Skoda Citigoᵉ/Seat Mii/VW eUP - Cheapest Electric Cars On Sale, Bad & Cheap Or Good Value?

[@mikek2218]

I only wish they were available in the US. I would get one in a heartbeat. I wish more cars were like this these days... simplicity is the secret to success.

[@LelouchLamperouge235]

heh :D i have just about the opposite problem .D I can even lease it directly from Škoda for the equivalent of around 200 usd per month :D But i would have to rely mostly on the public charging network which is sadly underdeveloped .. so no thx :D

[@xchopp]

Seconded!

[@brucekennedy5274]

My fav review of yours. Brilliant. Love the no frills approach of these cars. They still need to be cheaper (oh and available) but we are getting closer to real EVs for everyday people.

[@2ndbaritone]

Apparently car makers don't want you to buy this but massively inflated phat plastic electronic failure killer SUVs

[@chrismwhite]

Great review! I was lucky to collect mine the week before lockdown and totally love it. You didn't mention the two Skoda apps: Connect, which looks after remote charging, air con, parking position, etc. and Move & Fun, which makes your phone an extension of the infotainment system. It works seamlessly, plugs into the car's systems to give journey/consumption data on the fly and uses pre-downloaded sat-nav mapping. As regards range, I consistently get between 160 and 180 miles on a full charge. Last week I had 177 available miles to do a 90-mile round trip, averaging 50mph. By the end, the range indicator had reduced by only 47 miles and when I topped it back up, the maximum shot up to 228!

[@marks-0-0]

Wow is that kind of range really possible? How are longer journeys in it? I was really close to putting a deposit on one but thought a range of 110 ish miles wasn't enough. My driving style is to hyper mile in any car so I'm hopeful now of more range in one of these.

[@chrismwhite]

@@marks-0-0 I've mainly used it for town driving since March. When I collected the car I was told that the range indicator would start low but adapt to my driving style over the first few charges. I now get typically around 165 (slightly higher than the official WLTP average). The 90-mile trip was the longest I've taken to date and I expected to take a hit on the range but apparently a consistent speed of around 50mph (or just over) is the sweet spot for economy before wind resistance properly kicks in - bearing in mind that any downhill stretches or braking also put miles back on because of the regen. I should point out that using the air con affects it way more than anything else so I try to keep it switched off. Also bear in mind that this is during summer; I'm expecting it to decrease to around 130-140 during the colder months.

[@marks-0-0]

@@chrismwhite thanks that's a really helpful insight. I love the simplicity of the car but I'm still trying to confirm in my head whether the car as a whole package works for me.

[@peterjay9697]

Hey Chris, can you confirm your home charging speeds on 30amp charger if you have one installed. There seems to be confusion on it charging at only 3.6kw on a 30amp home charger

[@chrismwhite]

Peter Jay Apologies, but I don’t have a dedicated charger. I typically run the battery down halfway until charging and plug it in to a standard 2.3 kw domestic socket, which usually takes seven hours or so on my overnight tariff once a week. I have noticed when using a 7kw public charger that the speed never gets above 3.6 kw, so this would seem to be a limitation that I wasn’t aware of when purchasing the car.

[@krisvandermeulen253]

I was going to say `sold out` but you already said it yourself... Same situation for the whole of Europe. We drove a Seat Mii Electric on January 19 and placed an order the same day! Delivery was said to be mid July... But it is now confirmed to be spring next year. So we cancelled our order and found ourselves a two year old Hyundai Ioniq EV for the same price.

[@mycomment1862]

Haha. Exactly the same here with a Citigo! It was going to become our second car. Ordered in december 2019, canceled in june a bought a phantom black second hand Hyundai Ioniq Electric. Also because of Corona we went from two cars to one (working from home). So the extra room and faster charging in the Ioniq is very welcome.

[@robsmith1a]

So much more sensible than a Honda E. When these are a few years old they will be a brilliant used buy and none of the mechanical risk of ICE.

[@andymccabe6712]

Well, LESS risk! They still have steering, and brakes and suspension - and, er, electrics!! So, you know , quite a bit of risk really...........!

[@robsmith1a]

@@andymccabe6712 Things that move can always break I agree but taking away the engine, exhaust etc removes a lot of the complexity and in general the most costly repairs as well as routine servicing costs. EVs also don't tend to wear their brake pads out (though there is some risk of corrosion because of lack of use). I just sold a three year old Zoe. It was as good as new. I would be far happier buying an older EV than an ICE car (I am the ultimate hypocrite though because I've just bought a 2012 Mercedes SLK but I don't expect it to be cheap to run or as reliable as the Zoe).

[@CED99]

Except the only brought 400 over, so there won't be many second hand ones about for quite a while

[@robsmith1a]

@@CED99 Good point, I got a good price for Zoe because battery owned ZE40s are such a rare beast. I get the impression most auto makers are limiting supply of EVs one way or another (the other way is the high price of many EVs).

[@davidwright1605]

I'm so glad you "get" the Citigo/Mii/Up!. I traded in my much loved 2002 Mini Cooper which I owned for nearly 15 years for a petrol VW Up 4 years ago. I haven't regretted it. Like you I really like it for its honest functionality. I see it as in the spirit of the original Mini - designed to be cheap to buy, cheap to run and as spacious as possible and it just happens to be great fun to drive.

