Test Drive Citroen C8 since 2002 Minivan

Citroen C8: Great Traveler

What should be minivan? As a rule, all buyers of these class cars on this question are responsible approximately the same: minivan must be roomy, practical, functional. About beauty Usually speeches does not go - in fact, this is not a sports coupe. But the PSA concern, apparently, looks at such things, because their minivans, in particular Citroen C8, are impressive primarily with a spectacular appearance. Although practicality and functionality is also at the height ...
Citroen C8, Peugeot 807, Fiat Ulysse, Lancia Phedra - all this, in fact, the same car. Front-wheel-water five-door five-eight-month minivan, offered with four- and six-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines, automatic or mechanical transmission. The difference between all these four models is very insignificant: some differences in the decor, as well as original interior details. In everything else, starting from the platform and ending with glazing, it is completely identical to each other cars.
What's the secret? And this is not a secret at all, it is the result of the partnership between the two major concerns. After all, full-sized minivans, at least in Europe, is not the most profitable market sector, so many companies in the desire to reduce the costs of development, testing and production of the new model unite their efforts. In this case, the partners were French and Italians.
From the French side, the PSA concern, which includes the brands of Peugeot and Citroen, and the Italian team is a Fiat concern, under the auspices of which the Lancia brand is located. Companies united their efforts, seriously saving, thereby not only on the development and testing, but also on preparation for production. After all, the cost of the full cycle of development, testing, finishing and equipping production in any case is one, but if you divide it in half, it turns out a very profitable purchase - a new model for half the price!
This, by the way, is no longer the first joint work of the French and Italians - at the beginning of the nineties they have already been developing cars, and it is minivans. The first pancake was very popular and commercially successful Minivans Peugeot 806, Citroen Evasion, Fiat Ulysse and Lancia Zeta. The first generation models were present on the market for more than eight years: their debut took place in 1994, and only in 2002 they were replaced by minivans of a new generation.
As in the first case, Minivan began to be produced under four brands: Fiat, Lancia, Peugeot and Citroen. But all four new cars look original in their own way. And although they are identical to them, in all four cases, designers of each firms tried to make their model unique, but at the same time recognizable. The task was not easy, because the feed and the profile remained unchanged, and it was necessary to work only over the front of the car. Headlights, a falseradiator grille, bumpers - that's the little thing that was allowed to change. But all companies coped with the task, and everyone turned out to be interesting. Thus, the buyer seems to be a unique opportunity - depending on taste addictions you can choose a minivan with different designs.
More buyers of one of the four representatives have the opportunity to choose the options for interior design. No, it is not at all about the color of the upholstery or the choice between velor and skin - the client can choose the number of places in the cabin. The basic version has five passenger seats, and octable modifications can be made on the request - with two three-bed sofas from behind. And our guest is a very unusual complete set - he is a six-bed.
In the cabin - three rows of seats, each - two separate chairs with individual adjustments. For each chair there are two armrests and a three-point seat belt. On the backs of the front seats there are special folding tables. The seats of the second and third row can be moved, change places or fold, using their back as a hiking table. During a long trip, the passengers can easily move through the cabin - walk to each other. For example, from the front right chair, you can freely go to the salon: Located on the tilting of the central console, the gearbox does not prevent this. True, for this I also had to sacrifice the handbrake - it was transferred to the left side, in a narrow opening between the chair and the door. So it's not entirely comfortable to use it.
Planting driving very specific: high, like on the throne. And the chair is very wide, soft, so the association with the throne is quite appropriate. And when you sit so high, then the multistage instrument panel seems simply immense. Even more huge it seems a car, the front dimensions of which is completely not controlled by the driver - you can only assume that it ends somewhere in the meter from the bottom edge of the windshield. Yes, and the rear sink can be monitored only in mirrors.
In the rest of the visibility, I liked: huge side lops give a clear picture. And with ergonomics there are no problems, since the mutual arrangement of the controls does not create discomfort. Although you can find fault by the steering column adjustment range - all the time I want to raise it a little higher.
