My plan executed with some C4

[Clivey]

A Citroen C4 Coupe to be precise. January 2007 registered with only 8,000 miles on the clock. She's a VTR+ model with the 1.6HDi (110ps) engine.

More details will come later but I just wanna get some opinions on her. Unfortunately I've not had a very good opportunity to photo / clean her because of the British weather (wind and rain), early nights (it's getting dark at 15:30 here) and college.

Pic 1: The morning after the night I picked her up, on my way out of the house to college (camera phone)
Pics 2-5: Camera phone again, but at least it was dry. This was the first time I took her out because I had to do some Xmas shopping in Derby
Pic 6: Finally got a chance to wash her quickly yesterday (but not had the chance to wax or detail), noted a few things that need sorting-out (but that's always the case with used cars!)

[clutch-monkey]

nice! i'm only a little dissappointed thanks to the thread title...

[Suka]

I approve, i love the 3-door C4!!
I recommend you take a road trip to Essex over christmas!
Or a road trip now to Kent! LOL!

[Ferrer]

Nice car. I'm also going to join the diesel camp next week.

Congratulations.

[Lagonda]

Nice car. I'm also going to join the diesel camp next week.

Congratulations.

O really ? What are you getting ?

[henk4]

Nice car. I'm also going to join the diesel camp next week.

Congratulations.

so you spend 3 months in splendid isolation to prepare us for this shock?

Nice choice Clivey, and it is not too difficult to get about 130 BHP from that engine,,,,

[2ndclasscitizen]

Nice car mate.

Nice choice Clivey, and it is not too difficult to get about 130 BHP from that engine,,,,

Henk, you crazy tuner kid you.

[Clivey]

Firstly, thanks to everyone for their compliments and congratulations! And yeah, the thread title is a little "attention whore", but it worked. I did once consider whether I wanted to become a journalist (for a car magazine (or TV-show) of course!).

Nice car. I'm also going to join the diesel camp next week..

Shock horror! What happened Albert? Aren't you a die-hard hater of derv? In all honesty, the type of diesel engines you end-up testing will either turn you into a lover or a hater of them. Effortless torque FTW!

I recommend you take a road trip to Essex over christmas!
Or a road trip now to Kent! LOL!

At some point, us UK members are going to have to have a meet like the Aussies do. However what some Aussie and US members probably don't realise is that our road network isn't like theirs and it probably takes us twice as long to cover the same distance! Sometimes, living in "Ye Olde" country sucks.

ace car, a lot of character and charm! fantastic engine too, apparently a brilliant balance of power and economy.

Thanks, I was searching for this exact model at a price I could afford for a while...and there you were thinking I was a Vauxhall fanboy...!

Seriously though, a 60-litre / 13-gallon fuel tank is massive for a car this size - if I managed to match the official combined mpg (58.9) I could manage over 750 miles on a tank of diesel!!! So far though, I've only managed around 40mpg due to being stuck in urban traffic, doing many hill-starts and playing with the "overboost" function a couple of times. Also consider that I won't be fully used to the car and how to optimally drive it yet (the gearbox is very different to what I'm used to and it's so quiet that it's not easy to figure-out how many revs you should let the engine drop to for pootling around) and it all adds up to being quite promising.

Nice choice Clivey, and it is not too difficult to get about 130 BHP from that engine,,,,

I figured you'd like it! Isn't she the same colour as your C5 ("Oriental Blue")? One of the reasons I plumped for this engine is that I do intend at some point to chip it but I don't know which company offers the best product in the UK.

Congratulations on your purchase Clivey!
I love the C4 coupe!
Such a nice car!

Looking forward to seeing more pictures and how you like the car after you have used it for a while.

Cheers, once again - and I'm looking forward to the chance to take some more (and better) pictures of her! Already I'm noting things that I find good / bad about the car but I have to say that so far it's a hugely positive experience.

Next car, maybe you could try something else than blue?