[@mrglwatson]

David Wright execept it’s not cheap to buy

[@Dave-in-France]

So refreshingly down to earth - real pleasure to see a relatively affordable and simple EV - HURRAH !!!!

[@dlittlester]

I like it - my kind of car. And I like a real honest to goodness hand brake.

[@TranceTrousers]

What a great review, and so pleased you liked the Citigo e as much as I do. I ordered mine on the 1st February 2020 and eventually collected it on the 17th September. I had a 2018 petrol Citigo before so knew pretty much what to expect. I've had the car for just over a month now and I'm loving it! It's exactly the kind of no frills city car I wanted. I have no need of electric this, automatic that, or useless touchscreen 'infotainment' systems. It does exactly what I need it to do, cheaply, but with style and quality. I can charge it up for free at work and the battery easily lasts a whole week, and after charging up again on a Friday, all weekend.After charging it up at the beginning of this week it said I had 181 miles of range, which is the greatest so far! I have noticed that it takes around 7-8 hours to recharge the battery, as opposed to the 4 hours or so I was expecting, and your explanation about the 3 phase supply must be the reason why. I was told by the dealer when I picked it up that there were only 500 in the UK, but it seems there may be even fewer than that! I love the regen when you pull the gearstick all the way back into 'B' mode, as most of the time I can usually drive with one pedal. All in all the Citigo e is a great little car and I feel very lucky to have placed my order for one just at the right time. If I'd have left it any later I might never have got it

[@kjh789az]

Thanks for this clear beans on toast review! Pity that the retro ethos extends to the slow phase one charging. Depending on use, a partial way round this is A,B, C - Always Be Charging, whilst dodging your highest electricity rate part of the day.

[@joelrampersad1359]

Thank you sir. Driving for many people is about A to B.

[@cannygrowabeard]

I had an ICE Citigo as my first car, it did well on an IKEA trip, not quire wardrobe capacity but certainly bookshelves 😆 A great wee car and it only had 59hp from its teeny petrol engine, this will be nippy with 82hp! These little cars from VW Group are simple, well built and plenty of fun, I’d have another, and as an EV, even better.

[@martintetlow8657]

Having owned 3 vw up's due to high mileage 15000 a year I am hoping to buy the electric version when at the end of the lease.

[@gingernutpreacher]

Well you can't they've been pulled they gassed us with diesel cars and now they won't tell us an electric

[@Jimages_uk]

This was one of the best reviews I have seen for a while, and I so nearly didn't watch it because of the car you are reviewing. I really get exactly what you are trying to put over. You haven't sold the car to me, but I'm a 60 year old boy racer with shallow pockets, my list of one is a used i3. Same money, twice the fun, but 1/2 the range :-(

[@pipstein612]

I’ve owned a 2014E-UP for 18months. It’s a great car for all our local journeys which has added up to around 8000 miles, it’s a pleasure to drive. Point of interest on the numbers , untill the recent upgrade/relaunch occurred there were just over 200 E-UP’s registered in the UK, effectively representing 5 years of sales, I’ve never seen another one .

[@EddieCochrane]

We just bought one of these last month, one of the last the dealer had and they were clearly going fast. We just love it. Last week we took our first long trip, from South London to Devon, real mix of roads from residential to A roads, motorway, even rural single track to avoid congestion, everything, and it was great. The car only needed the one charging stop in a 230-mile trip, and that was with a minimum 30 miles of charge left on the longest leg. Like you say, well worth adding the CCS. Really surprised at how much cargo space there was, especially once you put the back seats down. Great, fun car.

[@samhutchings933]

Having just test driven an Up, the best part of the phone cradle is that the adhesive on the soft pads in the corners of it will melt through when the weather gets too hot, sticking to your phone.

[@Stevenspielburger]

Not if you use air con. The vent is underneath the phone cradle

[@nevco8774]

Robert Llewellyn from Fullycharged show youtube channel had to redo his home wiring to have 3 phase current installed exactly for the reason of improving home charging speed of his EVs and ability to use his Tesla powerwalls and solar panels, and to be able to sell into grid the excess of electricity produced by his solar panels.

[@JohnR31415]

nevoi comerciale partly because he was at the very end of a rather long and wimpy cable...

[@MoltenArmour]

we could fit a wheelchair and some shopping in the back of our VW up, so the boot is deceptively big

[@whocares264]

Love this car , makes the Honda E look crazy.... trade in your old fossil banger lease this and save money on fuel and servicing and repairs

[@marcusevjourney566]

VW eUp sold out in Portugal in no time, only available in 2021 now, I think VAG do not make any money on them. I think they will only make money on them when they do an ID.1 on MEB platform. This for me is what an EV should be, it is amazing. Why pay extra for a tablet when you have a phone in your pocket.

[@vaska00762]

ID.1 in 2025 tho. That's kind of depressing to think about.

[@marks-0-0]

@@vaska00762 yes everything i want seems to be a few years away. The conclusion I've made is that i will have to buy the ev that suits me now then upgrage when what i really want shows up.

