Seicento Citymatic not overwhelming

FIAT’s cheap’n’ chic Seicento is not only a brilliantly packaged little car, but also, at £6,800, the cheapest on the Irish market. It makes an ideal young person’s motor... especially with Fiat’s ‘new car complete with comprehensive insurance’ deal for drivers aged 22 to 29.

Now Fiat has introduced a clutchless ‘Citymatic’ version at just £430 more expensive describing it as “the most stress-free form of driving at the most reasonable cost.” Ideal for townies where ease of driving is important, they say.

Now, whilst I see that it might appeal to many people, especially the older folk, this particular driver wasn’t so overwhelmed. After all, you still have to change gear in the normal fashion. Automatics are one thing, clutchless cars are, well, as I see them, gimmicks. I don’t particularly find depressing the clutch pedal anymore stressful or hard work. When I’m driving I like to feel I’m driving and fully occupied. In fact, I’m not even that pushed on automatics. So, it’s really a personal thing.

But that said, it does the job faultlessly and many will absolutely adore it. And I must admit I enjoyed the novelty of driving it for a week – but certainly not on a permanent basis.

Here’s how it works. 

Briefly and simply the Citymatic features an electronic clutch that does all the work for the driver. When you go to change gear, using the standard-style gear lever, you don’t engage a clutch, the car does it for you.

An electronic ‘brain’ monitoring the gear lever notes when it’s about to be moved and activates the clutch. This allows the driver to change gear in the normal manner. But there is no clutch pedal on the floor, just a brake pedal and an accelerator pedal. All very clever stuff.

For the first few miles it feels kind of strange having to remind yourself not to go for a clutch pedal when changing gear. Even so, you do get the occasional memory lapse with the foot going out automatically and hitting the brake pedal. But, after a few jolts, you soon get the hang of it, learning to keep your left foot redundant.

Even when the car is in gear and at standstill it remains that way with no inching forward. When on the move and you are in too high a gear for the engine revs, a pinging sound tells you to change down. And changes are smooth and positive.

Like the similarly priced conventional SX manual version, the Citymatic is well specified with central locking, sunroof, electric front windows and a split/folding rear seat.

The cabin seats four with surprisingly good space all round, including the boot, which extends to 28.5 cu.ft with the split rear seat folded flat . And tall passengers will not be disappointed with rear headroom.

A fresh dash design brings instruments that are simple and mounted in a rounded binnacle.

Standard safety and security equipment includes front seat belt pre-tensioners and side impact beams in the doors, Fiat’s CODE engine immobiliser and athermic glass.

POWER: There’s plenty of it from the gutsy well-proven and economical 39bhp 899cc engine, which delivers a sporty-like performance, although when pushed it can be vocal. Top speed is 87mph, and I averaged 44.5mpg that was more rural than town.