Lol! Jokes aside, the colour of my cars have so far been pure coincidence. The Corsa was my Mum's car before it was mine (I would have chosen black at the time but now I like the blue equally, especially seeing as it's more unique), the Astra was my Grandad's (he chose the same colour as the Corsa without realising it) and the C4 is actually quite a bit darker.

As I said to Craig (jediali), I was searching for this exact model (VTR+ 1.6HDi 110ps) for a while before I found one within budget. The VTR+ adds a lot of goodies that make the car what it is - lesser models are IMO sort of like buying an XBox 360 Core before realising you need the HDD and wireless controller! (Not to be a snob but why buy a base-model when these can be found at this price?) I found this one on Citroen's UK website for £8,995 (£7,500 below RRP) with 8k miles on the clock, the next cheapest one was £10,995 and 6-months older with 11,500 miles on the clock and was 212 miles away in Edinburgh somewhere. Although it was in "Wicked Red" - a lovely colour.

I do however think that this colour is just as nice - pearl blue seems to really "work" on 3-door hatches IMO, and it's a change from the silver/grey/black that everybody seems to have (at least here)...Although you could hardly call be a "conformist" after buying this car!

I don't like how the speedometer is in the center and digital, other than that it looks like a great car. Congratulations

I used to loath centrally-mounted instrument binnacles, but I have to say that it kinda works on this car. The rev-counter is digital and mounted on the top of the steering wheel, along with the display for the lights. The central "pod" contains the current speed, warning lights, oil temp, fuel gauge, cruise control and speed limiter settings - and positioned where it is is actually beginning to grow on me because with this car's interior shape there's less of a distance to move your eyes to check your speed etc. - you can actually see it in your peripheral vision a lot of the time.

[jediali]

thread title is a little "attention whore",

we rarely get new cars so we will let you off.

At some point, us UK members are going to have to have a meet like the Aussies do. However what some Aussie and US members probably don't realise is that our road network isn't like theirs and it probably takes us twice as long to cover the same distance! Sometimes, living in "Ye Olde" country sucks.

Nobodys that local but I would be up for it regardless .

and there you were thinking I was a Vauxhall fanboy...!

You know way too much about cars to be a fanboy (besides I was as much an anti-fanboy of vauxhall, but i still want a shot of a vx220), besides Fleet has redefined fanboyism.

(the gearbox is very different to what I'm used to and it's so quiet that it's not easy to figure-out how many revs you should let the engine drop to for pootling around) and it all adds up to being quite promising.

I guess many other cars have that effect. My gearbox is silent (and engine at low-mid revs), i generally judge suitability of gearing/rpm on vibration changes and response i guess. Still being a diesel the rpm probably drops slower and you might get rpm jumping on clutch depression.

[Suka]

Once my Luego is finished just try and stop me driving all over the UK!
I can't wait.

[Clivey]

You know way too much about cars to be a fanboy (besides I was as much an anti-fanboy of vauxhall, but i still want a shot of a vx220), besides Fleet has redefined fanboyism.

Tut, tut, tut. I strongly dislike some Fords, but that doesn't stop me liking others. I practically hated the entire 1990's model range (bar the Puma), however now Ford look like they're getting back on track.

I guess many other cars have that effect. My gearbox is silent (and engine at low-mid revs), i generally judge suitability of gearing/rpm on vibration changes and response i guess.

Yep, this is one of them. You can barely hear the engine at low-mid revs without any of the other electrics on. Once you've switched on the climate control (it's not loud unless you're using the higher fan speeds or windscreen demister) and radio (even at minimum volume) you can't hear it at all. It becomes a game of letting your fingertips and ass decide when to change gear (judging by vibration frequency).

Still being a diesel the rpm probably drops slower and you might get rpm jumping on clutch depression.

Actually, modern diesels (especially the quicker ones) are not far off petrol engines when it comes to RPM rise and fall. TBH what you describe usually only happens with older engines.

