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Skoda Reveals Its First Ever Fully-Electric Car – CITIGOe iV

With Skoda firmly under the wing of VAG, the company currently focussing on VW’s ID line of electric cars, it’s no surprise that its just revealed to the world its first ever all-electric car called the CITIGOe iV.

Based on the Citigo, this minute city car will come in two trim levels of identical performance with the same powertrain and battery packs. These batteries line the floor of the chassis, lowering the centre of gravity while maintaining the ample 250-litre boot space of the standard ICE car, or 923-litre when the rear seats are folded down.

Skoda Reveals Its First Ever Fully-Electric Car - CITIGOe iV

The 60‑Ah lithium‑ion batteries have a capacity of 36.8 kWh allowing a range of anything between 140 and 170 miles on the WLTP cycle, and with a CCS, the iV can be charged to 80% in 60 minutes. These stats aren’t anything to shout about, and equally disappointing is its level of performance. While it has 210Nm of instant torque, 62mph takes an achingly long 12.5 seconds to reach, with it eventually getting to a top speed of only 81mph.

But wait a second before you brush this off your shoulder. With a price of only £20,455 before the government’s Plug-in Car Grant (PICG) discount of £3,500 is applied, this could very well be the ultimate car for the urban jungle. The base spec SE comes with the basic mods and cons needed for a commute including climate control, DAB, and a leather steering wheel and hand brake. And you won’t need to worry about curbing your wheels on tight city streets because they’re not alloys.

Skoda Reveals Its First Ever Fully-Electric Car - CITIGOe iV

The top of the range SE L is the version capable of CCS charging – the SE will take 4 hours 15 minutes with use of a 7.2kW AC wall box – and comes with creature comforts such as heated seats, rear parking sensors, larger 16″ alloys and ambient lighting. And with a pricetag of £22,815, it’s still low enough to class this car as ‘cheap’, especially in the current EV market.

What we have here then, is the perfect first step into the world of electrification. There are few budget-based electric cars out there with certain models reaching far beyond £100,000, so this entry-level city car will nicely lower the barriers to entry, enabling more drivers to reap the benefits of an electric car.

Think of this car as a Chevrolet Volt but with VW build-quality and aesthetics. I think this is something quite a few of us wouldn’t say no to.

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: alex@grandtournation.com

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