This week’s manufacturer news
INFINITI – Has released a sketch of a luxury electric vehicle which is due to be released in 2013. The sketch was shown during a ceremony held to mark the opening of the Infiniti Centre in Piccadilly, London.
OPEL – Has announced that a new compact car, with the working title of ‘Junior’, is to be produced in Eisenach. It is expected to be smaller than the Corsa.
Test car – Citroen C3 Picasso 1.6 litre HDI VTR+
The C3 Picasso has been on the roads now for quite a while but for one reason or another, this is the first time I have driven one. What a clever car it is.
It is one of those cars that quite simply gets forgotten about. When I provide comparisons between one model and another, the C3 Picasso isn’t even on the radar with me, and I fear this may be the case with many other people in the industry. Despite there being plenty of advertising and marketing on it, no one seems to talk about it and it has by-passed me as it has many others. It’s like a secret that a lot of people know, but no one talks about.
The C3 Picasso falls into a strange category as it does have plenty of fresh new competitors that are all very good. In terms of size, the C3 is 4,078mm in length compared to a Fiesta at 3,950mm and the Focus at 4,337mm. The latest addition to the multi-purpose crossover is the Countryman, measuring at 4,097mm, so the Picasso is only a tiny bit shorter. When you think of a C3 you automatically think that it is going to be small, and that is probably why the C3 Picasso is not getting the attention it deserves. By calling it a Picasso you would think that most people would recognise it as being a very functional car that is useful and practical, with a larger capacity to that of a B sector hatchback, but obviously not. The C3 Picasso had to be called something, but a C3 it certainly isn’t.
The car we had on test was the VTR+, the second trim level in the range. The full trim line-up is as follows: VT, VTR+, Airdream+ and top-of-the-range Exclusive. This test car was fitted with a 1.6 litre HDI 90hp diesel engine. The others available are the 1.4 litre and 1.6 litre petrol and the1.6 litre HDi 110hp diesel. We thought that the 90hp engine had enough power and it was quick off the mark. This engine felt quite lively and it was reasonably quiet and refined, but it should be, as PSA Citroen Peugeot has been producing small diesel engines for a very long time.
People generally don’t buy this type of car for its performance or handling; they buy them for a large amount of interior space in as short a car as possible, and this is where the C3 Picasso scores highly. Everything about the interior has been thought through by the designers and every square millimetre has a use. There is so much stowage in the car that it is easy to lose something. For a car with such a relatively short overall length, the amount of leg and headroom in the car is fantastic; you don’t feel cramped at all, regardless of where you sit. With the car having a high roof-line, head room is obviously generous and shoulder room is good too. Three normal-sized adults could feel very cosy sat in the rear together for a long time, but it is possible to fit them in. The boot area is the really intelligent aspect in this car, as the adjustable floor height has more than one advantage. When the floor is in the upper position and level with the rest of the floor space, there is room under the false floor to store the rear parcel shelf so you don’t need to leave it at home when you are carrying bulky items. The 60:40 split rear seats are so easy to operate and can fold completely flat using literally just one finger. Lift the handle, pull the backrest forward (the base moves forward automatically) and within five seconds you have a flat floor. When the rear seats are folded down, the C3 turns into a small van. This car is so practical and flexible.
The exterior design is not the prettiest I have seen, but at least it doesn’t look like a van with windows; it is much better than that. The design team do have to make compromises and to get the best use of space means that it has to look ‘boxy’, but they have managed to build in some styling cues that take the square look out of the styling. Unlike some ‘practical’ people carriers, you do not feel silly or embarrassed to be seen in a C3 Picasso.
The VTR+ has a long list of standard equipment including on-board computer, CD and MP3 player, fog lights and 16” alloy wheels.
Prices for the C3 Picasso start from £12,695 for a 1.4 litre VT. The car we tested costs £14,895 on the road.
First driving impressions Subaru WRX STI four door, West Yorkshire
The saloon body style is back in the Subaru high performance range.
The WRX STI is now a model range on its own and is no longer called the Impreza. It will simply be known as the Subaru WRX STI. The Impreza range will now consist of 1.5 litre petrol, 2.0 litre petrol and 2.0 litre diesel engines.
The re-introduction of the four door saloon is not an admission that the five door hasn’t worked, and initially there was resistance to the hatchback by dedicated Subaru owners, but over the past couple of years they have come round to the advantages of the more practical five door hot-hatch.
The new addition to the range will not go down the traditional lines of being offered with a large boot spoiler, gold wheels and stereotypical World Rally Blue paint. It is being sold as a more sophisticated car, which in my opinion has to be a good thing. Drivers of the old Impreza have often been stereotyped as less than courteous drivers, who have to drive at 90mph everywhere they go, and wake you up in the middle of the night. This is putting it mildly.
Subaru are positioning the new WRX as an aspirational, high performance, driver’s vehicle that will compete with the likes of the S3/S4, 1 and 3 Series M Sport, Golf R and Scirocco R and the Insignia VXR. There’s some tough competition in there.
This new car, like the five door, is powered by a 2.5 litre DOHC turbo boxer petrol engine that produces 300ps and goes from 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds. All of this power goes through Subaru’s Symmetrical AWD system, so brilliant road-holding and handling is guaranteed. The combined fuel consumption figure is 26.9 MPG and it has a not very green CO2 emissions figure of 243g/km.
Subaru has introduced a completely reworked spec C suspension system that has been tuned for European roads. High tensile steels have been used at key structural points and suspension mounting areas. Body roll has been minimised with more neutral handling response and a higher cornering capability. Major changes have also been made to suspension tuning including a lowered ride height.
When you read the press release and try and digest all the changes, the one thing that stands out is the fact that the handling has improved , which usually only means one thing, and that’s a really hard ride. A shudder went down my spine. Did I really want to drive this car? Would it shake out my teeth and would my back ever be the same again?
I was pleasantly surprised to find that you can actually drive the WRX STI for quite a distance and when you get out, you can actually walk. There were no aches or pains and you don’t need to take a couple of Ibuprofen afterwards. It goes like a hot-hatch, but is as comfortable as a regular saloon. How do they do that?
Prices for the four and five door are the same at £32,995 on the road including 12 months road fund licence at £425.
