First look: C2 is Citroen's sports choice

CITROEN Australia will double its small car options when it launches the C2 super-mini on to the Australian market about midway through 2004, after first appearing at the Melbourne motor show.

First pictures of the C2 were issued in the past few days with the world press launch scheduled for August, the public reveal at the Frankfurt motor show in September and European on-sale from October.

The three-door C2 will line up here alongside the five-door C3, the company's entry level mainstay, but will only be sold in hot hatch VTR form - unless exchange rates improve significantly.

Targeted at a more youthful market than C3, the C2 will come only as an 80kW 1.6-litre four-cylinder and should be priced somewhere between $22,000 and $23,000.

That compares to the $19,990 entry level pricing of the 1.4-litre C3 SX. Pricing climbs as high as $22,990 for the C3 Exclusive automatic.

In Europe the C2 will be offered with three petrol engines and a turbo-diesel engine.

There will be a third arm to Citroen Australia's small car arsenal - the multi-adjustable Pluriel, which was due on sale in Australia late in 2003 after appearing at the Sydney motor show, but that has now pushed back into 2004.

With arrival of C2, the Pluriel next year and a C4 to replace and expand the Xsara range in 2005, local Citroen agent Ateco Automotive hopes to push the French company's sales to 8500 in 2005. It is aiming for 2800 sales this year.

The C2 is built on the same "platform 1" as the C3 and Pluriel, including MacPherson strut suspension, but its wheelbase of 2.31m compares to 2.46m for them. C2 is also 3.66m wide and 1.66m high.

While it shares no exterior panels with its brethren, its rounded bonnet, large vertical headlights and radiator grille built into the bumper identify it quickly as a Citroen.

The VTR version can be recognised by the additional painted parts on the lower part of the front bumper and by its broad sills. A spoiler positioned above the rear window completes the trim.

Innovative design includes a split tailgate/opening rear window/rear hatch design, which is unique in its class.

Inside there are strong colours and two sliding, independent rear seats, designed to fold down easily.

Equipment available with C2 includes variable assistance electric power steering, air-conditioning with automatic temperature control, electronic parking assistance, cruise control, ESP, ABS, emergency braking assistance and six airbags.

But rather than a normal automatic gearbox option alongside the standard manual, the C2 VTR will be offered with the electronic Sensodrive gearbox which offers both manual and automatic operation.

The driver can choose either automatic, by a button on the central console, or manual, using the paddles behind the wheel or the manual gear lever.

MAIN DIMENSIONS C2 v C3

	C2	C3
Length	3.66m	3.85m
Width	1.66m	1.66m
Height	1.46m	1.52m
Wheelbase	2.31m	2.46m
Elbow room at front	0.90m	0.92m
Elbow room at front	1.41m	1.40m
Headroom at rear	0.84m	0.86m
Elbow room at rear	1.42m	1.40m