What's the news?

Citroen has revealed the new C1, to be unveiled at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show at the same time as its triplet siblings from Peugeot and Toyota.

Exterior

While we are yet to see the Toyota Aygo we have a teaser image, which leads us to believe that the Citroen C1 will be the most distinctive looking of the trio. Slightly larger than before, at 3.46m long and 1.62m wide, the front end features Nissan Juke style round headlights above bumper mounted daytime running lamps, like those found in the upmarket DS3. The rear end has also received the DS3 treatment with '3d effect' light clusters.

On the body style front the C1 will be offered as either a three- or five-door hatchback, or as a new Airscape model with a peel-back roof similar to that on the DS3 Cabrio. Colours for the roof are red, black or grey with hatchback models available in a choice of eight hues with a contrasting roof option. A pair of two-tone launch models will be available when the C1 first hits the market.

Interior

Little is known about the C1's interior bar Citroen saying that, despite the minimal size increase, there is space for four adults and at 196 litres the boot offers 57 litres more than before. This load space is expandable to 780 litres with the rear seats folded.

Considering the interior treatment applied to recent Citroens (C4 Picasso and C4 Cactus) we do not expect the interior of the C1 to be too conventional.

Mechanicals

Two petrol engines will be available in the C1: the e-VTi 68 Airdream, which will be offered with a choice between a five-speed manual or clutch-less ETG transmission, and the new VTi 82. This 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine is said to offer fuel economy of 65mpg and emissions of 99g/km.

Anything else?

One of the more interesting features debuting in the C1 is a seven-inch touchscreen with 'Mirror Screen' technology that can mirror the owner's smartphone, allowing them to control their phone from the touchscreen.

Further specification and price details of the Citroen C1 will be announced when it is unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, which kicks off on March 6.