Citroën has made their split-light C1 city car much more affordable - how?

The Citroën C1 with its split-light bold face debuted locally in November 2014.  Now, exactly a year later, revised and price-slashed versions are made available.

The Citroën C1 is now how much more affordable?!

The prices are much lower – the good news is that the entry-point for the C1 Feel model drops from R 168 900 to R 149 900… but the best news is that the C1 Airscape Feel with the peel-back roof is now no longer R 194 900, but just R 159 900.

How did Citroën South Africa manage to introduce these much lower prices?  The engine in the C1 at launch was the 1.2 VTi 82, which was sprightly even on reef altitude.  The 60kW feels like more than that, so Citroën felt the 1.0 51kW engine (which worked a charm in the previous C1) would still keep the funky city commuter lively, yet make it much more price-attractive.  It is so mouse-light anyway, with the kerb weight dropping from 940kg in the 1.2 5-door Feel to an even lighter 915kg with the 1.0 engine.  The Airscape changes the metal roof for the soft-top slider, and adds a mere 16kg.

Fuel consumption and ultra-low emissions are other attractions when buying a small car, so these are even lower now, to 4.1 l/100km and 95g in combined driving.

Did the features list shrink with the price?

The features list did not shrink with the price.  The updated Citroën C1 still has desirable French city car features, like top flight safety items which include 6 airbags, ABS with EBD and EBA, ESC stability control, and to help Jack and Jill up the hill, Hill Assist will hold the brakes for a moment to not let the car roll back.

Automatic climate control, USB and Bluetooth through a simple icon touch-screen interface, multi-function steering controls, and front electric windows (the rears flip open) plus electrically-operated roof on the Airscape all feature.

The Blue Lagoon greenish paint colour from the Citroën C4 Cactus as seen in this review is now also available on the C1.

The lowest-priced open-roof car… now even more so

The C1 Airscape Feel is the lowest-priced new open-roof car on the market.  The 82 VTi engine as tested here already beat the Fiat 500C 1.2 Pop (currently priced new at R 222 900) by thousands of Rands.  The R 159 900 price for a new Citroën C1 VTi 51kW Airscape Feel makes this a style bargain buy.

Nice cars at right prices – more Citroën dealers needed

Now if only Citroën SA could add some more dealers in visible places, especially in the populated cities like Johannesburg and Pretoria (without sharing a showroom with used cars or motorbikes!) more people can actually buy Citroën cars.  While aware of their “We come to you” campaign, where they bring the car to show you, car buyers in South Africa are people who like to go into a dealer or just drive past, then go in to look, touch, test drive, and buy.