Citroen C3 Pluriel 1.4 HDi
Billed as the UKs first diesel powered convertible supermini, Citroens C3 Pluriel HDi certainly isnt your run of the mill topless tot. Its shot through with a heady combination of practicality and quirkiness and while this dual personality may take a little while to get used to, the car itself is as innovative as Citroens of yesteryear. If you cant decide whether youre a hedonist or a pragmatist, the Pluriel HDi may well be the car(s) for you.
For too long it seems that car manufacturers have labelled those who want a drop top as correspondingly uninterested in anything remotely practical. The Pluriel HDi follows the lead of other diesel convertibles but in bringing these attributes to the supermini class achieves some remarkable figures. The 70bhp 1.4-litre HDi common rail diesel engine will return a scarcely credibly 63mpg on the combined cycle rising to 71mpg on out of town driving.
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Four airbags are fitted as standard as well as anti lock brakes with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and Emergency Braking Assistance. Priced at £14,895, the Pluriel HDi is often subject to cashback deals that can knock anything up to £1,500 off this price, making it conspicuously good value. By contrast a Ford Streetka looks pricey. The Ford and the Citroen will nevertheless aim at different markets.
If you want a car that will put a huge grin on your face at the way it tackles a corner, the Ford is the clear winner. If, on the other hand, you prefer tiny running costs, four seat practicality, a quirky personality and all round versatility, the Pluriel HDi is by far the better bet. After all, a sprint to 60mph in 16.1 seconds and a top speed of 98mph probably wont do much for the press-on driver.
With its full-length canvas roof in place, few would finger the Pluriel as a convertible, the shapely glasshouse and the seemingly fixed rear window giving it the appearance of a quirkily styled three-door hatch. Slide the canvas section back, fold the rear window cartridge down into the spare wheel cavity and house the gloss finish roof rails in their deckchair like holder and you then have a full convertible. No rollover hoops or bulky tonneau covers sully the appealing shape. Whats more, theres even a reasonable amount of space in the boot once the hood has been dropped.
"Genuine fans of the marque will be rubbing their hands in glee as the Pluriel resolutely ploughs its own furrow "
Built at Citroens Madrid factory, the Pluriel offers similar interior quality to the C3 hatch. Despite the 1999 show car displaying an interior of quite baffling design flair, the production Pluriels interior is largely C3. That means neat, easy to operate design and the C3s facelifted dash board with its higher grade plastics and more upmarket feel. The door panels have been given a boost too with the same themes as the curvy facia.
The effect is a definite improvement. One key drawback of the Pluriels design is that the bulky roof rails cannot be stored in the car upon removal, instead residing in their holder in your garage. Therefore you dont have the option of pulling over to the roadside and dropping the roof to form a full convertible as you can in a Peugeot 206CC. Once you have left the rails at home, youre committed to open top motoring for the day, come rain or shine.
One suspects we wont see too many Pluriels plying our roads in full convertible mode. Despite these limitations, the Pluriel is still a very appealing choice and even with the black tusks in place it feels very airy when the canvas roof is retracted, the side windows are dropped and the back glass is slotted out of sight. Rear seat passengers will have just as much fun as front seat occupants and theyll also feel reassured by thee Pluriels high waistline. It handles fairly neatly, the comfort-oriented suspension doing a good job of soaking up most surface imperfections that might otherwise betray a wobbly scuttle.
Citroens engineers are proud of the reinforcing work theyve done on the Pluriel and the fact that it weighs about 150kg more than its hatchback equivalent is testament to this effort. Only over the very worst potholes will you provoke any shudder from the chassis. Theres a reasonable amount of space in the back for four, although five would be a tight squeeze as both knee room and shoulder space would be at a premium. Some of you may have spotted that the rear screen folds into the spare wheel well, thus signifying a lack of said wheel.
Rather than rely on the commonplace - and usually quite useless - puncture repair aerosol, Citroen has done the right thing and fitted the Pluriel with Michelin PAX run flat tyres. Cars stranded on the roadside are never a great advertisement. Quite how the various water seals and roof parts stand up to the wear and tear of real world motoring remains to be seen but at first glance they appear well fabricated. The diesel version of the Pluriel in many ways makes the most sense of all the models.
The Pluriel is never really going to appeal as a drivers car so the logical thing therefore is to choose the model that makes the most sense. Some may question whether sense and a cabriolet cum targa cum pickup are mutually compatible concepts but think it through and youll accept the logic.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Citroen C3 Pluriel 1.4 HDi
PRICES: £14,895 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 5
CO2 EMISSIONS: 120g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60 16.1s Top Speed 98mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 40mpg / (extra urban) 71mpg / (combined) 63mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags, ABS with EBA and EBD
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height 3934/1700/1559mm
