CITROEN has been carrying the flag for buyers of the smaller car for some years now.

Its current little number, the C1, first emerged at the Geneva Motor Show in the spring of 2005.

PSA's partnership with Toyota actually spawned the Citroen C1 together with the Peugeot 107 and the Toyota Aygo and it was this trio of identical city cars that breathed new life into a segment which was beginning show its age.

Since the launch of this co-development with Toyota and Peugeot, Citroen had sold more than 600,000 examples of the C1 and only a few months ago it got a facelift.

The latest C1 retains a happy face and its three and five door range is powered by a reworked, even more economical, three cylinder 1.0-litre petrol engine.

Ride comfort has also been improved with revised power steering settings and suspension changes.

A defining factor of the latest C1 is its new bonnet and grille which includes Citroen's new chevron design. In addition all models get a new front bumper which incorporates LED running lights on VTR and VTR+ trim levels.

The VTR+ driven here also features front fogs, dark tinted windows, a unique black grill design complete with chrome inserts and body-coloured door mirrors and door handles.

Inside there is improved dashboard and door trim while VTR+ models gain higher grade multi coloured Orsai and Mistral Tyot cloth finishing along with the big car option of perforated Alcantra and leather upholstery.

While the Citroen C1 may be small in size it is big on character and practicality and along with attractive modern styling safety features also include the likes of variable power assisted steering, ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution, cornering stability control, twin air bags and an MP3 compatible four-speaker radio/CD player.

Large glass areas provide a light and airy feel to the interior and there is space for four in the five-door model along with plenty of space for items such as CDs, sunglasses, maps, etc.

The boot, however is on the tight side.

The light steering, agreeable manual gear change and the retuned 998cc petrol engine make for a nice, nippy drive.

It's a free revving 68bhp engine and this latest C1 coped much better over pock marked road surfaces than its predecessor.

This facelifted, sensible city slicker has another trick up its sleeve with CO2 emissions being reduced to 98g/km making it exempt from road tax and good for an average of 65.7mpg.