While the new Up! minicar will spawn a large number of variants for Volkswagen itself—as proof, six Up!-based VW concepts debuted at this year’s Frankfurt auto show—other VW Group members will get in on the action, too: The SEAT Mii and Škoda Citigo have been announced. (We wonder if Nintendo will take umbrage with the SEAT’s moniker.) Like other VW-sourced SEAT and Škoda models, little separates the Mii and the Citigo from their Volkswagen donor vehicle. The cars are powered by the same gas engine, are available with similar equipment, and, excepting their brand-appropriate front ends, wear nearly identical bodywork.
The exteriors are completely devoid of any of the VW’s personality; besides the more conventional and less-smiley fascias, the SEAT and Škoda also do away with the Up!’s sheetmetal up-kick at the C-pillar. As mentioned, both the SEAT and the Škoda use the same 1.0-liter, three-cylinder gas engine in 60- or 75-hp strengths. The powertrain choices, like those for the Up!, will quickly expand, though: SEAT will soon sell a compressed-natural-gas-fired Mii, and figure on the E-Up!’s fully electric system becoming available in the Mii and Citigo sometime after the VW goes on sale in 2013.
As for body styles, the SEAT Mii and Škoda Citigo will be available in five-door form sometime in 2012, like the Up!. Both cars will similarly feature deep option lists and be available with the VW’s portable navigation and laser-guided collision-avoidance system. The SEAT and Škoda will go on sale in their respective home markets of Spain and the Czech Republic before the end of the year; they will invade the rest of Europe in 2012.
