Citroen C3 1.4 HDi 16V RANGE
With A Punchy Sixteen Valve Engine, The
Citroen C3 HDi Looks Difficult To Resist. Andy Enright Reports.
Is there anybody out there whos an unreconstructed dieselist? Who still thinks that diesel engines are noisy, smelly items which are about as much fun as working as an armpit sniffer in the returns department of the Kowloon branch of Marks and Spencer? If so, youre part of a dying breed. The general publics view of diesel engines has largely kept apace with technological developments to the extent that few diesel engines have the capacity to generate any great surprises. We expect excellence. There are, however, degrees of excellence and if youre after the premier example of diesel superminidom, you dont need to look far beyond the sixteen-valve versions of the Citroen C3 HDi.
Apart from that multivalve cylinder head, the engine is largely the same as the eight valve unit, an all-alloy 1.4-litre direct injection diesel developed in partnership with
Peugeot and
Ford. Whereas the more common eight valve unit makes 70bhp, this upspec sixteen-valve number swells power to 92bhp, giving the lightweight Citroen a fair turn of pace. Of course, as with most diesel cars, bald 0-60 figures dont tell us too much, the C3 HDi 16v clocking 11.
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5 seconds. Whats more impressive is the smooth swell of torque. It starts pulling hard from just over 2,000rpm and unlike many multivalve turbodiesel engines, it hasnt shot its bolt by 3,000. The little
Citroen still has decent reserves of shove right up to 5,000rpm, endowing it with the sort of flexibility thats not generally a feature of such small cars.
The gear lever becomes something of a quaint irrelevance as you just wade lazily through the surplus of torque. Plug it into fifth as you hit a motorway on-ramp and youll be amazed how it accelerates right up to speeds at which a judge would likely throw his gavel, wig, stenographer and book at you. Whats equally impressive is that despite the C3s abundant urge, it still manages to average 65.7mpg.
On a gentle run, youll see over 76mpg which, incidentally, is better than the eight-valve model. The C3 HDi 16v range opens with the £12,095 SX and, like Katherine Hepburns acting which ran the full gamut of emotions from A to B, it spans right up to the only other available model, the £12,795 Exclusive. The only other available model unless you count the slightly strange XTR derivative with its offroader styling accessories. There are no three-door versions, no estates and no malformed
mini-MPV variants though.
You either have an SX, an Exclusive or risk drawing too much attention to yourself with an XTR. Simple.
"Youll be amazed how it accelerates right up to speeds at which a judge would likely throw his gavel, wig, stenographer and book at you."
The SX version will be the volume seller and Citroen dealers can usually be relied upon to pull some sort of financial rabbit out of their hats to sweeten the deal yet further. On top of that, the Citroen is very well equipped. Clever safety-conscious electronic features have been borrowed from the larger C5 things such as speed-sensitive intermittent wipers with rain sensing activation, hazard lights that deploy automatically under severe braking as well as side airbags and comprehensive pedestrian safety features. The SX features such equipment as electric front windows, digital air-conditioning, remote central locking, anti-lock brakes and alloy wheels.
Opt for the Exclusive and it appears as if Citroen has covered the car with Bostik and driven it clean through the options list. Multiplex wiring sees to it that this C3 gets big car features like automatic rain sensing wipers and cruise control. Theres a refrigerated glove box to prevent your chocolate bars turning into astronaut food, an additional storage bin under the drivers
seat, electric heated and folding door mirrors and an anti theft alarm. Twin front and side airbags also feature.
The C3 Exclusives brakes deserve a special mention. Fitting the standard C3 disc and drum setup obviously wasnt going to wash with a car that was not only quicker but a fair bit heavier than the other models. Therefore the Exclusive gets some ventilated discs at the front and solid discs at the rear. This system is augmented not only by standard 4-channel anti-lock, but also electronic brakeforce distribution and Emergency Brake Assist.
Although some have groused about the plastics quality of the C3 interior, unless you routinely use your cars stereo display cover as a grab handle youll probably be able to live with it. The interior is also adventurously styled which makes a change from all the other makers who seem to be slavishly aping VW Group products. As a result, instead of a dull Teutonic cabin, weve got one that goes its own way, light and airy with low window lines and bold, sweeping curves. Rock-hard seating, coalhole colour schemes and a fetish for aluminium inserts have all been forsaken in the quest to provide a functional, non-threatening family car.
The dashboard has shades of toned-down
Fiat Multipla, the lovely silver-trimmed circular vents appearing to warp the fascia as they bust gently through atop a voluptuous pod housing the stereo and air conditioning controls. The digital instrumentation is clear and easy to read and has a
Saab-style black panel that turns all but the most important functions off if you dont want to be distracted by them at night. The rev counter that arches across the top of the digital speedometer is a classic Citroen design cue and one that fits well with the novel design philosophy. The innovation certainly doesnt stop there.
Citroens Moduboard system is a load bay dividing system that helps protect soft items from hard, clean from grubby and prevent bulky objects from racing across the load bay during spirited driving. The C3 HDi 16v is, at the time of writing, probably the best of all the diesel superminis. Theres a slow but growing realisation that small diesels are pretty much the new black, and as such Citroen finds itself handily placed. Given the pace of development however, its doubtful whether the opposition will stand still long enough for Citroen to really hit the sales mother lode with the C3, but thats through no fault of its own.
One suspects that Citroen arent the types to go lounging on the laurels.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Citroen C3 1.4 HDi 16V range
PRICES: £12,095-£12,795 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 4E-5E
CO2 EMISSIONS: 112g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 110mph / 0-60mph 11.5s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 53.3mpg / (extra urban) 76.3mpg / (combined) 65.7mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height 3850/1667/1519mm
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