[@vaska00762]

@@marks-0-0 except... some of the bigger car manufacturers want to you buy a mild hybrid or "clean petrol" car instead. Even the cheaper brands you can think of are just not bothering with small EVs. Hyundai/Kia have 0 interest, it seems, on making an i10/Picanto sized EV and the i20/Rio is becoming a mild hybrid. Honda has no real interest to make anything more than the e for some time. Mazda are going to make an SUV EV with a rotary engine REx. Mitsubishi are downsizing and of course there's no replacement to the already discontinued i-Miev. As mentioned, the ID.1 is expected for about 2025, an ID.2 which presumably would look more like a Polo (but isn't yet confirmed) could be any time... Ford wants you to get a Mild Hybrid. Peugeot seems to have 0 plans for a e-108. Renault kinda messed up with the Zoe and the Twingo Electric will have 0 rapid charging and 90 miles of range. Mercedes thinks they'll make an EQA in 2030. BMW.... idk. Audi seems to have no ideas when it comes to an E-Tron A1 or A3. Every new EV coming out is either priced wrong, unappealing to someone who would *need* a car, or is an SUV or coupé.

[@marks-0-0]

@@vaska00762 i agree with all of that. As for an i10 EV they may well have one for sale sooner than we think but they wouldn't shout about it for fear of slowing sales of the current piston i10. As for them trying to get me to buy a hybrid of sorts for now that won't work because personally I'll just buy used and wait. I just want value for money so if they don't produce that i won't buy anything new. One of my options is a used Leaf. They are a comprimise but they are great value and if i keep it for 3 years I'll get alot more of my money back than if a bought a new car. The only new EV that i thought was good value is the UP, Citigo, Mii ev range. Just read about an issue with single/3 phase charging though so I'll need to look into that.

[@caerphoto]

Mark Velo that’s what I did with my Leaf - when I bought it 1.5 years ago there wasn’t anything else in the price range that could also fit a pushchair in the boot, so that’s what we got. Once we’ve paid it off though, there should be a decent choice available, foremost among them the ID.3. Fingers crossed it turns out to be worth it...

[@johnbradshaw5900]

The second car point is really important. If you have a long range car then a short range is perfectly acceptable and sensible in not paying £££££'s for range which isn't needed. However many EVs reviews fail to recognize this. Cars like the Mini EV, Honda E and Mazda MX30 have been criticised for short range but if you have something like a Tesla or eNiro they make perfect sense.

[@mikeselectricstuff]

750 quid for ccs is a total pisstake‐its just a couple of extra pins,a contactor and some software

[@PaulMansfield]

and a power control board.. but still, a total of £100 at most?

[@RWBHere]

Hi Mike. Spot-on, as usual. There's at least £500 of markup on this. That's just taking the Mickey.

[@juliankerrell7281]

£18,000 thats the pisstake

[@nevco8774]

Robert Llewellyn from Fullycharged show KZbin channel had his house wiring redone to install 3 phase current to improve solar panel to grid to Tesla powerealls to his EV charging to reselling back the excess of electricity into the grid after the car is charged and to provide full autonomy in case of blackout providing he has a fully automatic system of cutting the power back into grid, and providing power to the house in that instance.

[@The_Hero_Is_Back]

I loved my Peugeot iOn for all the reasons you like the CitiGo. Simple, basic, great around town - like an electric scooter on four wheeels. It had a gear stick, a hand brake, a key. Short range but we had another car so no problem. And after a few months of ownership, 90% of our journeys were in the iOn because most of our journeys turned out to be within range. Great review.

[@anahatamelodeon]

My reaction after a test drive last week: "it's just like a real car, only smaller!" It was actually a Seat Mii electric, but only cosmetically different. My wife is collecting it today - just about the last one available in the country, as sadly they aren't making any more.

[@Goofygahey]

In Germany there probably is not a single house that does not have three phase electricity. So I guess Volkswagen did not really see the problem with their approach. I really couldn't live without three phase power. Stove, heat pump, garage door, EV charger, everything is three phase.

[@colinnich]

I'm sure you could live without it - we all manage, and we even have stoves here too

[@johnbradshaw5900]

There is a lot to be said for buttons and dials, much easier and less distracting on the move than a touchscreen. Ditto the conventional instrument cluster, great. Just because a car is electric doesn't mean it has to be wilfully different. These cars have always been great city cars.

[@jur4x]

Who cares if they are less distracting. They look less modern. According to gen Z and most of millennial

[@robenglish416]

We leased one of these, we are a family of four and the children love it. My wife has her own company and we fold the backseat and she can get her garden tools in. It drives well at 120 km/h (90 mph?) And roadholding is ok, better than my old car, center of gravity is low. It's sort of the modern Renault 4L.

[@jur4x]

120kph is just above 70mph. 74 if I recall correctly

[@robenglish416]

@@jur4x you are right, my head calculation was lousy! 62 is about 100 km/h. Max speed is just below 90 mph.

[@tonyjones4556]

Nice to see a solo review..👍

[@kinross24]

My 2020 Kia Niro PHEV, that’s now gone, still had a key ignition start and ‘gear stick, compared to the full EV version. Now have a 2020 Leaf but that’s going next week for a new Ioniq 38 Premium SE because off better flat boot, driving adjustments on seats and steering wheel and no stupid centre console restrictions.

