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| Peugeot 107 Citroen C1 Complete The Triple Attack From Czechland |
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French City Cars Join Aygo In Toyota Orchestrated Blitz How Do You Differentiate Cars That Are Exactly The Same? Look Up The Nearest Dealer *** out of 5 When I first heard about the new joint venture factory in Czechia which makes city cars for Citroen, Toyota and Peugeot, an unworthy fantasy passed across the back of my mind. There would be three groups of assembly workers in the uniforms of their respective companies lurking near the production line. The Toyota workers would be dressed in samurai suits with kamikaze scarves and would swing into action when their allocation of cars came down the conveyor belt. Perfect little Aygos would be the result. They would run forever. When the Japanese had done their stuff, the Citroen workers, in blue overalls of course, looking a bit, well French - unshaven, dishevelled, with Gauloise fags dangling from their mouths, whingeing about the bosses and demanding extra holidays, would loaf into action. Little Citroen C1s would be the result and bits would be falling off as they came off the end of the line. By the time I thought of the Peugeot workers and the 107 the fantasy had expired, which is just as well, because all the cars produced at the new Kolin factory in Czechdom are more or less identical and produced by the maestros at Toyota. They are the same mechanically, with only superficial differences of styling in headlights, grilles and rear lights. There are a few choices. The Toyota Aygo won’t get a diesel motor until next year. The Citroen won’t have an automatic gearbox option, but its instruments glow in the dark. That’s it. Prices won’t differ much, although with its reputation for keen deals, Citroens are likely to be priced the most competitively. You will have to look carefully to make sure that lower prices are not driven by withholding kit. Citroen C1, Peugeot 107 In the last couple of weeks I’ve driven the Citroen C1 and the Peugeot 107, and like the Toyota Aygo, the quality of the interiors appears robust and well designed. The dashboard and controls are all in the right places. The knobs and switches for air conditioning and heating feel, well placed and well made. Hinged rear windows though argue that cost cutting was a high priority. There’s only one, big, windscreen wiper. The three cylinder 998 c.c. engines are on the noisy side, but not overly so. The cars don’t like hills too much, after all they only produce 67 bhp, and you will have to work the gears hard. It is just as well that the five-speed manual gearboxes are smooth and efficient. At around 30 mph in towns the little engine is very flexible – you can leave it in top gear and still get reasonable pickup; the three-cylinder engine produces plenty of power at low speeds. On motorways the car zips along at legal speeds well, and feels stable and secure. The speed-sensitive power steering makes tight parking spots simple to tackle. Over bumpy roads the suspension can be thumpy and harsh. Seats Don’t Support There’s plenty of room in the front, with a surprising amount of space in the back. There is plenty of cubbie space for sun-glasses, mobile phone, and bottles of water. The boot is tiny, but this is a tiny car. You can split the rear-seats 50-50 and fold them down. The hand-brake feels flimsy. The seats don’t support you very well in corners. Prices start at £6,495, or 9,700 euros. ABS brakes and electronic brake distribution (EBD) are standard, as are driver and front passenger airbags, power steering, tilt-adjustable steering, and two speaker radio with CD player. The audio system lets owners connect their MP3 players. Which one to buy? You won’t be able to distinguish any meaningful differences, so you might as well look at the map and find the nearest dealer. |
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Neil Winton – June 7, 2007
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