Most people want to know what Citroën C2, the small city car from Citroën, is like to drive and if it is comfortable and economical.
Citroën C2 underwent a facelift early in 2009, with an open grille, more aggressive front bumper, plus a toned-down interior.
The Citroën C2 1.4 VTR is economical at a claimed 6.0 litres/100km, with supple ride, lack of noise and ease of drive.
Nice features include a huge digital speed readout, arched rev counter, horizontally-split tailgate and sliding rear seats.
Citroën C2 is a car with comfortable quiet drive, economy, individualistic styling, handy features and shouldn't be overlooked.
Citroën C2 1.4 VTR Road Test Interview
Interviewer: David S (Motoring Journalist and Vehicle Information Specialist)
Interviewee: Citroën C2 1.4 VTR
Question: Why is the small and individualistic Citroën C2 often overlooked?
Citroën C2 1.4 VTR Biggest Talking Point
Most people do not know this car, so the opportunity to get close-by brings topics around "what it is like to drive the small city car from Citroën" and "is it comfortable and economical?"
Citroën C2 1.4 VTR Exterior and Interior
Your new look. Not many people were made aware of this, but the C2 underwent a facelift early in 2009. Tell us about the changes, please.
My facelift saw an opening of my grille - the first cars had a flush-fitting grille with cascaded steps. My new front bumper with grated inserts is also much more chunky than before.
Like a small dog that is grinning to bear its teeth - the new look is much more aggressive and substantial. Still cute. I am glad to see they kept the raised yellow-background for the chrome VTR side badging - a nice touch. The 1.6 VTS has a red background. Also much-loved is the angled rear side window and paint only on the top part of the wing mirrors. Real character here.
I notice the interior has been toned down by replacing the coloured translucent inner door grips and gear knob (that gave such character to the original C2) with normal gloss black items.
This was done to cater for a larger buyer profile, as some didn't appreciate the colour. Obviously younger buyers liked the clever touches but some prefer the more mature just-blend-in-black.
A few small irritations that could easily be rectified: I wish they would relax and just change the hazards that rapidly flash 10 times when unlocking. Irritating! Fortunately the audio controls are on a stalk behind the steering wheel - unfortunately this is so bulky and positioned too closely to the ignition switch that drivers accidentally control the audio when merely reaching for the ignition on/off. The window switches are located in the centre console, so from the driver's seat, please stretch around the gearlever to reach the passenger window switch.
A nice touch, though, is the door panel uppers and mid dashboard trimmed in plastic that resembles dimpled ostrich leather.
Speaking of door panels - the door pocket at the leading edge is only 2cm wide but deep - better not drop anything in there, then, unless you have tweezers nearby.
Citroën C2 1.4 VTR Spec and Drive
The ECE label shows an average fuel spend of 6.0 litres per 100km. I got an average of 6.8, including some overtaking on a single-lane country road - this is very economical.
My 1.4 engine displacement was designed to be economical, yet it has sufficient performance for most applications including highway driving.
I agree. This is a city car capable of travelling comfortably at highway speeds. Just don't expect anything ridiculous like quick overtaking.
How do you rate the comfort factor?
I was pleasantly surprised by the supple ride and lack of noise. You are a small car that has good suspension and is comfortably relaxing to drive.
I'm also easy to park and for zipping around to shops.
Another likeable feature is the huge digital speed readout, roofed by an arched horizontal rev counter (just as in some classic cars). The rev counter has no red line - just a light that comes on when max revs are reached.
Citroën C2 1.4 VTR Favourite Fresh Feature?
The horizontally-split tailgate and the sliding rear seats. These are brilliant!
Because of my diminutive size, smart space utilisation is essential. The nice part about the split tailgate is that my owner can lift up only the glass upper section, so it's easy and light to do (without stretching) and can also be opened in a small space. The split rear seats can slide back and forth to cater for a bias to passengers or luggage.
C2 1.4 VTR Pricing
The pricing of the facelift C2 1.4 VTR is R145 995. Considering its size, many would feel this is too high. However, some of the expense went into the engineering that makes this car feel much more supple and comfortable than the initial impressions its size creates.
Rivals
Let's shortlist 3-door hatches that look good, capped at R160k, shall we?
I'd consider my rivals as Fiat Grande Punto, Fiat 500, Peugeot 207, Proton Satria Neo, Renault Twingo and Toyota Yaris.
Citroën C2 1.4 VTR Finding
Why is the small and individualistic Citroën often overlooked? Perhaps many feel the price is too high for a small 3-door hatch. Surely if the company made some effort to properly market their brand and products and communicate with motoring media, their situation would improve.
If a car must have a comfortable quiet drive, economy and a dash of individualistic styling plus handy features, the C2 should be looked... not overlooked.
: David S:
Full member of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists
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