The New CityRover
Published: 8th July 2003
The 'city car' sector of the overall European small car market accounted for 1.1 million sales in 2002. There is a considerable variety of styles and sizes within this group, which includes cars such as the Peugeot 106/Citroen Saxo twins, Ford Ka, Vauxhall/Opel Agila, VW Lupo and the Fiat Seicento.
CityRover's value-for-money pricing structure will position it against some 90% of the products available in this entry-level sector. In addition, because of its generous space and power, it will be an attractive alternative to small cars in the next category, such as the Renault Clio, Toyota Yaris and Fiat Punto. Since there is minimal overlap with Rover 25 pricing, and a substantial difference in size (nearly 300 mm shorter), the CityRover complements the 25 and emphasises its positioning in the upper quartile of the small car sector.
Analysis of the city car market shows that there are a number of target customer groups who require a budget size car and/or cost, from first time motorists to multi-car families. There are considerable differences in the buyer profiles for existing products in this sector, but a key pointer for the overall class is that a majority of main drivers are female, and there is a fairly even distribution of age bands. Approximately half of the cars in this sector are purchased as second cars in a household and buyers tend to be open-minded with around 60% of purchasers having no loyalty to specific brands.
Generous Space and Specification
The key to CityRover's class leading interior space is its long 2400 mm wheelbase and tall build. Getting in and out is easy, with doors opening to 90° and high mounted seating, which also gives a commanding driving position. The rear seats are slightly higher than the front ones to optimise the rear passenger viewpoints; they also feature the classic 60/40 split with jack-knife folding giving a flat load floor and flexible load carrying configurations between 220 litres and 610 litres. Rover-specified interior trim uses a variety of high grade woven or knitted fabrics according to model, and there is a full-leather option for the top 'Style' model.