[@clasqm]

Get an old phone, put in a data-only SIM, switch off all notifications and just leave it in the cradle permanently. I am using an old iPhone SE as my dashcam in exactly that way.

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

i think that will still be tempting for someone to try and steal it and leave you with a broken window to fix

[@stephanweinberger]

@@rtfazeberdee3519 then just leave the phone in the glovebox when it's not in use.

[@grahammcdonald]

Poor SE, too good for that! I used to do that but gave in and bought a apeman dashcam, £25

[@tubularG]

I really like that a car company has finally cottoned on to the idea that people can simply use their phones for in car media. I've never seen an in car setup I'd rather use instead of my phone. My only concern is the sunshine heating issue. A phone with its screen on maps the whole time, probably on charge and sitting in direct sunlight is not the best idea. I use a piece of cardboard and blu tak for such cases but it would be good to see some sun protection built in to the phone holder.

[@stephanweinberger]

@@tubularG Supporting Mirrorlink (or something comparable) is fine. Usually the car's display is a bit bigger (or at least it could be if the manufacturer did not waste money on developing and maintaining their own software), so just having the phone display there makes sense. Then the phone can stay somewhere blow in the shade.

[@ThatGingerGuy93]

The first car I bought new 5 years ago was a Citigo Monte Carlo 1.0 petrol and I loved it. It had the lower stiffer suspension and handled amazingly. Real fun without going quickly.

[@TassieEV]

Thanks Andy...great review. I wish it would come to Australia but it won't or any of it's brethren. That is a perfect car for just a runabout and as you say it has 120miles/190km real world so it can go the distance and with reliable charging could do distances. I think the storage space is bigger than the Honda-e and is more fun. I'd love that and if there was no badging to indicate it was an EV the EV-haters won't even know more like something you could bash around just needs rear-wheel drive and could do some real fun, J-turns/doughnuts/elevens/etc.

[@jur4x]

My first car was Seat Mii 1.0L petrol on 63 plate :) Loved it. But 60hp engine was a bit to weak. I did take 3 adults to the airport, though :) And it had full size (14") spare wheel under the boot floor

[@TheLongonot62]

I drove an e-up several years ago and absolutely loved it. Wanted one, but at the time, the smaller battery and range was just too limited for my needs.

[@sevnpicoferro5352]

This ist the best entertaining review of any upmiigo videos I have seen! And I almost agree with any of your points. Regarding your point about the 3.6kW limitation at the end. There is tedo nash on youtube who shows how to code the cars charger so that it will charge with up to 32A on single phase. So technically it is possible and I thought that in UK they will open it by default. Not sure if there could be an issue about warrantee or so.

[@martinbguk]

Thanks for the honest review. I'm keeping my eyes on the Skoda

[@slhslh9038]

You need to plug the phone into the USB socket withing the mount, and then you get a lot of other driving (and battery) info via an App on the phone that starts up when it detects the car. It also provides an offline Nav system and helps block a few of those pesky text message etc. I just have Android-Auto start up on connection, which then properly helps with the text messages (blocks them whilst you are on the move) and gives you a proper interface for hitting the buttons etc.

[@alaneasthope2357]

This is more like it. A no nonsene EV without all the gadgets. This will get people into EV's. Reminds me of my first car as a student. Austin 1100, Speedo and temp guage and that was it. Happy days.

[@keithlatty]

Nice review . Vital point in my opinion exposing the single phase charging rate.

[@leoclarke6462]

you like this Andy- as you say reminds you of the old days- the younger generation ( my kids in their 20's will not be so impressed- they want the bells, tech and whistles- but then its not aimed at them

[@kinross24]

Use the ‘Do not disturb’ facility on the IPhone when it’s being used by the car and that’ll stop you getting annoyed by texts and calls when driving. Gonna recommend it fir my Mrs instead of a used Zoe 40.

[@colinnich]

Do not disturb doesn't make any difference when the phone is unlocked sadly

[@kinross24]

Colin Nicholson If you use Maps to navigate, your iPhone still shows lock-screen navigation help and gives turn-by-turn instructions.

[@rhmagalhaes]

Lower the expectation... Bigger the reward. That's what she said... 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@F15HHOOKS]

I heard Bjorn Nyland say "that's what she said" the other day. It cracked me up in his accent as I thought it was only a saying the English said.👍

[@gap9992]

Great review. We are about to change my wife's city car (which I steal from her at every opportunity!) It's a Smart fortwo petrol and has been 100% reliable for 3 years. I have never tired of doing U turns in a standard UK road! Anyway, we are thinking about a ForFour EQ but the range of only 70 miles is a bit of a concern for when she does a longer trip very occasionally. There are good deals on the Smart at the moment, probably because they can't sell them due to the range ! We would definitely get one the three VW group versions as they are simple and functional. Except, that they do not have active brake assist which we think is a valuable safety feature in a city car. There is zero excuse for VW not including it when they HAVE included lane keep assist and cruise control. I mean why have those on a city car but no active brake assist that might make the difference if someone slams on their brakes in front of you or a pedestrian steps out. It has become a standard feature on virtually every bigger car and most small ones, including the Smart EQ, the new Fiat 500 electric, the mini electric, the Honda E ................. Ok, many people will say they don't need it but I just think there is no excuse for it not being standard in this day and age. In reality, the petrol Smart has done only 12k miles in 3 years and is in mint condition. It's the top spec version and we can settle the final payment of £6k to keep it. there is really no economic argument for us to get an electric city car at the moment, which is sad.

