Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

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Andy Beats
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by Andy Beats »

Muldoon wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 12:21 pm Agree Andy, the Polo does look more traditional but you could say classy and less likely to look dated in 3 years time.

I can see the new appeal of these C3 and C4 models in being more 'funky' but longer term I wouldn't trust reliability - one day that LCD screen heater control will go awol and leave you without any heating or ventilation cue a mega £ bill. I sat in a few when looking at new cars and the interior plastics seemed cheap and the gear change very vague and heavy.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, tis true.
Not sure where reliability is with Citroens these days, but I do know a couple of people who've had the DS3 for years with no trouble.
DS are seperate from Citroen these days though, they're like Lexus and Toyota.
SRGTD
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by SRGTD »

Andy Beats wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 12:38 pm
Muldoon wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 12:21 pm Agree Andy, the Polo does look more traditional but you could say classy and less likely to look dated in 3 years time.

I can see the new appeal of these C3 and C4 models in being more 'funky' but longer term I wouldn't trust reliability - one day that LCD screen heater control will go awol and leave you without any heating or ventilation cue a mega £ bill. I sat in a few when looking at new cars and the interior plastics seemed cheap and the gear change very vague and heavy.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, tis true.
Not sure where reliability is with Citroens these days, but I do know a couple of people who've had the DS3 for years with no trouble.
DS are seperate from Citroen these days though, they're like Lexus and Toyota.
Link to What Car’s 2018 brand reliability survey for cars 1 - 4 years old;

https://www.whatcar.com/news/most-and-l ... 9/n17913#1

VW; 17th, Citroen; 25th
Leif
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C4 Cactus

Post by Leif »

Andy Beats wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 11:02 am
Leif wrote: Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:09 am I honestly struggle to understand why someone would buy this rather than a Polo.
Looks, primarily.
The C3 is funky and modern, I really like the way it looks with the high up headlamps etc.
The Polo is staid and boring in comparison.
Clearly it is subjective, however a friend who has a BMW 5 series said my car looked sporty, and he nodded approvingly. I agree with him, it's stylish. The C3 - to my eyes - looks frumpy, old fashioned, a bit like a truck. Inside is okay, the plastics although hard are actually decent quality, some touches are nice such as metal door levers, but it's let down by the triumph of style over function. The door pulls look cheap (but probably more expensive to make than the Polo alternative) and remind me of a bus or a tube train. The speedo and other dials are horrible, hard to read and cheap looking, probably designed to be stylish but more Sinclair Spectrum than Habitat. The touchscreen is awful, very hard to navigate, hard to read, clunky, very poor useability. They've saved money by using the touchscreen to control the air-con, which is dangerous. I can adjust the Polo air con without taking my eyes off the road, not so the C3. Ergonomics are dreadful, I can't figure out how to do basic things, whereas the Polo is nice and logical. How do I change radio band? Took me ages to figure out. How do you zero the trip counter? Often I flash someone and leave my lights on high beam. Never done that with the Polo. What is the mpg value? Seems to be instantaneous or long term, but no indication which. Which gear am I in? No indication anywhere. And that gear lever, it is the floppiest I've ever seen, it's bizarre. Overall dreadful dreadful design.

Overall when you look closely the actual build quality is not bad at all, in fact quite nice and I could live with it ... but .... the ergonomics are absolutely appalling. Combine that with the weird frumpy styling (subjective I know) and it's a 3 out of 5 from me, and most reviewers seem to agree. But ... this car can be bought quite cheaply compared to the Polo, so there you go, it'll sell on its price alone.

It really is a shame, I am sure by improving the console dial graphics, and the touchscreen appearance and useability they would have a really nice car on their hands, well okay, a nice car for modest money.

I could also criticise the engine but this is a non turbo unit and the non turbo Polo is awful to drive, the car world's answer to brown rice.
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by monkeyhanger »

You can take those surveys with a pinch of salt - they're reliant on everyone responding to be taken seriously.

If you've got a £7k Dacia, your expectations for reliability and therefore your likelihood to complain are going to be lower than for someone who spent £40k on their Audi. Do we really think that Skodas are built any better than any other VAG group car brand? There's standard construction techniques across the group.

More tech means more things to go wrong, so a bare bones Kia Picanto will have a much higher reliability rating than a fully loaded Kia Sportage.

In any case, between the brand's, car tech employed is so similar and there's a huge overlap of suppliers. There's a steering column manufacturer in Gateshead that makes columns for Nissan (as expected for their close proximity to the Sunderland Nissan plant), Toyota, Vauxhall, Ford and Renault. You might find that 5% of the components of Your Polo are also shared with a Corolla.

There's not a huge magnitude between the best and the worst manufacturer like there used to be.

Personal experience of 9 VWs and an Audi bought new over the years is that I've had faults (2 new turbos, various minor interior trim faults, multiple visits for an ACC fault that turned out to be a discovered limitation of the system, and an oxygen sensor), but none that have left the car stranded at the roadside. They've all been pretty well equipped.
Andy Beats
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by Andy Beats »

I quite like a bit of style over function.
I'm not a long distance driver any more, I'm quite happy to have a bit of flair over everything being 'in the right place'
I like Minis because of this, l dare say the layout of those would drive some people mental.
I like the interior of my 'beats' because of the unusual trim and dash colouring.
The interior of a normal Polo is way too bland for me, it's like a care home day room.
Leif
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by Leif »

Andy Beats wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 1:56 pm I quite like a bit of style over function.
I'm not a long distance driver any more, I'm quite happy to have a bit of flair over everything being 'in the right place'
I like Minis because of this, l dare say the layout of those would drive some people mental.
I like the interior of my 'beats' because of the unusual trim and dash colouring.
The interior of a normal Polo is way too bland for me, it's like a care home day room.
So the Polo is ideal for most people here then? :shock:

Yes I hate the Mini interior, very toy town. The Polo interior is stylish but understated, not showy, sophisticated ... yeah, maybe for dull older people ... :mrgreen:
monkeyhanger
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by monkeyhanger »

We were considering the Mini as a replacement for the wife's A1 before I got the Polo GTI and gave her the Golf R. Instrumentation looks like Fisher price made it The awful layout of the RHD pedals shoehorned into the right half of the footwell nearly crippled my left knee operating the clutch on a 1/2 hour test drive.

