Category: City Cars 
Price Range: £9,845 to £14,145
Easy to drive, easy to own, good fuel consumption.
Price, hard ride, limited load-space, C2 now feels dated.
Sporty looks and excellent fuel economy are strong points, but it's not the best-value C2 in the range.
Citroen's C2 city car replaced the popular and much-modified Saxo back in 2003.
Besides competitively-priced and ultra cheap-to-run, 1.1i and 1.4 HDi versions, and the super-economical 1.4i 16v Stop&Start, there's the rather less good-value 1.4i, sported-up 1.4i 16v (120bhp), 1.6i 16v (110bhp with SensoDrive gearbox, 120bhp with proper manual 'box) and 125bhp 1.6i 16v VTS junior hot hatch - and this, the diesel-engined C2 1.6 HDI VTS.
The C2 HDi VTS is meant to be the money-saving hot hatch: all the styling details you'd want on a cheeky little runaround, but excellent fuel economy (64.2mpg), low emissions (119g/km, hence low tax) and relatively low insurance (Group 6E). It also has firmed-up suspension, an additional rear anti-roll bar, a faster steering rack and wider wheels to give the feeling of a more grown-up sports vehicle.
The HDi VTS comes with all the trimmings, too - 16" alloy wheels, a chrome-effect exhaust tailpipe, spoiler, body-coloured side rubbing strips and bumpers, aluminium-effect door handles, alloy pedals, front fog lights, tinted windows, rev counter, racy red-accented upholstery - plus a comprehensive specification including side airbags, stability control, alarm, air conditioning and a CD player.
It had better: it costs from £13,595, a price that'd get you something considerably bigger, faster and more accomplished. And the car we tested, with optional metallic paint, sat nav with CD autochanger and phone, rear parking sensors, automatic air conditioning, electrically heated/folding door mirrors and folding/sliding rear seats, would have totted up to nearly £16,500 - a big price for such a tiny car.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Citroen C2
wrote on 12 08 2006
wrote on 29 05 2006