Citroen C3 Pluriel KiwiSpecial Edition
Theres something quite refreshing about the concept of an affordable little convertible for less than £12,500. Particularly when it comes with air conditioning and black leather upholstery. You might not be surprised to learn that the car in question is a Citroen, the special edition Kiwi version of its C3 Pluriel.
The actual price of this car is £14,695 but a range of current offers should enable you to get your hands on one for just under the £12,500 mark. That sum buys you the aforementioned black upholstery and air conditioning, plus what Citroen call the cars eye-catching yellowy/green metallic Kiwi body colour (hence the name), the only hue this car comes in. Additional features include leather trim for the door handles and gearstick, plus alloy wheels. Normal Pluriel features include electric folding door mirrors, variable power steering, remote central locking with deadlocks, four electric windows and a CD player.
| Build |  |
| Comfort |  |
| Depreciation | |
| Economy |  |
| Equipment | |
| Handling |  |
| Insurance | |
| Performance | |
| Styling | |
| Value | |
4i petrol engine that returns in excess of 52mpg in out-of-town motoring. Dont expect road-burning performance because youre not going to get it from this or any C3 Pluriel for that matter. The 0-60mph sprint takes just under 14s and theres a 99mph top speed but you dont really notice the lethargic progress when youre at the wheel because the Pluriel doesnt encourage spirited driving. The chassis isnt the stiffest and theres always the suspicion that if you did hurl it at a corner, you might either topple over or come out the other side minus a few pieces of extraneous trim.
"Want a new convertible supermini on a sub-£12,500 budget? Youre going to be out of luck virtually anywhere but at your local Citroen dealership."
The Pluriel is at its best being driven sedately with the featherweight steering and the soft suspension making for a suitably relaxing experience. The engine noise is well suppressed too and even wind noise with the roof up isnt as pronounced as you might imagine, although its less hushed with the centre section folded back. Down on the Cote dAzur, wealthy individuals pay well over £100,000 for high performance supercars and other exotica so they can crawl along the sea front at a snails pace in it. With the C3 Pluriel Kiwi, you can get a model that could have been built for exactly this purpose but at a tenth of the cost.
It wont even hit your bank account hard when youre driving it - buyers can reasonably expect to average over 40mpg even in town and the CO2 emissions are 163g/km. The driving position is unusual due to the fact you sit ducked into the car with the curved windscreen apparently soaring overhead. Equipment levels are about what you would expect, all Pluriel models featuring electric windows all round, electric mirrors, remote central locking a CD player and an electrical operated canvas roof. Safety levels on the C3 Pluriel are equally high, with anti lock brakes with brake assist and electronic brakeforce distribution, four airbags and four 3-point inertia reel seatbelts, as well as a specially stiffened body shell, reinforced windscreen pillars and roof arches plus strengthened seat backs and headrests.
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 most other drop-top models. 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.
Theres a reasonable amount of space in the back for two, although three would be a tight squeeze as both knee room and shoulder space would be at a premium. 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 quite well fabricated. There are drawbacks to the C3 Pluriel but these should always be framed within the context of its price. If you want a new convertible supermini on a sub-£12,500 budget, youre going to be out of luck virtually anywhere but at your local Citroen dealership. The Kiwi special edition model enhances the Pluriels case a further notch or two with a desirable set of cosmetic extras that may not be up to French Riviera standards but will cut a dash on your local high street.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Citroen C3 Pluriel Kiwi
PRICE: £14,695 [£12,495 including current special offers] - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 4
CO2 EMISSIONS: 163g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60 13.9s Top Speed 99mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 31mpg / (extra urban) 52mpg / (combined) 41.5mpg
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
