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.
The C2 HDi VTS is well tricked-out for a city car and you can add plenty of gadgets and accessories, including a decent sat nav system with colour screen, Bluetooth phone kit, rear parking sensors (useful given that small rear window), heated/folding door mirrors and even leather upholstery, heated seats, rain-sensing wipers and automatic headlights. Take care: it could all add up to £20,000-plus...
A split/folding/sliding/removable rear seat giving up to 879 litres of load-space is only optional, however (a whopping £450, as part of the Convenience Pack) and practicality is limited without it. The space behind the rear seats is pretty small - just about big enough to carry two pairs of wellingtons and a small bag, for example - and short in length. The split-opening tailgate can be irritating to use at first, but is less fiddly when you get the hang of it.
Rear seat legroom's not bad, given the C2's compact overall dimensions, however - it's shorter than a Mini, but does offer as much room in the back. It's not as well-packaged as the newer - and cuter - C1, either, nor is it as refined to ride in, with notable intrusion from wind, tyre and road-noise.
The ride in the HDi VTS is choppy as well, the stiffened suspension jarring over poor road surfaces and jolting into potholes, with very little 'give' and irritating vibrations. All forgivable in a performance hatch, but less endearing in something this slow.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Citroen C2
wrote on 12 08 2006
wrote on 29 05 2006