[@tonp2917]

Dor us it is our second car, a petrol car for larger distances, the Citigo for work (15 km twice a day), and other smaller distances. And for these things it is a great car. It is peacefully with its low noise, quick due to the 215 Nm when you drive away or need to change lanes. It is also easy to drive. And with easy I mean you sit down, turn the key, and drive away. Also easy because you do not need to have to handle or manipulate a large screen for a few minutes or whatever for a drive that cost you 20 minutes at the most. And, of course, you do not need to manipulate your large screen like in the new electric Honda but of you got one it is fun to use I guess. Fun but time consuming for the short time you use a car like this. And for me, a car with less than 300 km range isn’t for use on a motorway, at least not for all the time. If you use it for about 100 km an hour the batteries run down quite quickly, in city use you can drive a lot more km’s. So, for us, as a second car it is the best car to drive. Not expensive (we use private lease) in use, to buy is quite expensive. Yep, for us it is great fun to drive. Most important things are: quick and quiet.

[@DariuszTech]

Brilliant review ☺️ still don't understand why would anyone spend 20k on Skoda Citigo 😁 I understand it's still cheapest EV on market but you could get 3 years old 30kwh Leaf which give you similar range and a lot more spec. Just my opinion. Once again fantastic review. Love your humor. I remember watching you 5 years ago before I purchased my first Leaf back in 2016🤪🙊😁

[@DobermannJeff]

Weil die leaf Batterien größtenteils nach 100t km durch sind. Habe damals geschaut gehabt und keine einzige war in diesem Bereich noch heile bzw zumutbar

[@thedeadstig123]

18.5k for a tiny city car seems a hell of alot of money, when the seat mii was a petrol 1.0 it started from £8,385, 10k is huge price hike

[@robsengahay5614]

thedeadstig123 You have nailed the issue right there. Yet it is alleged that there is no profit in EVs to the manufacturer. If there is a profit on the £9000 car how can there not be a profit on the £19000 car. The battery is surely not costing them over £10000. The reality is that they do not want to sell them (because it screws up their supply chains and their business model of selling us parts on ICE cars which wear out, and supports their dealer networks) but are pretending that they do. Make them expensive, limit supply as far as possible, promote hybrids. Realisation is dawning that the EV can no longer be killed but it can at least be stalled for as long as possible and by then those in the boardroom now will have retired and it will be their successors problem.

[@chrisj9700]

It’s probably an £8k price hike when you take inflation into account

[@kingpuppet5881]

The boot, interior and shape remind me of my 2018 Toyota Aygo. I have an onboard computer in my car though and reverse parking cameras. The front on my car looks much more fun. Petrol though sadly. If I had the money I would get an electric car. I do have an e bike lol.

[@philipbrown4602]

So wanted one, can't have one, yet. Having to have a Smart 4/2 instead. We'll see in three years if I can gave one then!

[@jonathansmith5850]

Love the review. Although I’ll say this. Car Wow did a range test on the UP!, mostly motorway miles, if they needed ac they put it on. Travelled motorway speeds. It ran out at about 162 miles, which is over VW claims.

[@tvandbeermakehomergo]

My first car is actualy this! I have the base model, and only paying £120 a month for it on a cheap work lease deal (Inlcuding tax, full maintainence and insurance). Its a bit basic, but ideal for my needs!

[@campakilla1]

Sounds like a good deal!

[@jamesguy7396]

These cars can charge at 7kW. 16A charging is a factory preset, presumably for European 3 phase chargers and they are supplied with 16 A charge cables. UK cars are supplied with 32A cable, just without a change to the 16 A max AC setting. It can be changed to 32A via the OBD port. I’ve done it and it works fine.

[@greybeard163]

I would be wary about the supplied cable being OK for 32A, ours was supplied with the European 16A cable (yellow). We have now had the software reset and a FOC uprated (32A) cable(black), it is a heavier cable.

[@petercrisford2867]

Just like my 1st Mini 1000 .. I wanted to drive it just because it was there. A basic roller skate and I totally get it

[@abhishekjain9583]

Please make a comparison video of Renault Zoe electric & KZE (Kwid) electric car against all these 3 German🇩🇪 electric car by VW group.

[@keithwilson1554]

I bought a brand new Honda Civic in 1975 and drove the wheels off it. And living in Australia did long trips. I could easily slay a muscle car on windy roads and had a longer range. Range Anxiety was a thing for petrol cars in Australia up until the 90's as there weren't all night opening petrol stations and if you were running after dark could easily find the only Petrol station in town was shut. Of course Petrol heads don't have memories of their short range gas guzzling sh:t handling muscle cars. Thanks for the information and honesty over the years.

