Hire cars I have known

"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse)
04/20/2016 at 18:11 • Filed to: Citroen, C3, Picasso, Puncture repair kit

I’ve been in that country where they serve coffee like this:

Or Italy, as we usually call it.

I had this for a week, except that it was rudely interrupted.

A Citroen C3 Picasso.

It came with this, the ETG6 automated manual gearbox.

Which in turn could be commanded by a pair of flappy paddles, not that I ever bothered:

I was somewhat surprised to find myself with a C3, having ordered a Fiat 500 or Equivalent but obviously this was an Equivalent.

The Equivalent came with a 1.6 diesel, something which would probably cause an American to assume that it could hardly move unaided as it was like something you might find in a lawnmower.

It went just fine. Not as quiet as I’d have liked under acceleration but enough go to keep up with traffic. The diesel engine had its shortcomings though. Once past about 1500 revs you get a decent slug of torque and the car feels really rather brisk but then by about 3500 it’s gone and you’re left with noise.

The automated gearbox is a thing that many people hate, particularly those who have never driven one. Most of the time it was just fine. Changes are a little on slow side and as it’s essentially a manual box power is interrupted during gearchanges which gives an odd feeling that the car has suddenly run into a headwind. I was slightly surprised to find “6" appearing on the dash display once I was outside town.

A small diesel must be very easy on fuel, right? Not as much as I had hoped for in fact. Average per the computer was 5.8 l/100 km or about 50 mpg (Imp). In comparison the petrol Fiat 500 that I had last year was slightly better while my father’s 1.6 diesel Focus will do 70 mpg on a long run.

In order to keep the CO2 levels down (everything seems to revolve around this in modern car design and we’ll return to this) the Equivalent had stop/start. Come to a halt and keep your foot on the brake and the engine stops. Release the brake and it starts. It does this so smoothly that I didn’t know I had it for the first day. Having become aware of it I noticed how aggressively it operates, stopping the engine whenever you stop even for a second. Oddly and in contrast to a manual car it doesn’t operate in neutral. Stop the car and engage N and the engine promptly starts again.

Toys aren’t terribly numerous but you get automatic lights and wipers, automatic air con and Bluetooth. In a nod to the DS and its steering headlights it has cornering lights.

And now the downside. The Equivalent has four wheels. One at each corner and no more, so no spare. Back to that CO2 you see, less weight. Naturally I drove over a large stone. Naturally a tyre blew out so I pulled over. And found this.

This is not a spare wheel. By no stretch of the imagination is it a spare. It’s a puncture repair kit. According to the pictograms (no text because the Equivalent is sold in many countries) you turn the switch which you can see in the bottom left corner to the left, haul out the silver pipe you can see running along the edge of the unit and attach it to the valve on the tyre. Then plug the unit into the 12v socket and switch on to apply sealing gunk to the tyre. The gunk sprayed out just as fast as it was pumped in so the next step is to put the whole lot back and walk until a phone signal appears followed by lengthy discussions with various Italians equipped with dodgy English, a tow truck, two days without a car and a two hour taxi ride.

So there you have it. Quite a reasonable car specified by somebody who could usefully be beaten to within an inch of his life by a puncture repair kit.

DISCUSSION (13)

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Cé hé sin
04/20/2016 at 18:13

That is not enought coffee, even though it is espresso.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Cé hé sin
04/20/2016 at 19:11

You could have just kept driving...

AuthiCooper1300 > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
04/20/2016 at 19:13

It’s called a ristretto, which could be rather freely translated as “shortened”. Usually around half the volume of an espresso (but with the same amount of coffee).

The one in the picture seems to have even less, but I think it is due to some kind of optical illusion.

Nauraushaun > Cé hé sin
04/20/2016 at 23:46

I like the C4 Picassos quite a lot, I didn’t know there was a C3. Not as nice IMO

Cé hé sin > AuthiCooper1300
04/21/2016 at 04:40

It was sold as a caffè italiana though. I’ve never seen more than that in an Italian espresso. The mind boggles as to what a ristretto would be.

Cé hé sin > Nauraushaun
04/21/2016 at 04:42

It’s not a big seller especially since the C4 Cactus (which is actually based on the C3) came out.

AuthiCooper1300 > Cé hé sin
04/21/2016 at 07:09

I don’t remember ever seeing in Italy such a small amount for an espresso! Granted, I am more into tea, but my partner used to drink coffee as a fish so I believe I can recognise the differences.

I still think the picture makes the amount of coffee look somewhat smaller than it actually is. In any case, for a description of the different kinds of coffee serving, in Italian, by Italians and with pictures... follow this link:

http://www.s-caffe.com/it/home/cultur…

An espresso is 25 mls; a ristretto , 15 mls, according to them.

Legend has it that in the late 50s there was a sudden spike in the international market of coffee beans and for a couple of weeks Italy was mostly coffee-less.

Allegedly the whole country ground to a halt.

Back to your original subject, do you think other versions (or in different markets) C3 Picassos do come with some kind of spare, most likely a spacesaver? the spare wheel well looks awfully small but id does have the correct shape.

Nauraushaun > Cé hé sin
04/21/2016 at 08:04

When was the last time a French car was a big seller? French cars have their own little thing going.

Cé hé sin > AuthiCooper1300
04/21/2016 at 09:30

I was thinking about that as it’s round and roughly wheel sized but I’m not sure. If you allow for some foam around the wheel you’d be hard pressed to get one in there. There are various indentations and shapes on the foam which are intended to hold something (jack? wheelbrace?) but as it stands it won’t take a wheel.

Cé hé sin > Nauraushaun
04/21/2016 at 09:36

Depends where you are. I just looked up the 2015 figures for the Netherlands. Peugeot are no 2 and Renault no 3 for 2015. The Peugeot 308 was the individual best-seller for 2015 with the Clio at no 3.

Other countries, not so much.

AuthiCooper1300 > Cé hé sin
04/21/2016 at 10:03

Well, I found this video which seems to suggest that at least some versions have a spacesaver spare:

I find it difficult to believe that they have two different pressings for the boot floor, depending on whether it is supposed to have a spacesaver or not; who knows. Obviously that foam part is just for the version with compressor, sealant and other bits.

The idea of just supplying a temporary fix for a puncture is absolutely crazy. Particularly in Southern Europe, where more often than not some streets and secondary roads have deep potholes that can damage the tyre or even the wheel itself.

Cé hé sin > AuthiCooper1300
04/21/2016 at 10:14

Ah, I see the pressing is deeper than I thought and so the wheel could go under the foam. That car’s a Picasso too.

Nauraushaun > Cé hé sin
04/21/2016 at 18:27

I have to admit, I’ve no idea how cars like that sell in Europe.