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| Citroen
C3 1,6i |
Broadcast
date : 17th September 2006 |
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The Citroen C3, has been around
for four years now, and has achieved quite a cult following.
The problem for Citroen until quite recently was one of
pricing, and in May 2006 it announced a price-cut to go with a
mild up-date to this snail-shaped French city car.
This is the 1,6i, the most powerful C3 in the range, and the
new bolder grille gives it more presence.
It uses wide-section low profile tyres on 15-inch steel wheels
with plastic hubcaps for a realistic alloy look, and its body
shape makes it a versatile people carrier, with interesting
hidden load areas.
The best part of the car is the sprightly performance from the
80 kW 1,6-litre petrol engine. It has plenty of torque coupled
to the overall mass of around 1 000 kg, which makes for
ultra-quick getaways and nippy acceleration.
On the open road it measures up power-wise, although the Car
Torque team had reservations about the electric power
steering, which is over-powered for cruising speeds.
It seems that Citroen designed the C3 for effortlessness
rather than driver involvement, with crowded Paris streets in
mind, rather than the open roads of South Africa.
Nevertheless, it’s a great open-road cruiser in terms of it’s
well-profiled engine powerband.
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Our criticisms regarding the Citroen revolve around a lack of
overall body rigidity, which you won’t notice when cruising
on the straight and smooth.
The rear suspension jitteriness is a trait we also picked up
recently on the Peugeot 207, and it seems that, for now, only
Renault is building small cars with the kind of suspension
integrity we’ve come to expect from French cars.
As for performance figures, few complaints here. The 1,6-litre
motor powers the little C3 to 100 in a claimed 10 seconds and
on to a top speed of 190 km/h, more than enough for the
avant-garde trendos who are knocked out by the C3’s funk
factor.
And at R129 000, you get a good deal on specification too.
The item that we least liked about the original C3 dash was a
flimsy pop-up cubbyhole on the dash top, which is now history.
The dash is still made of a cheapish moulded plastic, which
doesn’t impart a quality feel, but the hi-tech dual-pod
layout with digital speedo and an arced rev counter is fun.
The steering is height and reach adjustable, a nice touch for
a low-cost car, and the windscreen wipers are speed sensitive,
which is a good safety feature.
Citroen C3 1,6i
- Engine:
Four-cylinder petrol, 1 587 cc
- Power: 80 kW\@ 5
750 rpm
- Torque: 147 Nm @ 4
000 rpm
- Transmission:
Five-speed manual, front-wheel-drive
- 0-100 km/h: 10,0
seconds (claimed)
- Top speed: 190 km/h
- Fuel consumption:
8,9 litres/100 km (estimated)
- Price R129 995
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