BODY TORQUE… AND THE CITROËN C3

BODY TORQUE…
AND THE CITROËN C3

Back in the eighties when my mate Leee John was topping the charts with Imagination, body torque - the amount of twist and distortion transmitted to cars by road and power variations was far from being just an illusion. (See what I did there?)

In many cases it was bad enough to be visible to the naked eye of those not even in the car in question. Especially as it left a junction and crossed conflicting cambers, it was surprising that the doors and tailgates didn’t pop open, so extreme was the parasitic response by structures now devoid of the traditional  ladder or platform chassis.

The mass migration to transverse engines and front wheel drive had not really caught on across all manufacturers then as it has now. Rear wheel drive cars continued to supply undirected force and their longtitudinal engines whipped through every joint and component from front to back in their direction of rotation, further exaggerated by distorting transmission shafts carrying the motion to the back axle.

While all these forces of physics were loose in the contraption, a certain amount of give in the bodywork was pretty much a necessity. Suspension had to do its best to keep the wheels on the ground, so body panels needed to absorb shocks that might otherwise fracture the windscreen, while keeping construction as lightweight as possible for performance and fuel consumption.

The steel chassis was not about to make a comeback, although most of the parasitic actions could be mitigated by the move to front wheel drive. Escorts, Golfs and British Leyland’s Minis, 1100s, Allegros and Land Crabs still coexisted with Sierras, Granadas, Passats and Cavaliers whose transmissions and structures could seriously compromise their theoretical abilities on paper.

Our local police force had two or three SR4i Fords and wrote them all off. I drove a couple and could readily understand how. The architecture and damping was in no measure equal to the power and performance of the 2.8 litre engine.

Other improvements came in the form of the tubular backbone and ring of steel conceived by Citroën for their BX replacement Xantia. A central chassis member, akin the the arrangement Colin Chapman used for Lotus sports cars was filled with lightweight plastic material that prevented the tube from twisting in response to parasitic movements. In conjunction with the car’s computer-controlled hydractive suspension, this allowed for accurate monitoring of ride that didn’t threaten structural unity of the car.

I have personally seen two cars of similar vintage rolled on the same section of the M20. The other car’s passenger compartment was flattened. The Xantia retained its structure.

Twenty odd years on comes another major step forward in body structure as it dawns on everyone that properly designed suspension doesn’t need the safety margin of ‘give’ in the rest of the car.

This is especially cheering because the lamentable state of our roads as a result of neglect and mismanagement takes an ever higher toll on our cars, with broken springs and shock absorbers becoming commonplace. Little did the Beatles predict in those times of optimism and solvency that we would now have enough holes to fill the Albert Hall, the London Arena and the NEC several times over.

Already we have noticed some benefits, notably in smaller cars that are more vulnerable to outside influences than heavy limos - Kia and Suzuki have both made great strides and larger cars such as the Vauxhall Insignia are offering exemplary levels of comfort.

But the difference can be best seen in isolation in Citroën’s great-looking new C3. Much more distinctive to look at than its predecessor, it benefits from a number of the innovations announced as part of the Citroën Advanced Comfort package announced some months ago, though it doesn’t yet feature the new suspension units.

The previous C3 offered a good ride compromise between certain parameters. When these limits were reached, although it lost no grip or control, it became upset - especially on country lanes or boot fair fields. You knew instinctively the maths had been done, but something wasn’t working as it should.

It becomes clear on the new car what that something was; not the tuning of the suspension, which remains the same, but the degrees of resistance offered by the architecture of the car in more extreme circumstances.

Although manufacturers are naturally keen to tell you in advance what to find when driving one of their cars, I have always preferred to try the thing ‘blind’ and see what actually happens. I knew the Advanced Comfort package was in the offing and a number of Citroën dealers were alrady tumpeting it on current models. On first driving the new C3, I thought it was an improvement, but couldn’t make up my mind that any change had occurred in the underpinnings.

The improvements, other than taking advantage of the opportunity to strengthen the body shell, consisted of the other factors of the package, which include seats dialled to the best resonance for the car and interior fixtures and fittings of comparable quality and solidity to the bodywork.

The difference is immediately appreciable and gives the car a real sense of permanence and dependability. That being said. not only does it not achieve the promises of the full CAC, but also falls back on a strange temporary solution - what seems to be an abandonment of damping in general.

Bizarrely, this seems to be surprisingly successful, though it can certainly be caught out in a big way. I feel that a set of the ‘inertia’ dampers fitted to the 2CV, Ami and Dyane would be an ideal solution, just as it was fifty odd years ago.

The original C3 always put me a little in mind of Grüber’s little tank in ‘Hello, hello’. It was distinctive, but wasn’t a standout visually. It’s replacement lost the distinctive and became almost invisible. But the new car builds on a more fun and confident look that began to characterise the range with the C4 Picassos and the little C1. Especially in the colourway our car came in - bright red and the new high white - it makes no apologies and even makes the likes of me look cool and happening.

It further benefits, of course, from the brilliant 1.2 litre Pure Tech petrol 3, which has just been voted engine of the year yet again. Drive one and you’ll see why.

A long time diesel devotée, despite the muddled nonsense talked by the government, I was dubious when I was delivered a petrol engined C4 Picasso some months ago for a trip to Devon. When I further discovered that this big people carrier was expected to respond to a 1.2 litre engine, my internal organs sank.

But astonishingly, it was an absolute joy to drive, performing more like a hot hatch, and even delivering sufficient power to pick up speed on inclines in its equally surprising sixth gear. What’s more, despite a lot of hill work around Torquay, it did both ways on a tank of fuel - equalling the 1.6 HDi diesel, but adding the fun factor that comes from the free-revving three pot.

In the C3, joy is potentially even more unconfined, though the ratios are slightly different and the baby isn’t allowed a sixth cog.

The look of the car and the fun factor are very much the main attractions. If you are a Citroëniste by nature, you will enjoy its balletic pogress and its singularity. Nothing the neighbours have will look like it, or make them smile in the same way.

It’s not perfect. Who thought it would be? But it’s good value and good fun.

It might not be better (however you define that) than Frankenstein’s Mini or the latest Fiesta, but it’s more noticeable, and its power unit is the best in the business.

Leee is wowing them with his Retropia tour and C3 shows us through expression, not aggression that happiness is just a state of mind.

More info: info.citroen.co.uk