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Aren't Citroen DS21 and 2CV's just about the coolest cars around?

In today's world of boring, humdrum, dreary Toyotas, Mazda, and Hondas, don't these 2 retro Citroen models stand out as being very hip, ultra cool?

3 Answers

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  • markp
    Lv 4
    7 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    The 2CV was so far ahead of its time, in terms of design, that if they'd sold it at the originally intended time (late 1939!) it would have turned the world on its head more than it did 10-ish years later.

    Sadly now they're mainly "cool" because of rarity. By the end of its production run they were only selling to nostalgic hippies and no-one else wanted to know, as they were desperately old hat, heavy on emissions and deadly in a crash. Still surprisingly practical, comfortable, and nice to drive all the same :)

    Questioner, you could always look into the possibility of importing some of their more recent models, should there be a chance of having it authorised for use in your locale (given how you've written your question, I expect you're in the USA... which is a terrible place to try and import a modern European car to).

    The C3, for example, invokes the overall design and shape of the 2CV, in a much more modern package, with excellent engines (the 1.4L turbodiesel is pretty amazing, and the gasoline models aren't exactly lemons either) and safety features. Just make sure to get one with the optional sports seats, because the default ones are themselves much like the 2CV ones ... completely flat, and desperately unsuited for making any serious use of the uprated power or much "flatter" suspension behaviour. It also has a somewhat more conventional older cousin in the Xsara (which is a bit more staid, and somewhat Focus-like, but still a perfectly nice drive and no-one around you will have seen anything like it).

    The C4 or its older cousin, the Xantia, is probably more of a practical prospect for the US, as it's (obviously) a bit larger, without actually succumbing to bloat, and has nice sophisticated low-slung styling with some interesting onboard toys. The older model is almost 80s concept car inspired, wedge-like along Aston Martin Lagonda lines. The newer one is a lot more rounded but still sleek, like a series of soft-ended cylinders cut through about one third down from the top... again evoking the Dyane and its cohorts, but more low-profile. Just be wary of the trick hydraulic suspension, which is smooth as anything and lets you adjust the ride height to suit your driving conditions, but is difficult and expensive to service and repair, not least because it requires a very particular grade of oil.

  • mark m
    Lv 5
    7 years ago

    They're both very chic and very cool. Here in jaded Marin county, (just across the San Francisco Golden Gate for non-USAers), where seemingly every 5th car is an Audi, Jaguar, Porsche, BMW, or Mercedes Benz, every 12th car a Bentley, Aston Martin, or Ferrari, both my DS21 Pallas and 2cv Charleston stop traffic and pedestrians in their tracks. Throngs of people point with big smiles, admiring looks, and give a thumbs-up gesture. These Citroen models are the very embodiment of style, élan, and great panache.

  • 7 years ago

    Citroen used to produce some very technologically advance cars. I know people will laugh at me for saying that about a tin snail.

    However there are many very cleaver features on the car.

    They however joined the rest of the world after the BX and stopped being leaders in car design. They started with the Citroen Traction avant which was of course front wheel drive.

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