05-21-2003, 08:01 PM
Trouvé sur AutoExpress.co.uk
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At Full Chat
Ladies and gentlemen, the Cars of the Year 2003 is... the Citroen C3 Pluriel. No, that's not a misprint. That's simply me trying to explain that Pluriel is not a car, it's several cars. It's not one model costing £11,995, it's five for precisely £2,399 each. Confused? Read on and allow me to explain further.
The new offering from the French firm is the most imaginative, best value and ambitious vehicle of the year so far. Whether it eventually proves good enough to be hailed as the Car of the Year is debatable because there's still another seven months of competition to come. But as we approach the half-way stage of 2003, the Pluriel gets my vote.
Admittedly, the 75bhp 1.4-litre engine in the standard, sub-£12,000 entry-level model and the 110bhp 1.6 powerplant in the £13,600 top-of-the-range version are both a bit lifeless. Citroen has, for the time being, not even attempted a truly sporty Pluriel. And that's a wise decision because this cheeky fashion statement on wheels is not about power. It's to do with bodywork, canvas roofs, styling, image, price, opening new markets and teaching worried rivals a thing or five about clever, innovative car design.
Anyone who complains that this inexpensive little Citroen lacks grunt completely misses the point. Performance is not its purpose, but fun and grabbing people's attention are. You don't drive it, you wear it. It's by far the finest piece of accessible automotive jewellery since the considerably more expensive 206 CC from sister company Peugeot. By its very nature, a car with the look-at-me qualities of the Pluriel needs to travel fairly slowly. So there's no need for lots of power and a thrilling ride. All this leads to added bonuses. Those small engines allow kids to afford Pluriels, as do low insurance premiums (starting at group four) and 40mpg fuel consumption.
Sun-seeking holidaymakers on tight budgets will hire the car and it will give the young-at-heart a second lease of life. Even die-hard 2CV fans will approve of the Pluriel and its attractive price. It's no exaggeration to call it a normal four-seater supermini which transforms itself either into a car with a full-length sunroof, a 'cabriolet' (Citroen's confident choice of word, not mine), a full-blown convertible and, finally, a two-seater pick-up. Like I said, the Pluriel is the Cars of the Year. So far.
The intriguing and equally good value Mazda RX-8 is still to come, as are other contenders, including the Chrysler Crossfire and Nissan 350Z. But ironically, it's the Citroen Saxo replacement, the C2, which might give the Pluriel the closest run for its money. Here's yet another all-new supermini, which Citroen dared to unveil to journalists while they were driving the Pluriel. It's as wide as the C3, nearly as long, and has similar head and elbow room. It will inevitably cost much less and should have an even lower insurance rating. So good are the Pluriel and, at first glance, the C2, that the firm needs to be careful that the recently launched standard C3 isn't forgotten. There's a danger it could be left out in the cold. Slow down Citroen, slow down.
Mike Rutherford
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Je vais finir par m'expatrier
Citroën innove et a trouvé un concept intéressant avec un style plus que séduisant, et tout ce qu'auto+ ou l'AJ trouvent à dire sur la C3 Pluriel c'est que ça tient pas la route comme une berline et qu'y a pas de plastiques mous <!--emo&
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