Peugeot 107 and Citroën C1 in South Africa

I found a post on the Greencars weblog of South Africa about the Peugeot 107 and the Citroën C1. Click here to go to the source.

Quote:

Given that there’s a real shortage of options when it comes to alternative fuels and powertrains in South Africa, the green SA motorist is forced to make the 3-way decision of “petrol/diesel/Prius”. As I discussed last week, in terms of the petrol vs diesel issue it seems that, for now at least, petrol engines are the cleaner option.

The cleanest of all petrols currently on the South African market are the Citroën C1 and the Peugeot 107. The C1 and 107 were part of a 3-way development project between Citroën, Peugeot and Toyota (who’s Aygo is yet to be released here). The result of this joint venture is a trio of very good small cars that benefit from the small car expertise of its French designers, as well as the manufacturing know-how of Toyota. All three models are manufactured in a Toyota-designed and managed factory in the Czech Republic, so the C1 and 107 can certainly not be accused of being “flimsy French”.

These tiny cars are actually quite well-specced: top-of-the-range models feature 4 airbags, cornering stability control, electric windows, air conditioning, and an MP3 front loader as standard. These cars managed a healthy 4 stars in Euro NCAP crash tests, and the inclusion of stability control is a very welcome active safety measure in this market segment.

The real star of the show, however, is the tiny 1KR-FE 998cm³ 3-cyclinder motor. Developed by Toyota’s subsidiary, Daihatsu, this little unit puts out 50kW at 6000 rpm and 94Nm of torque at 3600 rpm. Still, considering that these cars weigh in at under a ton, their performance is rather sprightly (relatively speaking,g of course), with 0-100km/h times of about 14 seconds. Of more interest to us, of course, are the fuel consumption figures of 5.5l/100km (urban), 4.6l/100km (combined) and carbon emissions of only 109g/kg. The Prius‘ figures are only marginally better than these, and it costs three times the price! When you factor in the environmental implications of manufacturing the bigger, heavier Prius as well as its large NiMH battery, it’s likely that the C1 and 107 are actually more environmentally-friendly overall (don’t quote me on this one, please ).

Reports of these vehicles have been overwhelmingly positive, just look at 4Car’s “Best in Class” rating, so owning one should be a pleasure. Go out and get one.

Pricing starts at R89 900.00 for the base line 107, and extends toR107 500.00 for the C1 iPlay range-topper.