Citroen C3 Pluriel | Shed of the Week
Would you rather catch on fire than buy a C3 Pluriel? Perhaps Shed can convince you otherwise...
Shed has been faced with a difficult decision this week. Should he go with the postmistress’s suggestion that he should get a trendy new hairstyle from Tarik, an interesting new arrival on the village High St? Shed does like to support one-man operations, being one of them himself, and the price of £6.95 does seem more than fair for a flat top with a box fade. His main misgiving about thrusting some dosh into Tarik’s hand (the one he’s not using to hold his mobile) is that Mrs Shed might suspect something is going on or, worse still, start making advances in his direction.
We’ll let you know about any updates on Shed’s tonsorial front, not to mention the back and sides. In the meantime though, let’s consider the other tough choice Shed has had to make this week between a high-performance BMW or the car he’s inexplicably gone for, a low-mileage example of the Citroen Pluriel, one of the most reviled vehicles to go on general sale.
Citroen described the Pluriel as a car for all seasons. Scribblers trying to raise a laugh described it as a car for no reasons. So why has Shed picked it? Partially because we’ve never had one of them in here before. In fact, we haven’t had a Citroen of any sort in SOTW for a couple of years, and if you buy into the company’s rebranding the car in question wasn’t a proper Citroen anyway, it was a DS.
Mainly though, Shed has picked this Pluriel because he is an awkward old sod. In an effort to move with the times and to reduce his workload Shed borrowed Tarik’s mobile to give AI Search Assist a shot at it. He, she or it says that ‘the 2008 Citroen C3 Pluriel Côte d'Azur features a stylish design with a versatile roof that can be adjusted for different driving experiences, including a full convertible option. However, it has been noted for its lack of refinement in the interior and a somewhat dull driving experience.’ The Cote d’Azur model that came in with the ’08 Pluriel facelift (five years into the production run) brought extra dullness in the form of its 75hp 1.4 engine, rather than the 110hp 1.6 on offer in non-Cote d’Azur models.
In fairness, the 1.4 petrol was a sweet enough unit. It certainly wasn't as dull as the 70hp 1.4 HDi diesel that also joined the Pluriel range in ’08. Stair-dominating performance wasn’t high up on the list of must-haves for potential Pluriel purchasers anyway. More important was cosmetic twinklery which, on the Cote d’Azur, included aluminium-effect roof arches, bumper inserts and side strips, a metallic grille and different cabin upholstery.
It also had cruise control as standard, although the pics don’t show whether this car has the optional AC. Nor do they demonstrate the Pluriel’s full convertibility that was available by removing both roof arches in their entirety. As Shed knows from his own romantic experiences, dismantling the top half is simple enough as long as you follow the instructions and do everything in the right order. The mech for the insulated hood was thankfully free of complicated servos and hydraulics, requiring nothing more than old-fashioned electricity to retract it. When going fully topless, however, you had to be confident about the weather because whoever came up with this roof removal idea didn’t bother to come up with somewhere to store the parts. The best plan was to go on a drive with everything in its proper place and then, if the weather improved, do a Mat Watson and simply hurl the roof bits into a hedge for recovery at a later stage.
Unsurprisingly for a car whose main roof structure is held on with a few clips, Pluriels do rattle. If you think your German car has too many rattles, have a go in a Pluriel and you’ll feel a lot better about life.
The vendors tell us that this 39,000-mile Pluriel will come with a fresh MOT and a service. This is the sort of information that gets the attention of miserable skinflints like Shed. On a more base level, so does the Pluriel’s ability to morph into a kind of flatbed pickup by dropping not only the split-fold rear seats but also the tailgate. The postmistress’s feet would dangle out of the end if she laid herself straight but that’s not a position she often adopts.
If you would have preferred to read about the manual 330d, here it is - but you’ll have to write your own story about it. Shed is too busy thinking about getting a full Number 1 done and then blowing £1,995 on the Pluriel to bring a springtime breath of fresh air to his scabby old scalp.
I’d prefer the thrunge and interior of that 330d though. Think Matt Prior’s running a 330i eBay’d project to see if the E46 is ‘peak car’.
While all the reviewers were complaining that Citroen wasn t doing different or quirky cars they came out with this and the C2 with its Range Rover style tailgate you can sit on and sliding individual rear seats, and the reviewers did nothing but complain that they weren t precise driving tools. Can t win.
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