Citroën C2 (03-09) - Review

Review by Dan Harrison on
Last Updated: 13 November 2008
The Citroen C2 carries on where its predecessor, the Saxo, left and is a neatly packaged, easy to drive and affordable small hatchback. It's also well equipped and cheap to run, so makes an ideal choice as a first car. Unfortunately build quality and refinement are in short supply and the plasticky interior isn't particularly pleasant or comfortable. There are some neat touches though, like a split-opening hatch and a paddleshift gearchange option on certain models, but on the road the C2 is outclassed by similarly priced alternatives. In 2008 the model was facelifted with a new front bumper and grille while equipment levels were upped.
3 out of 5

Other Citroën reviews

4.5 out of 5

Running costs

Running costs are low across the range. It's cheap to buy in the first place which means that although depreciation can look high as a percentage, the actual amount of cash you lose can be less than rivals. Plus Citroen also offer plenty of incentives for new buyers. Parts and servicing costs are reasonable and good security means insurance groups are low, too - the 1.1 starts at Group 1. Fuel consumption is impressive for all models and exceptional for the diesel.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£1,227 - £1,534 *

Diesel

£943 - £986 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 135p and diesel 141p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

Petrol 20,000 miles, diesel 12,500 miles.

Warranty

Three years/60,000 miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£30.00 - £170.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

5 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
  • B
  • C
    111
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
    163
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

The C2 performs remarkably well on the eco front. With an average of 135g/km CO2 across the line-up, its emissions are comparably low for a small hatchback. The 1.4 HDi is the greenest model, emitting 113g/km of CO2 (making it cheap to tax) and capable of 66mpg.

Find the exact engine and CO2