SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.

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*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the stories.

We maintain high visibility in the Citroën C3 1,6 VTi Exclusive

For those who decline to conform

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday September 8, 2010

Don't you just hate people who look more gorgeous year by year and, maddeningly, never put on weight? Citroën's new generation C3, introduced last November, is like that.

Apart from resculpted details and a new panoramic front screen, the C3 is stronger, tauter and more spacious than its predecessor but hasn't put on an ounce, despite the weight of additional metal and glass. Developed from scratch without wasting time on prototypes, engineers, designers and suppliers were all involved from Day One, ironing out bugs before they could become problems. Then, just to make certain, two million test kilometres were undertaken before launch and the C3-only Aulnay production line was optimised for trouble-free and timesaving manufacture.

All major parts were looked at with an eye to trimming weight but without sacrificing strength or functionality. If it took a redesign or simply a substitution of material, the change was made. For example, development of a new rear axle reduced its mass by 13 kg.

Using knowledge from an earlier joint venture with Toyota and subsequent experience gained on its own larger cars, Citroën build quality approaches or even matches that of benchmark European models. The result is bold and stylish, yet functional, design offering a welcome change from the rather bland sameness found elsewhere.

Citroën offers the C3 in four models with a choice of two 1400cc engines and the MINI Cooper-derived 1600cc, 88kW motor fitted to our test car. With design cues borrowed from its sporty DS3 sister and fitted with the same engine found in that model's Style derivative, it follows that comparisons will be made.

Driving this car only a week after relinquishing the DS3, my first impressions were of a touch more space, especially in the back seat area, a slightly bigger boot, softer suspension, more relaxed steering response and a very familiar workstation. Rather than a nimble road weapon, the C3 is more a pleasant family car with decent performance for a naturally aspirated 1600.

This is not to say that it's sloppy and boring by any means. Driving the C3 over the same test route and with similar enthusiasm, it seemed to undergo a transformation. Suspension and steering differences were soon forgotten as the car ate twisty kilometres with almost the same panache as its sportier sibling.

In the cockpit, one finds the same fittings as in the DS3 but without the bewildering choices of materials. Brushed aluminium accent strips blend with piano black surrounds to the music and digital automatic air conditioning controls and the usual matt black dash padding to create a very pleasant and upmarket ambience. Alcantra-clad seats give both front occupants the option of height adjustment in addition to the usual forward, backward and recline.

A selection of storage spaces and a slide-out tray under the passenger seat supplement a smallish glove box.  The height- and reach adjustable steering wheel is reassuringly thick, quite small in diameter and a pleasure to hold. In-car entertainment is courtesy of a straightforward single CD/radio combination with auxiliary and USB inputs. My only complaints about the cabin are that there are no make up mirrors and the button for central locking is to the right centre of the dash, almost hidden by the indicator stalk and the rim of the steering wheel.

These little niggles are soon forgotten though, as you discover the movable front section of hood lining that slides about 450 mm backward, to let in the light. It's almost like having a sunroof as the 1 350 mm-tall windscreen ends just above your head, giving you 80 degrees of upward vision. The rearmost 250 mm of glass is progressively shaded, with an energy transmission factor of 9 to cut most unwanted brightness, versus the 50 of standard tinted windows. In really harsh sunlight, when glare becomes a menace and sun visors are needed, you simply slide the panel forward again.

Stylish, svelte and sexy, the Citroën C3 is well equipped and attractively priced by today's standards and offers a head-turning alternative for those who decline to conform.

The numbers

Price: R202 000

Engine: 1 598 cc inline four cylinder

Power: 88 kW at 6 000 rpm

Torque: 160 Nm at 4 200 rpm

Zero to 100 km/h: 8,9 seconds (claimed)

Maximum speed: 190 km/h (claimed)

Real world fuel consumption: about 7,4 l/100 km

Tank: 50 litres

Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km

Service plan: 4 years/60 000 km

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax. 

So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?

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