Citroen C8 Test drive since 2002 Minivan

Cosmopolitan

I do not think that there is another car that wears four names and has two citizenships. Yes, yes - in the world of cars, as in the world of people, this happens. With technology, even easier - no nit -picking and questions from the police. The name of the Unicum Citroen C8. It can be presented as the Peugeot 807, to impersonate the fiat-wool and even hide under the female name of the Lyanch Federal District.
Spy passions have nothing to do with it. The secret is simple - four famous companies decided to jointly produce, in fact, the same model on the basis of the same units, but each under its own name, with its own signature sign and its own fantasies in the elements of the finishes and trim levels.
In the cabin at the table
Citroen C8, whose leather steering wheel lies so nice in my hands and is so obedient, boasts one of the richest sets in the Russian market. With a beige leather salon, climatic installation, ABS, windows and electric mirrors, front seats heated, three hatches in the roof and alloy wheels are offered for 35 thousand dollars. The only thing that may not have enough car to become truly irresistible in the eyes of a picky Russian public is a three -liter engine. But with a 2-liter, more economical and, in my opinion, rational engine, the eighth has enviable dynamics and renunciation. The price of an additional liter of working volume will be about four thousand dollars.
It is important not only to be able to count money, but also to competently dispose of it. Buying C8 is a competent investment. And not only because this is a new model, behind which the future (in it, please note, the manufacturers of four brands believe at once). And also because it is not just a car. Not even a room or space on wheels, which can be discussed with such impressive sizes. In the C8 cabin, it seems, they took care of everything, predicting the slightest desire of those who set off.
As if by a wave of a magic wand, the rear sliding doors open by pressing the button on the ignition key. You can also control them from the place of the driver - the toggle switches are located on the ceiling at the lighting plafonet - or from the place of the rear passenger, the remote control for which is placed in the middle body rack. Doors are also closed without visible human intervention - you just need to press the button.
The swing front doors are not so original, they do not have an electric drive. It is expected that in the next generation C8 they will also be electric and move forward.
But something stomping at the threshold, look inside. Five comfortable leather chairs in the standard, two more in the third row - for an additional fee. The driver’s and front passenger is widely defended from each other. There is nothing on the polish between them - not the usual gearbox lever (it is put to the central console), nor the hand brake handle, which took an unusual place to the left of the driver. But after all, the handbrake will not change the place of residence permit, breaking the driver’s habits that have been established for decades for decades. What is the matter?
And the fact that the front seats can, pulling the lever under the back, easily turn face to passengers sitting from behind. The central seat of the rear row (medium in the case of a three -row layout) with a folded back rolled forward: a convenient table with the cup holders is ready. And four travelers have a leisurely conversation, sipping ice juice or water taken from a three -liter refrigerator under the front panel. Or, having laid out the map, they discuss the route for tomorrow, or share the impressions of the day out. A handbrake or lever of gearbox sticking out of the floor would not allow this to do this. By the way, about the handbrake, which in the upper position should interfere with the driver’s landing and ease. The designers also provided for this. From the top position, the parking brake handle without pressure on the button fuse simply drops down. If the car needs to be removed from the handbrake, then the driver lifts it to the upper position and then, drowning the button, lowers it, as in the usual European machines.
Nevertheless, the handbrake under the left hand is unusual. Probably more appropriate was the use of an electrical circuit for turning the parking brake with a button placed to the central console. But the designers, as they say, are more visible.
In place of the driver
The arched arch above the front panel is a non -standard architectural solution, which is repeated on Peugeot, Fiat and Lyanche. On the one hand, it organizes space in a new way, on the other, it serves as an amplifying element of the body. Devices are concentrated in two places. Three dials - speed, tachometer and signs of fuel supply and coolant temperature - in the very center under the arch. Under the switch devices - the display of the on -board computer. And here is the counter of the general and daily run over the steering column. A block of control lamps is located here. The driver, not being distracted from the road, will immediately notice a warning, because the control devices literally at hand.
The windshield with an area of \u200b\u200btwo square meters with the support of three transparent hatches in the roof fills the salon with light, and creates a wonderful review to the driver. The car provided for the test was equipped with automatic turning on the headlights when reducing light and wipers in the case of rain or snow. And of course, parking sensors, already familiar in large cars. Not riding, but simply pleasure.
Milighing on the front console, the gearbox lever still forces to reach out to him. The position is saved by the adjustable armrest built into the side of the chair, which allows to relax the elbow joint. C8 is controlled easily. Not a small car, but clearly and quickly reacts to the movement of the steering wheel, not allowing strong rolls in corners. That is, it behaves naturally, as if he had traveled through the Moscow streets all his life, leaving long black cars flying into the oncoming lane, going around the hole that arose after the winter in the asphalt. A good noise insulation of the salon separates you from the street fuss, and the motor is almost inaudible. Even the rain that began was knocking, it seems, in someone else's glass.
Features of Russian choice
Everyone is good for C8. This is a car for long -distance travels, and a ready -made mobile office for a business person, especially for those who travel with a driver. But not everyone is being decided to buy mini-wen. Too still developed in the Russians his own ego. Having earned enough money, they already think not so much about the amenities for the family and loved ones as about the attitude to themselves in society. So functionality is replaced by prestige, which, I note, is very conditional. Perhaps Citroen C8 will break the prevailing stereotypes.

Brief data
Citroeon C8
The mini-van Citroen C8 debuted at the Motor Show in Geneva in 2002 and became the successor to the 1994 Evazion model. Like the predecessor, it is produced together with Peugeot, Fiat and Lyanchi.
The car is assembled at the new Sevelnord factory near Valancienne (France). A five-door body can be five- or eight. C8 is equipped with 2.0 liter gasoline engines - 136 liters. p., 2.2 l - 158 l. p., 3.0 l - 204 l. With. or diesels 2.0 HDI - 109 l. With. and 2.2 HDI - 128 l. With.
There are options with mechanical and automatic gearboxes. Cars with a 3.0 -l engines are equipped only with an automatic transmission.
In Russia, it has been sold since December 2002. Price - from $ 28,200.

Block of switch devices: tachometer, speedometer, coolant temperature indicators and fuel supply.

On the front panel, the devices are concentrated in two places - in the center and above the steering column.

A pleasant feature of Citroen -C8 is a spacious transformable interior. Curtains
on the lateral glass you can lower, and the front seats - expand back in advance.

SUMMARY
+ Elegant appearance, spacious transformable interior, good dynamics and handling.
- The unusual arrangement of the hand brake, the large moves of the gearbox lever.

EQUIPMENT
Abs
Stabilization system
Side airbags
Climate control
Adjustable steering column
Fog lights
Audiosystem
Full -size spare wheel
Vladimir Solovyov. Photo: George Sadkov

Source: The magazine "Driving"