[@steveboston11]

A nice friendly entertaining review. And I am very happy with my VW version. I am also happy with the key-in-ignition because it does mean that Mr Criminal with a signal booster can't just rock up and steal it. I believe it needs to talk to the key though as well as feel it actually in the - well ist isn't the ignition is it? - we need a new EV word for whatever it is. Servicing isn't - it is an 'inspection' and for the mechanical warranty I have had to let the local dealer educate themselves about this strange beast powered by magic* while charging me money. (My diagnostic reader tells me there are no fault codes and a little of my time and simple spannering tells me its currently in perfect health - far better than they do. I will be doing my own actual servicing now (brake pads/shoes will wear out about 2055-ish I reckon and apart from tyres and perhaps bearings/ball joints etc once in a long while - not much t do (replace brake fluid at 3 yrs and change diff/reduction box oil (VW MTF 75W) every so often. * We know how batteries work and we know how the motor and ESC work of course but at the quantum level we can't explain electricity (or magnetism) so until we can - i say it is by definition 'magic'

[@cristianseres1353]

A very nice review with enjoyable dialect. I wish 'fun' and 'hundred' would be pronounced like that everywhere!

[@jamesguy7396]

Ive had my Mii for two months now. You have described my driving experience brilliantly. I live on Dartmoor / South Devon and its brilliant for rural driving. I regularly get 5.5 to 6.5miles/kWhr, and my average since new is 5.5miles/kWhr. I disagree with your 120 mile range expectation, use B mode and look ahead for maximum regen and 160 to 180 miles is easy.

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

You’ve not had it through winter yet.

[@jamesguy7396]

Electric Vehicle Man I detect a challenge!

[@FanORush62]

Told you that it was good!! (On your birthday live stream) Glad you added the charge addendum - I had to find out the hard way - have also informed Ohme!!

[@greybeard163]

The charge rate issue is being addressed by Skoda UK - just had a call to say they are arranging a foc charging software update and replacement charge cable for our Citigo e.

[@nakfan]

Great review...and funny 😅 Love your style... Don't change anything... BR, Per (Denmark)

[@christopherbidmead849]

great review thank you EVM does exactly what it say's on the tin but the charging is an issue

[@JohnR31415]

If you can charge either at work or at home then it shouldn’t be. 5-6 hours at 3kW (I.e a 13amp socket) will get you 15kWh. He was getting 6m/kWh so that’s 90 miles range without any complexity.

[@dennislyon5412]

I agree with John, here. 3.6 kw charge rate for a city/commuter car is just about right.

[@joepitt1192]

Some beautiful dry stone walling there

[@StefanoFinocchiaro]

I bought this car in february and I'm still waiting delivery, I also discovered of the charging problem afterwise (it wasn't mentioned anywere), now I need to get 3 phase into my home to get full speed.

[@davidsommen1324]

If you have single phase you can still charge at 7.4 kw. That's plenty.

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

No you can't, not with these cars.

[@davidsommen1324]

@@ElectricVehicleMan I stand corrected. Only just seen your 'addendum' on the video. That's quite naughty of them, indeed. It's also really weird, because the 7kw charging speed is normally delivered on a single phase 32A circuit, whereas when it's 3phase you would expect 11kw.

[@dennislyon5412]

3.6 charge rate is very acceptable for a daily use car that you charge at home. Even with a drained battery, you’re still able to charge it to whatever your full point is - overnight.

[@davidsommen1324]

@@dennislyon5412 Agreed, but they definitely make it seem as if you can charge at 7.2kw at home with a single-phase wallbox. That could be a real bummer if you're not aware.

[@33LB]

the citigoe is a nice car, but it's not being manufactured anymore. a spokesman at skoda said that consumers don't want small electric cars, even though the citigoe sold out completely. i think someone at skoda clearly doesn't understand money or business...

[@djhvideo]

You should have lifted the boot floor mat. There is either a tyre repair kit or there is space for a spare wheel and tools.

[@docgspot]

seems like skoda dont want to sell it like a lot of other manufacturers. Until they legally have to sell electric only.

[@zaphodsbluecar9518]

I love how it's got all the 'old-fashioned' gauges and controls - this would be perfect for a first-time EV owner. Although TBH, the price is way off - there's no reason it should cost more than 10-15% over the equivalent ICE...

[@John.0z]

This is pretty much what I want for an electric car... except for the range, I need ~200miles/320km. I am perfectly happy with all the interior and controls. I would even be happy with wind-up windows. I would like to have seen what is under the bonnet. Is there a spare tire hidden away there? I would agree that we have been spoiled by all the things modern cars include. I would also agree that the charge rate is a bit sneaky. But that is fairly normal Marketing behaviour.

[@LiiMuRi]

The same. Small and simple car that could go 300 km in most conditions is all I need.

[@ianclarke6665]

Very good review. And it looks very tempting. Keep up the good work. 😎

[@fyremoon]

This car looks nice. I don't know if you'd want to fork out an extra £2K for a single to 3 phase converter to fast charge your car, or pay the £2-10K conversion cost to go full 3 phase to the home, unless you have more than one electric car.

[@jcflippen1552]

Excellent review. Seems ideal for replacing my Nissan Micra in due course. Thanks for charging update. How do they print the brochures, build the website, put out the PR etc and still get the technical info wrong? Must be Covid's fault.

