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| The class-leading Hyundai CRDi |
In this class, Witness Wheels recently
stated “the only other diesel hatch that comes close to the numbers offered by
the Hyundai’s i20 diesel is Peugeot’s 1,6 208 HDI”. Well folks, things have changed un
peu.
For while the diesel-sipping Pug still offers almost as much power
as the Hyundai i20 CRDi for less money, it is only available by special order
for those willing to wait six months.
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| Citroën e-HDi 90 |
By comparison the rival face-lifted Citroën e-HDi 90 Manual is
available right now and close scrutiny of the fine print shows the French offer
a deal at least on par with that of the Koreans. For Citroën’s service plan of
four years/60 000 km includes parts that wear, like wipers, and the warranty
covers the entire drive train.
The new Citroën further raises the bar against both the previous
generation Peugeot and Korean with a designer dashboard and body-hugging seats
lifted from the DS3 range.
All this style does come with a designer price tag. Without USB and
Blue Tooth (R6 490) or manual air conditioning (R9 990), the C3 costs R216 900
in its socks. Buyers who add all the extras can soon pay the price of the bigger
Renault Megane turbo diesel, which is as planted in the corners as the little
hatch is not.
For the one big niggle with the C3 is that it is designed for
cruising, not cornering. Gear shifts feel like they are done by rubber bands; a
pseudo MacPherson strut upfront and torsion bar at the back do not inspire
confidence, while the variable power steering remains too light at speed.
Be warned though, while it is not a brisk accelerator or happy in a
hairpin, this French hatch is deceptively fast on the highway. The 68 kW at
4 000 rpm of the 1 560 cc looks low on paper, but with the butter-smooth torque
pushing against your lower back at that sweet spot under 2 000 rpm, you never
notice. The PSA diesel burner, which is shared between Peugeot and the Citroën,
makes a class-leading 230 Nm from 1 750 rpm.
On the up side, at legal speeds the little C3 hatch takes the
city’s speed bumps and potholes in its stride, with that cheap torsion beam
between the back wheels and 17” Bridgestone tyres only adding velvet to the
diesel engine’s creamy purr.
The Citroën’s fuel tank swallows 46 litres of only 50 ppm diesel,
but even at speed the Frenchie will only sip, never quaff. Our foot-flat average
in the city was 5,7/100 km and with care on an open road, this hatch will go to
just over a 1 200 km on a tank. The C3 is practical, too. The boot swallows 285
litres with the seats up, and 980 litres with the seats down.
So on paper, the Hyundai i20 still leads the value offering in the
small hatch diesel pack, while the Peugeot 208 HDI offers the most torque per
rand, but on the shopfloot, the C3 now replaces the Pug by default for those who
value that certain je
ne sais quoi more than savings.
Diesel
hatch value contenders
R274 900 Renault Megane 1,6 dCi (96 kW/320 Nm)
R257 000
Audi 1,6 TDI (77 kW/250 Nm)
R216 900
Citroën C3 e-HDI (68 kW/230 Nm)
R205 100
Polo 1,2 TDI (55 kW/180 Nm)
R203 900
Hyundai i20 (66 kW/220 Nm)
R195 100
Peugeot 208 HDI (68 kW/230 Nm)
R152 500
Nissan Micra 1,5 dCi (47 kW/160 Nm)
R136 400
Ford Figo 1,4 TDCi (51 kW/160 Nm)
