Citroën C1 (rental car review)
October 22nd, 2007 by Tim Uden
I love French cars and after renting the Citroën C1, it is my new favourite. It is a small zippy city car that is also great on the open road.
I rented from Europcar on route de l’Anse Vata (across the road from the Super U Michel Ange supermarket) in Nouméa. The rental deal wan’t too bad for New Caledonia (4043F - AUD $53.57, EUR €33.88, GBP £23.64, USD $48.50 - a day), but unfortunately like most rental deals in New Caledonia it only includes 150km and the extra kilometres (24F - AUD 32c, EUR €0.20, GBP 14p, USD 29c - per km) are a killer. However New Caledonia has some very good long term rental deals that are worth considering if you’re here for a month or longer.
I initially decided on Europcar because I they had the cute Peugeot 107 that I had seen around town, and having a great experience with Peugeot in the past figured it would make a nice car for a day trip out into the countryside. But then I saw the Citroën C1 parked outside rental office I chose it over the Peugeot.
My opinion concerning French cars is that Renault are the more economical option (if a little boring), Peugeot have the best handling and performance and Citroën have the best design. Overall all French cars are nice, but I would probably chose between a Citroën or Peugeot if I were in the market for a new car.
The Citroën C1 looks small from the outside but it is quite spacious inside, like many European small cars; although the boot space is limited (but more than enough for my needs). It is easy to drive (an important consideration when you’re not used to driving on the right-hand side of the road), it has a smooth gearbox so changing gears feels very natural and all the controls are initive and easy to reach from the drivers’ seat.
A few unique design features include an all-glass rear hatch and a single large front windscreen wiper.
It also has an AUX socket right on the dash so you can plug in an MP3 player or GPS unit without messing around with those FM transmitter things. It seems like such a small thing - it would only add a dollar to the production cost - but it makes a big difference especially if you want to listen to your own music.
The only thing I would have liked is a tachometer, but perhaps this is an option on a more expensive model.
The car handles really well. Nice and zippy around Nouméa but it also runs well when you put the foot down on the tollway north of the city.
Would I rent a Citroën C1 again? Absolutely. I would even consider buying one.
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