SA Road Tests

Welcome

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.

*To read one of our archived road tests, just select from the alphabetical menu of manufacturers' names on the left. Hover your cursor over the manufacturer's name, then choose from the drop-down menu that appears.

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


We drive the 2014 Citroën C3 VTi 120 Exclusive

Definitely not boring

Published in Witness Wheels on Thursday November 21, 2013

Compact, cute and charming, Citroën’s C3 range offers everything you need in a practical small car – enough boot space, easy parkability, safety, comfort, fuel economy, must-have features like fully adjustable front seats, ABS brakes with EBD and BA, automatic locking, kiddie locks and ISOFix, an onboard computer and cruise control with speed limiter on upper models. It breaks away from the “same-old” look and feel of practically every other car out there, too. Unfortunately, the only way to get Bluetooth is by adding the optional satnav that includes a reversing camera and parking sensors.

To cater for different needs and wallets, there are three trim levels and three engines to offer a range of six cars; and a few options packs in case you would like to make your choice a little more personal. Since we last drove a couple of examples in 2010, the old 1400cc engines have made way for a gutsier 1200cc three-cylinder, a 1600cc diesel joined the fleet, an automatic option became available and a major facelift took place. About all that remains from the ‘olden days’ is model designations and the BMW-affiliated 1600cc engine fitted to our test car.

Dealing with the makeover first, styling is more assertive thanks to bumper-mounted LED daytime running lights on Seduction and Exclusive models, more prominent trademark chevrons run the width of the nose to reach the inner edges of the headlights and a deeper front air intake with honeycomb mesh brings it in line with other Citroën models. It looks more sophisticated and grown-up. From the rear the changes are less obvious, but the chrome eyebrow above the tail light clusters, now with distinctive ‘pockets’ for each lighting function, sets it apart from its predecessor.
 
The new cabin is even more appealing on both tactile and sensory levels; touches of chrome add style while a new dashboard cross strip is finished in Tungsten or Moondust, depending on the model. Both colours complement the new upholstery, which with three distinct textures combine sportiness, warmth, and support, while bright metal finishes highlight specific controls.

Mid-range Seduction models cater for most tastes, offering all three engines and manual or automatic transmissions; Attraction caters for basic needs and Exclusive, as on our test car is, well, Exclusive. There is only one. It has the top engine, the five-speed manual gearbox, six airbags, the to-die-for panoramic Zenith windscreen and the best toys. Let’s have a look: It has heated and folding door mirrors, an antitheft alarm, leather gear knob and steering wheel, electric windows at the back, the front passenger seat has height adjustment and a drawer underneath, the air conditioner is automatic and there are a few extra trim items.

On the road, the C3 feels solid and cruises comfortably without being a rocket, the manual gearbox is a pleasure to use and its interior fittings are well fitted and tasteful. Storage is taken care of with an array of little boxes and trays, although the main cubby is rather small. The boot is usably rectangular and quite deep, and as expected, the back seats fold down to extend the cargo area when needed. Rear seat leg- and headroom is a little tight for tall people but this Citroën’s niche application will be as a classy, small city car for younger families.

Test car from Citroën SA press fleet

The numbers
Price: R231 900
Engine: 1598 cc, DOHC, 16-valve four-cylinder
Power: 88 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 160 Nm at 4250 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 8,9 seconds
Maximum speed: 190 km/h
Real life fuel economy: About 7,1 l/100 km
Tank: 50 litres
Boot: 300 litres
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km
Service plan: 4 years/60 000 km

We drove the next edition C3, a 1.2 turbo in 2020

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

My reviews and launch reports appear on Thursdays in the Wheels supplement to The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles each month, most months of the year (except over the festive season) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.



Comments?
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