[@Soordhin]

I guess it is more of a cultural issue. In germany nearly all homes (as far as i know over 99%) have a three phase connection, and i would not be surprised if marketing material is sometimes designed there. Still, the normal 2 pin plug (granny charger) usually has only one phase connected, so one needs to make sure to have a 2 or 3 phase connection to the wallbox, same as to every electric stove (those are usually connected to 11 kW 3 phase power).

[@TiJayFLY]

I looked at these in between the Model 3 and ZS EV. The lack of availability led me to believe there was a new model coming or something, but nope. They just didn’t make any in the first place - which is a real shame as I’d probably have got one. So realistically, the cheapest electric car you can actually buy in the UK is a ZS EV 😉

[@alanrobinson2229]

Excellent review for a fantastic car. Nice for residents of braithwaite to be on a vid..... I go to ravenglass(Cumbria),from Wakefield every week,no prob with range.

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

Oakworth, not braithwaite

[@alanrobinson2229]

@@ElectricVehicleMan 👍(maybe next time)

[@petersente83]

I'm assuming it's sold out pretty much all over Europe. And I heard a German vlogger (buzzingDanzei) say that VAG lose about 4 to 5 thousand euro on every one of this trio they sell. The word 'compliance' comes to mind... That said, I totally agree with you about this what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of car. The VAG trio I find boring rather than cute. But I owned a Fiat Panda some time ago, and it certainly delivered much fun at normal speeds! Good times :)

[@greybeard163]

Great video, exactly why we have one coming early Sept. Our usage shouldn't cause slow charging issues, but VAG don't seem to want to fess up to the error in their brochures! PS We have another ICE car for longer journeys: a flat 6 German ;-)

[@johnfoster7536]

Hi andy loved the dog references it even has a waging tail the rear wiper lol. its a brilliant execution of the KISS principal we don't need all the keeping up with the kardasians life style statement tech crap. i used to work in the IT world where you are expected to upgrade and use the latest equipment which in reality usually ment a step backwards lol

[@mrglwatson]

And if it was about £12K I would buy it as a second car

[@LouRaX]

12.000€ is the German price since u get 9000€ from the state

[@delboy7039]

This will cost nothing to run and service over 4 years, this will save you thousands....

[@mrglwatson]

D Vickers I have to pay for my electricity. I only do about 5000 miles a year so I will not save thousands

[@arturwiebe7482]

5k is about 600 EUR in my Audi A1 with about 5.5 liters / 100km. In this car I will pay about 300 EUR with 14kWh/100km. So, a 300 EUR save.

[@Fromatic]

I was expecting

[@jonathansmith5850]

My first car was a mk v cortina. Very cheap, thirsty, whine in 3rd and 4th but I loved it

[@watcher24601]

Maybe the cheapest NEW electric car, but for same money, you can get a lot of Leaf or Zoe on the used market. Zoe also has handbrake and drive selector knob. Who gets a new car as their first car anyway, definitely not as a student!

[@robenglish416]

We choose between the Citigo-e and the Zoe and the Zoe lost on lousy backseat for our 4 person family. The wins on boot and range but in my country we get CCS charging as standard on the Citigo-e and have to buy posher Zoe to get it!

[@nicholasroberts6954]

7 Kw , 3-phase charging - Just looked it up, Solid-state, single to 3 phase converters at 8Kw, UK supplier wants sixteen hundred and twenty + VAT of your UK pounds for a 15 inch square box. Might be cheaper, but noisier, if you opt for a mechanical i.e. rotary converter.

[@greybeard163]

Skoda are sorting the charging issue with a software update and replacement cable.

[@FlyingFun.]

Small simple and functional, sounds just what I like. £18k still sounds a lot to me though. But one day I'll buy one, till then my diy ebike is our second vehicle.

[@johndray2326]

Hi there. I have a VW E-up! Just bought it last month. I bought an Ohme charger and I am on single phase electricity. It definitely charges at 7kW. Wondering if I have broken it, or if this is OK! Definite beans on toast... but with a touch of chilli sauce :-)

[@alantsneddon]

It’s a shame that Skoda have discontinued the Citigo. Nor will they be introducing a replacement. Now only Seat and VW keep their versions, for now. I live in a city and own a petrol version of the Seat Mii. It’s a great car. So practical for city driving. I’d definitely consider swapping over to the BEV version although I do think SEAT and VW could really make this car more affordable. When rumour about the Citigo/Mii/e-Up (2nd gen) were going electric, people estimated, I think realistically, after Gov grants, this car would be about £14-15,000. I believe that would be a more realistic price even for a BEV. This car, well the Seat and VW equivalent, could really sell incredibly well and help push the conversion to EV. Now the Citigo is no more, at £20,000 (at least), the Seat and VW equivalents are still too expensive for what they are, or should be. A good value, well built, city car.

[@LoudValves]

you are realising that simplicity is always better ... A Tesla and this as a second car would be a nice combination ..

[@chrismwhite]

EVM, a couple of other things I've thought of (as an owner) that you omitted to mention in your otherwise excellent review :-). There is a raised boot floor available as an option which gives you a double-deck loading space and flattens the area when the back seats are down. Also the small differences between the near-identical Skoda, VW and SEAT siblings: the e-Up gains a reversing camera at the expense of fog lights, whereas the other two have fogs but no camera (just sensors) with the option of a cornering function on the Skoda (the only one with two trim levels).

