RE: Shed of the Week: Citroen C2 VTS
Discussion
meehaja said:
having lusted after a 106 rallye, I was really excited by the C2 GT... it was exactly what i was looking for and would be a perfect replacement for my 1994 fiesta 1.6zetecS. ordered a brochure, booked an appointment at the dealers and came away so under whelmed. I tried the VTS as well, but it was just so meh that i bought a mk4 golf instead!
Wow it was that bad! 
Performance GTI magazine used my Saxo VTS, which itself was one of the last sold in the UK, for a comparison with the just launched C2 VTS at Bruntingthorpe.
THe C2 may have had a few faults and of course did not capture the buying publics imagination in anywhere near the same way, but to say it was a bad handling car is just wrong.
I was very, very impressed by how the press car went round the track that day.
THe C2 may have had a few faults and of course did not capture the buying publics imagination in anywhere near the same way, but to say it was a bad handling car is just wrong.
I was very, very impressed by how the press car went round the track that day.
goes back to looking for 106 GTIs that don't have broken rear beams, rusty boot floors and rusty front chassis legs...f1nn said:
Performance GTI magazine used my Saxo VTS, which itself was one of the last sold in the UK, for a comparison with the just launched C2 VTS at Bruntingthorpe.
THe C2 may have had a few faults and of course did not capture the buying publics imagination in anywhere near the same way, but to say it was a bad handling car is just wrong.
I was very, very impressed by how the press car went round the track that day.
Actually you're right. I've an old Autocar test from 2004 where they took a selection of affordable drivers cars to the Curborough Sprint track. On that tight little circuit, the VTS went round just 0.2 secs slower than a 170 BHP Mini Cooper S, despite giving away 50 BHP, so it clearly handles fairly well! There was also an old TG programme I recall where Clarkson raced one in a Fiesta ST150 and again, despite a handy 30 BHP power advantage, the ST only just won.THe C2 may have had a few faults and of course did not capture the buying publics imagination in anywhere near the same way, but to say it was a bad handling car is just wrong.
I was very, very impressed by how the press car went round the track that day.
Reading through the comments on here does demonstrate the typical reluctance on PH to consider something different these days. It seems if a SOTY isn't an E39 5 Series BMW or some kind of VAG hot hatch, people are totally dismissive!
jonpeck said:
Not bad cars. Very tinny and lacklustre. And the interiors are poor. Drinks like a fish as Well.
So not bad, but bad.As mentioned these things handled very well. I think you could surprise a few on a twisty back road. For me mainly the looks let it down
Edited by thiscocks on Saturday 23 December 09:06
Edited by thiscocks on Saturday 23 December 09:08
the worst part about the whole experience was deciding to spend £5k on a mk4 golf and be sensible rather than spending £5k on a mk2 escort... that golf taught me that every car i own from that point on has to be interesting in some way!
And yeah, 1.6Si, good spot, I get mixed up as I had an Si, a zetec S and a 1600S in quick succession!
And yeah, 1.6Si, good spot, I get mixed up as I had an Si, a zetec S and a 1600S in quick succession!
greenarrow said:
f1nn said:
Performance GTI magazine used my Saxo VTS, which itself was one of the last sold in the UK, for a comparison with the just launched C2 VTS at Bruntingthorpe.
THe C2 may have had a few faults and of course did not capture the buying publics imagination in anywhere near the same way, but to say it was a bad handling car is just wrong.
I was very, very impressed by how the press car went round the track that day.
Actually you're right. I've an old Autocar test from 2004 where they took a selection of affordable drivers cars to the Curborough Sprint track. On that tight little circuit, the VTS went round just 0.2 secs slower than a 170 BHP Mini Cooper S, despite giving away 50 BHP, so it clearly handles fairly well! There was also an old TG programme I recall where Clarkson raced one in a Fiesta ST150 and again, despite a handy 30 BHP power advantage, the ST only just won.THe C2 may have had a few faults and of course did not capture the buying publics imagination in anywhere near the same way, but to say it was a bad handling car is just wrong.
I was very, very impressed by how the press car went round the track that day.
Reading through the comments on here does demonstrate the typical reluctance on PH to consider something different these days. It seems if a SOTY isn't an E39 5 Series BMW or some kind of VAG hot hatch, people are totally dismissive!
Performance/handling seems the same as an early SSS so it's maybe build/image that put people off really
Test drove one of these with a view to replacing my Saxo VTR with one a number of years ago.
Didn't seem quite as awful as some are making out, but left feeling fairly uninspired by it and certainly not willing to pay the £6k it was up for at the time.
Even at shed price I could think of better choices. I think I'd prefer another Saxo actually...
Didn't seem quite as awful as some are making out, but left feeling fairly uninspired by it and certainly not willing to pay the £6k it was up for at the time.
Even at shed price I could think of better choices. I think I'd prefer another Saxo actually...
Not surprised the C2 has taken a bashing here. After all, it's French and cheap.
I had a C2 VTS Code for around 8 months of this year. Bought it on a bit of a whim for a bit of fun. Suited my needs at the time and was pleasently surprised.
The Code is the top of the range. Tan leather interior, air con, cruise control, heated seats, folding mirrors etc. Not the usual sort of stuff you find in a budget hatch.
The 1.6 16v engine is nice enough although does feel like it lacks grunt in the Citroen.. odd as Peugeot managed to make the same engine feel great in the 206. Even the older Saxo VTS felt better than the C2. The map feels all wrong with poor throttle response although maybe that's due to the fly by wire throttle. Still, it's quick enough and if you keep it on the boil, it flys down a straight.
It's an excellent steer as well being very light. It always held on in the corners with very little understeer. I'm sure the Michelin pilot sports that it came with from the factory helped here.
