ALTHOUGH the model was available here in the late ’50s, Citroën’s 2CV never became a South African favourite. Slow and ugly but practical, it nevertheless became a cult car in Europe. The French firm’s latest small car is neither slow nor ugly, but is also extremely practical. And, judging by the impact made locally by Renault’s Clio and the larger Scénic, this quirkily-styled newcomer could find a place in the hearts of the local populace – if Citroën South Africa plays its cards right.
Pricing had not been finalised at the time we went to press, save for a hint that the range would be “priced on Clio”, which would give us a 1,4 in the R120 000 bracket, a 1,6 manual in the R140 000s, and an auto (SensoDrive) version for under R150 000. There are apparently no plans to import any of the smaller-engined models available in Europe, but a turbodiesel should follow fairly soon.
The pre-launch test car, a 1,6-litre 16-valve model, was the unit submitted to the SABS for type approval. Delivered to us on a transporter, it had only 400 km on the odometer, but went very well despite the low mileage.
Closely modelled on the C3 Lumiére concept shown at the Paris Show in 1999, the newcomer has a high cabin that follows the trend to “crossover” MPV-like small cars started by the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, and followed by offerings such as the Honda Jazz, Ford Fusion and Opel Meriva, as well as (in the slightly larger category) the Honda Civic hatch, Peugeot 307, Fiat Stilo and next Renault Mégane.
Towering above its Renault Clio rival, the five-door C3 bodyshell (a three-door will apparently be launched next year) offers improved head and legroom. With its bubble shape and cute detailing, it also makes a style statement that turns even the heads of drivers of the more pricey Mercedes-Benz A-Class.
Though the test car had a conventional steel roof, a full-length glass top with slide-back front section is available as an option overseas, and could well be offered as an extra in South Africa. Bumper and grille are colour-matched to the body paint, and wheels, positioned about as close to the corners as you can get, are 15-inch steel units, covered with alloy-look full-diameter wheel trims. The test car was shod with 180/60 R 15 Michelin Energy steelbelt radials.
The C3 is the first model to be built on PSA’s new PF1 small car platform, which will also underpin a future C2 as well as Peugeot’s forthcoming 107 and 207 compacts. Suspension is conventional, with MacPherson struts in front and a torsion beam axle at the rear. Front and rear systems are upplemented by anti-roll bars. While smaller models have a disc/drum braking system, the 1,6 has four-wheel discs, with ventilated units in front. All models have ABS.
Slotted in under the sloping bonnet is a power unit already familiar to South Africans from cars such as the Citroën Xsara 1,6 and Peugeot 307 1,6. A four-cylinder twin cam 16-valve unit displacing 1 587 cm3, it has peak outputs of 80 kW at 5 750 r/min and 147 N.m at 4 000. Drive is taken to the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox.
The bubble theme is carried over to the interior of the car, with a rounded facia, round recesses for the alloy-look door-handles, a rubber gearlever gaiter with moulded-in concentric circles, a hooded half-moon-shaped instrument binnacle and four swivelling round alloy-look vents to direct the air pumped through by the ventilation fan. Though the rear seat is a hatch-style bench, the range of hidey-holes is MPV-like. Among the stash spaces are twin cubby holes on the dash, a handy storage drawer under the driver’s seat and wide door-bins. There are three cupholders on the centre console, and another in the lid of the lower cubby. A cylindrical ashtray fits into the cupholder slots, so can be conveniently placed for front or back seat passengers.
The facia is a cheap plastic moulding rather than a more expensive laminated unit, but looks better thanks to the adoption of a dark upper section. Sections flex when pressed, and the lower edges stand proud of the driver’s footwell.
Driver, and passenger airbags, as well as a pair of sidebags, are standard, and the passenger-side unit can be de-activated to allow a baby-seat to be used.
Instrumentation is avant-garde in the Citroën tradition, with the digital speedometer flanked by arced illuminated displays for temperature and fuel level, and a curved rev-counter across the top. The integrated radio/CD is at centre dash, and the controls for the air-conditioner (with digital temperature read-out) below. Satellite sound system controls are located in the tip of the wiper stalk, the lifts for the electric windows (fronts only, but both with one-touch facility) are on the centre console, and exterior mirrors are electrically adjustable. A remote central locking/alarm /immobiliser system is standard.
The front chairs are fully adjustable, and the steering column can be set for rake as well as reach. But we found the seat adjustment levers very flimsy and, though the soft seat surfaces are comfy, they are rather flat and lacking in side support. The 60/40 split rear seats fold forward to expand the luggage area, and should come with a device Citroën calls the “moduboard”, made up of false floor sections that fold down from behind the rear seatbacks to create a second floor above a “secret” compartment below. A tough plastic moulding, the moduboard is ideal for carrying items such as bicycles (with the seats tumbled forward, of course) that might soil the carpeted floor. Sadly, although the slots and supports were there, the moduboard was missing from the test car, so we were unable to try it out. Three rear headrests should also be part of the car’s standard kit, but were also missing from the test unit.
Despite its low mileage, the C3 1,6 posted respectable times on the test strip, and felt capable of even better had we been prepared to continue extending the still-tight engine. The zero to 100 km/h dash was covered in 11,33 seconds (with a change from second to third required at just under the 100 km/h mark), the super-slick gearchange contributing in no small measure to the excellent performance. The kilometre was completed in 32,93 seconds (at a terminal speed of 156 km/h), and the two-way average top speed was 191 km/h, with the speedo optimistically reading 201. The odometer was also more optimistic than most, overreading by almost five per cent, but still within the accepted tolerance.
The high top gear makes the C3 an effortless cruiser. Brakes feel sharp until one gets used to the pedal action, but the ABS-modulated discs averaged only a reasonable 3,47 seconds in our standard 10-stop 100-to-zero sequence. There was no sign of fade.
Out on twistier, more bumpy roads, the C3 rides smoothly, with good body control. Lean in corners is not excessive, and the attitude at the limit is one of understeer, with a lift sufficient to bring the tail into line. Roadholding is good and the electric power steering light but accurate. But, possibly because of the highish centre of gravity, we found the rear a bit tardy to react in sudden lane-changes, the back end tending to snake slightly before returning to an even keel.
Fuel consumption is very good, the test car needing 6,18 litres per 100 km at 100 km/h, which equates to an overall figure of 8,65 litres per 100 km in enthusiastic driving. But the small 45-litre tank means most owners won’t eke out much more than 500 km on a tank of unleaded.
