 16-year old to have a 200 HP hot hatch for their first car?
Prices start at £10,855 ($11,933).
Gallery: Citroen C1 Furio
Citroën is extending its C1 city car range with the introduction of a new C1 Furio, offering young drivers an affordable, sporty looking car. Building on Citroën’s sporting credentials, C1 Furio will be on sale in the UK from 1 August.
Bringing a new sporty style and unique features to the Citroën C1 city car range, C1 Furio will go on sale in the UK from 1 August, with prices starting from just £10,855 on the road.
Available as a three door hatchback, the new C1 Furio boasts striking exterior styling to appeal to younger drivers wanting a sporty look, but without them having to pay a premium for a more powerful engine. Two powertrain options are available: VTi 68 manual and PureTech 82 manual.
Based on the existing ‘Feel’ trim level, C1 Furio benefits from the addition of black 15-inch ‘Planet’ alloy wheels, bold exterior graphics, plus Sunrise Red door mirrors and wheel centre caps to provide an eye-catching contrast to the Lipizzan White or Carlinite Grey metallic body colour paint options. A rear diffuser and centred exhaust outlet complete the sporty exterior.
Inside, C1 Furio benefits from the addition of ‘Wave’ grey cloth upholstery and a rev counter.
The new C1 Furio joins Citroën’s long line of motor sport inspired small cars, including the 1990s Saxo Furio, plus cars like the AX Sport and C2 ‘by Loeb’.
Then new Citroën C1 Furio is available to order now and is officially on sale from 1 August 2016.