The quality of the interior was.probanly my biggest let down. The code is a lovely place to be in to be fair, but the rattles... Oh, the rattles... Drive over a twig in the road and the tailgate would bounce around or a panel would vibrate. I removed the parcel shelf in mine after a day of ownership due to it constantly rattling, even on smooth roads. The stiffer suspension in the Code didn't help here but still, the rattling drove me insane.
Literally didn't have a single problem with my code whilst I owned it. It was a great car and j would buy another. Sold it as I wanted something bigger.
I'm no Citroen fan at all but the C2 surprised me.
I had a C2 VTS Code for around 8 months of this year. Bought it on a bit of a whim for a bit of fun. Suited my needs at the time and was pleasently surprised.
The Code is the top of the range. Tan leather interior, air con, cruise control, heated seats, folding mirrors etc. Not the usual sort of stuff you find in a budget hatch.
The 1.6 16v engine is nice enough although does feel like it lacks grunt in the Citroen.. odd as Peugeot managed to make the same engine feel great in the 206. Even the older Saxo VTS felt better than the C2. The map feels all wrong with poor throttle response although maybe that's due to the fly by wire throttle. Still, it's quick enough and if you keep it on the boil, it flys down a straight.
It's an excellent steer as well being very light. It always held on in the corners with very little understeer. I'm sure the Michelin pilot sports that it came with from the factory helped here.
The quality of the interior was.probanly my biggest let down. The code is a lovely place to be in to be fair, but the rattles... Oh, the rattles... Drive over a twig in the road and the tailgate would bounce around or a panel would vibrate. I removed the parcel shelf in mine after a day of ownership due to it constantly rattling, even on smooth roads. The stiffer suspension in the Code didn't help here but still, the rattling drove me insane.
Literally didn't have a single problem with my code whilst I owned it. It was a great car and j would buy another. Sold it as I wanted something bigger.
I'm no Citroen fan at all but the C2 surprised me.
MysteryLemon said:
Not surprised the C2 has taken a bashing here. After all, it's French and cheap.
I had a C2 VTS Code for around 8 months of this year. Bought it on a bit of a whim for a bit of fun. Suited my needs at the time and was pleasently surprised.
The Code is the top of the range. Tan leather interior, air con, cruise control, heated seats, folding mirrors etc. Not the usual sort of stuff you find in a budget hatch.
The 1.6 16v engine is nice enough although does feel like it lacks grunt in the Citroen.. odd as Peugeot managed to make the same engine feel great in the 206. Even the older Saxo VTS felt better than the C2. The map feels all wrong with poor throttle response although maybe that's due to the fly by wire throttle. Still, it's quick enough and if you keep it on the boil, it flys down a straight.
It's an excellent steer as well being very light. It always held on in the corners with very little understeer. I'm sure the Michelin pilot sports that it came with from the factory helped here.
The quality of the interior was.probanly my biggest let down. The code is a lovely place to be in to be fair, but the rattles... Oh, the rattles... Drive over a twig in the road and the tailgate would bounce around or a panel would vibrate. I removed the parcel shelf in mine after a day of ownership due to it constantly rattling, even on smooth roads. The stiffer suspension in the Code didn't help here but still, the rattling drove me insane.
Literally didn't have a single problem with my code whilst I owned it. It was a great car and j would buy another. Sold it as I wanted something bigger.
I'm no Citroen fan at all but the C2 surprised me.
I did try one after I was offered a test drive by the local dealer - had my Saxo VTS new from them and the C2 was launched just as I was thinking of changing I had a C2 VTS Code for around 8 months of this year. Bought it on a bit of a whim for a bit of fun. Suited my needs at the time and was pleasently surprised.
The Code is the top of the range. Tan leather interior, air con, cruise control, heated seats, folding mirrors etc. Not the usual sort of stuff you find in a budget hatch.
The 1.6 16v engine is nice enough although does feel like it lacks grunt in the Citroen.. odd as Peugeot managed to make the same engine feel great in the 206. Even the older Saxo VTS felt better than the C2. The map feels all wrong with poor throttle response although maybe that's due to the fly by wire throttle. Still, it's quick enough and if you keep it on the boil, it flys down a straight.
It's an excellent steer as well being very light. It always held on in the corners with very little understeer. I'm sure the Michelin pilot sports that it came with from the factory helped here.
The quality of the interior was.probanly my biggest let down. The code is a lovely place to be in to be fair, but the rattles... Oh, the rattles... Drive over a twig in the road and the tailgate would bounce around or a panel would vibrate. I removed the parcel shelf in mine after a day of ownership due to it constantly rattling, even on smooth roads. The stiffer suspension in the Code didn't help here but still, the rattling drove me insane.
Literally didn't have a single problem with my code whilst I owned it. It was a great car and j would buy another. Sold it as I wanted something bigger.
I'm no Citroen fan at all but the C2 surprised me.
As said, the C2 weighed about 100kg more than the Saxo and just didn't seem to have as keen a response. The C2 felt a bit more 'planted' with the extra rubber over what I had on my Saxo. My local dealer, DC Cook who became Churchbridge, were very free and easy with their test drives ( even before I'd bought a car from them ) so got to have a pretty good drive of the car. Everything seemed blunted compared to the Saxo, particularly the steering.
Then again, the Saxo was pretty quick for its power, a car that was just right from the factory
I had the misfortune of driving an ex neighbours one for maybe 100 miles some years ago. It was upper garbage. No noticeable better performance than the Saxo VTR I had some years before then. The Saxo was far more of a laugh, and unlike this it looked 'right'. A major clanger by Citroen.
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