New Citroen C1 revealed

The 2014 Citroen C1 has been officially launched at the Geneva motor show.

Like the car it replaces, it has been developed in partnership with Peugeot and Toyota. The Peugeot 108 and the Toyota Aygo have also debuted at Geneva.

At first glance, the C1 looks more solid than the car it replaces. It gets the prominent Citroen chevrons from models higher up the range. It also keeps the glass tailgate that was on the original car to help keep weight down.

Three- and five-door models will be available, but both are strictly four-seaters.

The option of a retractable fabric roof is new. It's available on all models and is expected to cost around £1000.

Style-wise, the C1 looks more grown up, but its dimensions haven't expanded dramatically. In fact, it has grown by just 4cm so it's still easy to park in town. The biggest improvement is to boot space. It's grown to 180 litres with a spare wheel and 196 litres if you opt for the puncture repair kit. You won't be able to carry much luggage but it is more useful than the original's 139-litre boot.

The rear seats have room for two adults and can be folded to boost capacity to 750 litres.

The second-generation C1 gets a height-adjustable driver's seat and steering wheel as standard, as well as air-conditioning and electric windows. All models also come with a seven-inch touch-screen that takes up the centre of the dashboard. This is used to control the infotainment system and to change vehicle settings. You can connect your smartphone via Bluetooth and the infotainment system then mirrors what’s on your mobile's screen, giving you access to sat-nav, entertainment apps and internet radio.

Options available on both models include keyless entry/start and a reversing camera.

Buyers can personalise their C1 to suit their own tastes; two-tone paint is available and there's the option of speccing different trims and interior colours.

There’s a choice of three-cylinder petrol engines. The entry-level unit is a 68bhp 1.0-litre petrol that comes with a five-speed manual gearbox and stop-start technology. Buyers can also spec a five-speed automatic gearbox.

There’s also a 1.2-litre petrol that produces 82bhp and also comes with a five-speed manual gearbox. All versions emit less than 100g/km of CO2, with the cleanest engine putting out 88g/km of CO2.

The original C1 scored a satisfactory four stars in the Euro NCAP safety tests, but when the car was face-lifted in 2012 the rating fell to an unimpressive three. Improving safety has been a priority, so the C1 now comes with six airbags, ABS, ESP and an emergency collision braking system.

Prices are yet to be announced but are expected to stay close to the outgoing model's, so the C1 should start at around £8000 when it goes on sale in the summer.