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

Who’d need a reverse camera on this!

[@stefanweilhartner4415]

i heard they will make the ID1 before the ID2. it would make sense because the ID2 will be the same price than the e-citygo and no one would buy the e-citygo anymore. so, they have to make the ID1 first to have a cheap successor first

[@XcaliburReborn]

Love it, just wish they were cheaper used. For a 2020 citigo electric it's between 18k-20k. Well it makes a 2018 ionic or a 2019 mg zs look quite appealing as their in the same price range. Just wish the citigo and e-up were cheaper considering what they offer is less.

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

Or you could say if you bought one new, you could almost get your money back after a year, very cheap ownership.

[@Countrystock]

Please build more to meet demand....think I’d take the Mii

[@peckishere]

Skoda completely took the CitigoE IV off the market whereas the order books for the SEAT Mii electric is still open, I put my deposit down for the Mii electric a few weeks back but the build week allocated for me is "early next year"

[@danielstefanovic2604]

Basicaly its the ultimate yorkshire car :P

[@thorbjrnhellehaven5766]

I would really consider a VAG-triplet if I were in a two car household. I love my TM3SR+, but this car would serve maybe 70-80 % of my driving, but would come short, or even fail miserably for the rest. Actually, the 2-phase charging would be just fine with me. I have 3×16 A, and would install a second charging station with load balancing, sharing that circuit.

[@thorbjrnhellehaven5766]

I wonder if the car would accept 7 kW, if you fake 2-phase, by splitting a 32A circuit for each live in the charging station, setting it up as 16A 2-phase, if the station would accept zero degree phase offset :-p

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

2 phase is enough apparently.

[@CED99]

As a Yorkshire man I'm surprised you didn't make more of the eUp

[@rogerhudson9732]

The only car reviewer able to say "E up! "

[@colinphillipson4830]

Where did you get that unusual AC 7kW charging fact from? 32A single phase is ~7.2kW and that's what they promote using a Pod-Point wall charge unit. In 7 years I've never heard that 7kW AC needs three phase? Each phase at 32A supplies 7kW so confused? 11kW 16A needs three phase as does 22kW 32A. It's a cheap car and will only have a single phase onboard charger either 16A or 32A. If only 16A then like the early Leaf it'll only charge at ~3.6kW but they mention 7kW rates and charge times so must be a 7.2 kW onboard AC single phase charger? One thing you didn't mention is that the DC charging is only maximum of 40kW.

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

It’s the car that needs 2/3 phase. Confirmed it with my own chargers too. www.speakev.com/threads/skoda-citigoe-iv.147669/page-2

[@disgruntledgoat]

It's probably two 3.6kW chargers strapped together. Tesla does the same thing (only with three 3.6kW chargers), but is slightly more clever in that it can tie the input phases together to run two of them in parallel for a single-phase supply. Mine pulls 16A from each phase when charging from 3-phase at work, but after some clicking under the back seat, will pull 32A from a single phase at home.

[@colinphillipson4830]

If that's the case then that's a crazy 2x16A onboard charging system for the UK market. Apparently the Golf is the same but it allows both to be used when detecting single phase 32A? It's supposed to be a back to basics car that I would consider but now let down by that AC malarkey. Slow 3.6kW charging isn't the best use of cheap rate tariffs like Octopus Go for it's 4 hours. My very first Leaf EV in 2013 only had 16A 3.6kW AC charging and imo wasn't suitable for destination charge units. Looks like it's been designed for the European market and they have lost my sale unless they update it somehow.

[@iannewton716]

@@colinphillipson4830 The egolf does indeed have two 3.6 chargers which is why the zappi has a problem waking the car up. It expects a certain charger it last talked to start first only for the car to want to wake up with the other one. The zappi throws a fit and stops charging or at least this is what Myenergi have told me.

[@rosshunter9053]

I would be very happy to own one of these models to tootle between home and work, BUT, of course, they are not coming to Australia.

[@djhvideo]

Plus there is room for a full size spare in the boot. (If you order one)

[@dogsdinner99]

Taking a look at the Seat site it looks like the Mii appears to come with CCS charging as standard, and other toys like rain sensing wipers and parking sensors etc for £20K. So maybe this would be the better buy? Looks like if it has the same issue with requiring 3-phase for full 7.2kW charging, according to ev-database.uk/car/1191/SEAT-Mii-Electric. From what I understand most houses have 3-phase available at street level and require it to be installed into the house? Not sure the cost of this, Maybe all new houses should have 3-phase as standard now? Yep as you say you cannot even order the Citigo now. Wonder if its to allow the Mii and E-Up to have a piece of the action, or they just cant ramp up the production of the shared chassis?

[@bjrntoreborge4281]

The 32 A charge on a single phase can be activated by the car dealer.

[@tommydplayskeys]

I can't believe it's another limited supply model. There are two EVs that would suit us perfectly in our 2-car household - the Kia e-Niro and the Skoda Citigo. Both pathetically limited in availability, which means due to the economics of supply and demand it will be EVEN longer before they are affordable on the used market. It's as if they hate poor people!