But the main problems cause not landing, but obtaining information from numerous instruments. There is no complaints about the speedometer and the tachometer located in the center of the panel, and they are clearly visible, and they get used to this location very quickly. Right under the tidy is a small screen, which is displayed on the mileage and a common kilometer. Just below and left - radio, and even lower, already on the center console - the climate control unit with its LCD. From such an abundance of informing devices, the head goes around.
The most difficult to get information from the block with control lamps, which is directly on the steering column. It can be seen if the steering wheel is rotated directly, and everything else time the block is completely overlapped with a steering wheel. And so let everything light bulbs together, you will learn about it when put the steering wheel right.
But if you figured out with a huge panel of instruments, then with all other problems there will be no problems. There are no complaints to the definition of switching, despite the fact that the moves of the lever located on the tille of the central console are rather large. And it is located, by the way, rather strange: when you turn on the second (or fourth) gear, then the lever lies almost horizontally, and it has to take it from below.
Another oddity of the joint Franco-Italian platform is a high floor. When both side doors are open, it is immediately noticeable that the floor has a thickness of almost twenty centimeters. There is a feeling that a powerful spiner frame is hidden under it. It is doubly surprising, because for C8 even the full drive is not offered - it means that there is no need for the presence of a high central tunnel for the cardan shaft. But the floor still unnecessarily high - its thickness seems to be about twenty centimeters.
We have already encountered such a phenomenon from SUVs, but there this constructive feature is due to the presence of a spiner frame that takes on all loads. And in Citroen C8, as far as we know, the body is a common, carrier ... This feature of the car seems to be not annoying, but when you try to walk around the salon, you notice that the height inside could be more.
Rear side doors can be opened remotely using the appropriate buttons on the ignition key. True, due to these buttons, the key began to resemble a mobile phone - the sting is folded, and the keyboard itself has a sufficiently large size.
The function is actually useful: you go out of the store with package, come to the car, and she helpfully open your doors. Moreover, you can choose which door it will open - either the left or right. It is only important not to confuse buttons, but the key in the form is symmetrical, and at first it is difficult to figure out which button for what is responsible.
The trunk is relatively small: after all, three rows of seats in the cabin! Although the numbers in the catalog, it seems to be quite normal: 480 liters. But the chip is that the single-volume vehicle is measured to the window line, so almost the entire trunk in the CE-eighth is its height. In width and in length it is impossible to be called particularly compatible: you can put three or four bags, and then you need to think where to give the other things. Do not worry, the developers of the car have already thought about it - especially in order to be able to place all the fuck, in the trunk has a special luggage grid. It is rather durable, and if you hang it between the rear bedside racks, it turns out a roomy hammock. Which, by the way, come in handy and with an empty trunk - you can store small things in it so that they do not ride on the trunk or salon.
When the luggage volume exceeds the number of passengers, Citroen C8 can be turned from a luxury minivan into a cargo-passenger modification. In the design of the car it is possible to fold all passenger chairs. They can be moved, rearrange, fold the back of the chair or just completely remove the chair from the cabin. The dismantling of one seat takes less than a minute - you fold back the back, pulling the lock from the bottom, tighten all the chair, and everything: it can already be removed from the cabin. Such a focus can be done either with one or with all the passenger compartment chairs - they are identical in design. Thus, it is possible to vary the volume, and the shape of the luggage compartment for any type of cargo - at least the surfboard of Georgia, even kayak, at least a motorcycle.
But that's not all! It is not known whether anyone will use Citroen C8 as a delivered van, but the car designers have provided, just in case, and such an opportunity. If you fold and dismantle all the armchairs in the cabin (second and third row), it turns out huge, no, no trunk - a huge cargo compartment with a volume of 3300 liters! In this case, the Citroen will fit not only the entire luggage, but also something more volumetric is a large refrigerator in the package, for example. In addition, even in this case you can plant the back of one passenger - after all the luggage will be placed, one or several seats can be returned to the salon.