Once my Luego is finished just try and stop me driving all over the UK!
I can't wait.

That's the spirit - but I've got a feeling you'll need a "daily driver" too lol!

mine is called "Bleu Mauritius" and is a nice metallic colour as long as the car is clean, which is rarely....

It's possibly the same colour as mine - just under a different name. I've had pearlescent blue cars before and they look fantastic. I took mine into the local Citroen dealership this morning and got the chance to compare it with a black VTS. The blue's easily as nice, if not more so.

My experience so far is that common rail diesels are brilliant, but lifeless and without passion.

You can't argue with the performance and fuel consumption that's for sure. But if you like cars diesel simple can't provide the thrill of reving the nuts of an engine just for the pleasure of doing so.

Oh I don't know...I like to think that mine sounds like a V8. It's actually a better engine than its petrol counterpart. The Mini sounds spookily V8-like at higher revs too. I don't favour petrol or diesel engines in general - it depends on the specific application and engines available.

You lot have a ways to catch up yet. I look forward to you guys one day meeting up. (but your shenadigans wont match ours )

Now that's tempting fate - we're a whole bunch of messed-up retards, you don't know where it's gonna end!

I guess its not your fault, but c'mon, I could drive south to north in a far shorter timeframe to north to south australia.

Haha, how long do you spend stuck in traffic? The UK is practically a carpark these days. Hell even cars aren't cars anymore - they're diesel generators to run our traffic avoiding SatNavs, speed camera detectors and the office equipment that we would otherwise only use once we'd actually got to where we need to be.

I can cruise doing 30mph in sixth with the Mini, will I be able to do that with the diesel?

6th gear at 30mph? What damage is that doing to the drivetrain? You won't be able to do that in the diesel - in Dad's Mini One D, 6th is only useable (I mean in the real world) at about 50mph. In mine, 3rd is useable (again, in the real world) at about 18mph, 4th at about 30 and 5th at about 40. Unless you're climbing.

[Ferrer]

6th gear at 30mph? What damage is that doing to the drivetrain? You won't be able to do that in the diesel - in Dad's Mini One D, 6th is only useable (I mean in the real world) at about 50mph. In mine, 3rd is useable (again, in the real world) at about 18mph, 4th at about 30 and 5th at about 40. Unless you're climbing.

I guess it's because of the short gearing. The downfall though is noise at motorway speeds, but I guess you can't have all. In the BMW 6th is only good at speeds above 100km/h (60mph).

It's funny that diesels are known for having low down torque and slow revving cars. When I drive realxingly I actually have to rev the BMW higher than the Mini because in the 118d between 1000-1500rpm there's nothing, whereas the I used to drive the Mini in this zone benefitting from the low down torque of the supercharged engine.

PS Oh and the 118d certainly doesn't sound like a V8, not even slightly...

[Waugh-terfall]

It becomes a game of letting your fingertips and ass decide when to change gear (judging by vibration frequency).

Are you sure you're not just driving on the lines?

[Ferrer]

Shock horror! What happened Albert? Aren't you a die-hard hater of derv? In all honesty, the type of diesel engines you end-up testing will either turn you into a lover or a hater of them. Effortless torque FTW!

Yes, this is the end of the world as we know it...

I this last few months I have test driven two diesels, one being the 2 litre from VAG and the other a 2 litre from BMW.

The VAG product was as I expected it, fast and frugal but harsh and noisy. Waiting at the lights you could really here the engine, which was quite annoying.

The BMW on other hand was amazing. Smooth and quiet and even faster than the Audi. Didn't have time to check on the fuel consumption though.

I'll deliver my definitive veredict this week, since it seems we are getting it on wednesday.

[Clivey]

The BMW on other hand was amazing. Smooth and quiet and even faster than the Audi. Didn't have time to check on the fuel consumption though.

I'll deliver my definitive veredict this week, since it seems we are getting it on wednesday.

Which BMW model is that?