Skoda Citigo-e iV vs Volkswagen e-up!: safety and reliability

The smallest Skoda and Volkswagen miss out on some of the standard safety kit found on more expensive models, but these are still tough little cars

Both the Volkswagen up! and Skoda Citigo – along with their sibling, the SEAT Mii – were awarded only three stars when they were evaluated by independent crash-testing body Euro NCAP in 2019. That’s down on their initial five-star rating from 2011.

This is largely due to the fact that autonomous emergency braking was dropped on all three models during a recent round of updates. ‘Safety Assist’ is an area of key consideration for Euro NCAP and cars that fail to tick the correct boxes can see their overall score suffer.

Skoda Citigo-e iV

That said, both cars come with a suite of airbags, as well as useful technology such as lane-keeping assistance. You’ll find Isofix child-seat mounts in the rear of each car, too. When it comes to reliability, both cars should fare pretty well. As there are fewer moving parts they should be more dependable than their petrol predecessors, backed up by a hefty eight-year battery warranty. 

Skoda fared better in the 2020 Driver Power survey, claiming fifth compared to Volkswagen's 19th-place finish. Neither car featured in the top 75 model rundown.

Richard is editor of DrivingElectric, as well as sister site Carbuyer.co.uk, and a regular contributor to Auto Express. An electric and hybrid car advocate, he spent more than five years working on the news and reviews desk at Auto Express and has driven almost every new car currently on sale.

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