There's nothing in the Polo GTI's price range (or cheaper) that I'd rather have than a Polo GTI except possibly a Seat Ibiza 1.5EVO FR if there'd been one available when we were looking.
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by stevereeves »

Andy Beats wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 12:38 pm Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, tis true.
Not sure where reliability is with Citroens these days, but I do know a couple of people who've had the DS3 for years with no trouble.
DS are seperate from Citroen these days though, they're like Lexus and Toyota.
I agree, I considered a C4 at one time as I liked it's looks but literally couldn't stand the 'Star Trek Enterprise The Next Generation' - style blue & red mess of dash & interior displays. Sheesh. I'm told the (BMW) Mini is a good car but I'm not keen, and it's quite big for a 'Mini', the original Mini concept was a small, funky & fun car that's 'big' in ways other than size. Not a fan of the C3 at all, but if folk like it, good for them. As a matter of interest, wonder what the delivery times are for Citroens, hmmm....
Andy Beats
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by Andy Beats »

I loved my Mini and would go back to one in a shot.
Just a shame I couldn't get within £50 a month of the Polo, and that was for a basic three door model Mini.
Andy Beats
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by Andy Beats »

stevereeves wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 3:35 pm As a matter of interest, wonder what the delivery times are for Citroens, hmmm....
If you're suggesting Citroens might be available 'off the peg', then my Polo was too.
No waiting, there it was in the showroom and had been for some weeks.
They had three, a silver, white and black one.
I assumed they'd all be gone, but mine was still there.
stevereeves
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by stevereeves »

I speak as I find, look at the area I live (!), and if peeps are able to obtain a new Polo (or any other car) quickly and are happy with it, then good luck to them. But after reading comments on the forum, and speaking to the dealer myself, regarding delivery times I admit my enthusiasm for a new Polo has dropped like a stone. This is a shame as by all accounts it's a great car and I liked the one I had as a 'loaner' for the day while my Golf was beings serviced. But a 20+ week wait for (what should be) a mass-produced hatchback, without loads of factory extras, no thanks. When my PCP agreement for my Golf ends a year early as always (though VW don't know this yet) mid-2019 I will look at Polos in the lead up, say 6 weeks or so. I can understand posters who have ordered their car and are willing to wait but I won't be waiting close to 6 months, maybe longer, when other cars are avaialble much quicker.....
Andy Beats
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by Andy Beats »

There's very few cars I'd wait any length of time for.
In fact....maybe none.

1. I'm not a patient person
2. While waiting, my attention will undoubtedly be drawn to something else
3. Cars are much of a muchness these days, so why wait for one over another?

I get that the C3 might be a step too far for some, it's quirky.
But the new Nissan Micra is every bit as good as the Polo in every way.
The Bose-edition Micra with 0.9 litre turbo petrol was on my list if I hadn't gone for the beats Polo.
No offence to anyone, but a non-beats Polo didn't interest me, far too boring for me exterior and interior - the beats edition adds some needed styling touches.
TBH, the fact I had my 10 year old with me made me do the deal on the Polo and get the hell out of there.
If I'd had more time, every chance I'd have compared the two cars in more detail and every chance I'd have gone for the Micra.
My last two cars have been Nissan (Leaf and Juke) and they were problem free.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I dislike the Polo at all.
I'm just saying every chance I'd have been just as happy, possibly happier, with the Micra.
So the hell with waiting specifically for a Polo.
Leif
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by Leif »

My local VW dealer had and still has a yard full of new unregistered Polos. Obviously you need to be happy with standard spec. or maybe with one or two options no of your choosing thrown in.

Regarding the Micra, it looks lovely, but the engine is less powerful, the boot is significantly smaller and I believe it lacks CarPlay and the Android equivalent. Also looks like a small touchscreen, though I've not used it so it could still be really good. Appealing otherwise.
Leif
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by Leif »

The door arrived today and with luck the car will be returned next Monday. LV reckon the other insurer will not admit full liability, so I said that if they don't I will complain to the Financial Ombudsman. Basically insurers have a tendency to agree 50 50 if one party does not accept full liability, as paying half the repair bill minus my £250 excess payment is cheaper than engaging in a legal dispute against the other party. LV might have almost nothing to pay. It's against the code of practice, but it happens. So I made it clear to LV that I am prepared to start a dispute if they do that, although I was careful not to put it in those terms, best keep them friendly. Hopefully that will encourage them to press the other party to 'do the decent thing'.

Given that the other car reversed into the side of my car, crossing over the lines in the centre of the road to do so, I reckon they are at fault. Hi ho. One can but wait and hope.
monkeyhanger
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Re: Today I am driving ... a Citroen C3

Post by monkeyhanger »

Everyone is avoiding admitting liability now, even in the face of condemning evidence by independent witness or dashcams footage. For my last 2 non-fault accidents (never had a fault accident), the culprit has played funny buggers. I wouldn't be without a front/rear dashcam now.
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