Citroën C1 Warning Lights

About the C1

In the US market, the most compact car you find is a supermini like the VW Golf or the Mini Hatch, but in the European and Japanese markets, there’s another kind of car they call the “City Car” which is essentially one more step below a regular supermini in size. The idea is a compact car that truly befits city living, offering superlative fuel economy, cheap running costs and easy parking. The Citroen C1 is one such city car.

The Citroen C1 had a long production run from the summer of 2005 until early 2022 when it was finally discontinued. The project was jointly run between PSA --- now Stellantis --- and Toyota, with the final models being badged as Citroen C1, Peugeot 107, and the Toyota Aygo. Between these 3 “sister” models, the C1 and the Peugeot 107 contain the most similarities.

There were 2 generations in all, the first running from 2005 to 2014, and the second running from 2014 to 2022. The C1 was sold as both a 3- and 5-door hatchback vehicle, with a FWD drivetrain, small 1.0L to 1.4L engines, and strong fuel economy of up to 48.8-mpg. In fact, the German magazine Der Spiegel claimed that the C1 was second only to the Toyota Prius hybrid when it came to fuel economy, an accolade highly sought after in the high-gas-price market of Europe.

The second generation saw the addition of a 5-door cabriolet model being added to the mix, and Euro NCAP safety results being boosted to a solid 4-star rating from a mixed 3- or 4-star rating in the previous generation depending on the exact variant.

Anyone looking for serious performance from the C1 would be disappointed. As was typical in city car designs, the most powerful engine could only output 82-hp and 86 lb-ft of torque.