Stop, it is a big, heavy family car, - such thoughts arise in the head when you try to steer on Citroen C8. Indeed, the best object for high-speed maneuvering can not be invented - minivan with a diesel engine, and even in the luxury six-bed version. Therefore, apparently, mediocre manageability not much upset us - after all, the car is clearly not driving. To be honest, it was not absolutely no desire to burn on Citroen C8. Trips around the city and on the highway were clearly given to understand what could be counted in an emergency situation. Ladsting, low power sensitivity, body rolls and the handbrake located on the left of the driver's chair leave a little chance of salvation even an experienced pilot. The only right solution is a strong blow to brake pedal. This should help if you have not exceeded speed. Ah, exceeded?! Strange - this is a big and heavy married car ...
Therefore, when it turned out that the hydraulicer is noticeably biting with active maneuvering, and when the rectilinear trajectory is dismissed from the rectilinear trajectory, the ram is not poured in reverse force, no one even paid attention to it. Think - on the minivan steering wheel empty! It can also be consecable to be related to all other features of the CE-eighth: the batch of the body with a sharp driving movement, rolls on turns and the absence of a clear zero in the steering control.
But in the city, in a dense transport stream, behind the wheel of Citroen C8 you feel quite normal - the dimensions are not tightened at all. Yes, it is necessary to look more often in the mirrors and pay more attention to the right side so that no car is lost in the blind zone under the right mirror. Yes, during rebuildings, the driver instinctively searches for a large window to rearrange the large body of Citroen C8. And also have to constantly monitor the road marking - a wide minivan always strives to go beyond the limits of his strip, pressing the neighbors in a stream. But it does not cause problems, because the dimensions of the car are clearly controlled, and after a couple of minutes, they fully adapt to new conditions. After an hour and a half at Citroen C8 in the urban time it turns out to go as quickly as on the usual passenger car.
2.2 liter turbodiesel and 128 hp It does good enough to cope with your duties. But he is hard, because the Citroen C8 is almost 1.8 tons! Accordingly, to demand hurricane dynamics from this version meaningless - relax, turn on the highest gear and enjoy comfort.
But it is impossible to say that the turbodiel C8 will turn into a frank real estate. The car accelerates well: for 13.6 seconds, it accelerates fromces to 100 km / h. By the way, Citroen C5 with the same engine, despite the least half of the mass, the same process takes 12.5 seconds - the difference as you can see, small.
True, the drivers from C8 still did not work out: for dynamic movement, it is necessary to make too much effort. First, you need to switch frequently. Secondly, if you want to go fast, then constantly watch the tachometer to keep speed in a specific zone. The optimal mode of operation of the engine is 1500-2800 rpm. If you allow the turnover to fall below, it pulls it very reluctantly, although in the end ends it still pulls out. And if you unscrew the motor above, it will noticeably fade after 3000 rpm. And this is very noticeable at the start: up to three thousand it turns out a good pickup, and then the dynamics of acceleration decreases sharply.
The engine works quite loudly, especially on revolutions above average. And at idle it is especially not shy. Characteristic diesel clasp combination with vibrations on the steering wheel and the seat do not allow to forget what type of motor under the hood. But especially clearly the engine manifests itself on acceleration: after 3000 rpm, its noise flies all other sounds, including noise from rolling tires. On the track, with an average speed of 100-120 km / h, the mutation of the motor is barely distinguishable, but it is worth a slightly exceeding this speed, and diesel exhibits itself in all its glory.
In general, Citroen C8 is not a drive car. And although for many readers it was obvious before they read this material, we prefer to draw conclusions only after tests. After all, even in the class of minivans there are models on which it is simply impossible to ride calmly - for example, Mazda MPV with a gasoline engine, which wakes up after 3500 rpm and provides a car with a very good acceleration dynamics. And the car is managed, by the way, very well.
Citroen C8, and even with a turbo engineer, absolutely not like that. Character is calm, balanced. Handling in conventional modes - reliable, reactions are predictable. But ride on it quickly - dismiss. And it looks stupid, and no pleasure.
On this car is pleasantly just riding. Ride far and long. But then you will appreciate how stable C8, as well, he keeps the road and how long he can go from refueling to refueling. And your passengers will appreciate at this time how nice to go in a separate chair, and not push the elbows on the sofa. The ability to fully pull the legs, and also change the angle of inclination of the back will lead them to a complete delight - those who go far will surely understand what it is about. And Citroen C8 will love this people, because he is a great traveler.
Pavel Kozlovsky

A source: Autogase