Citroen C2 VTS any good?

I’m looking for a small fun hatch and am considering one locally with low miles, normally I would disregard French cars. Any experiences?

I’m not worried about the size or interior just mechanical reliability.
Thanks

I’ve had french cars in the past and I wouldn’t have a Citroen/Peugeot again, they tend to be riddled with electrical faults.

We have had our 2005 Vts petrol since it was a year old , it’s now on 85k and has been the most reliable car ive had. Far better than the a4 estate I had before or the golf tdi we also have at the moment.

It’s broken three front springs and some suspension joints but apart from that it’s just been fuel and servicing.
did get an anti pollution warning a few years ago but just needed some cleaning.

And the bracket round the back box rotted through but the exhust is still the original

It’s not a fast car and has to be reved to get it to work but can be fun on twisty roads.

did get an anti pollution warning a few years ago but just needed some cleaning.

Out of interest what needed cleaning? I’ve had the anti pollution fault for years and never been able to get rid.

Suspension will be made of cheese, not a problem if you travel good roads mainly, but if you’re in the country or have potholes everywhere then expect bushes and joints to wear at an alarming rate, and knock/rattle/klunk – all little French cars are the same.

The knocks/klunks/rattles will be present anyway, the interiors are terrible quality again another French car feature, if those sort of things irritate you, don’t bother.

Electrics might be crap, it’s a bit pot luck. Most Peugeot/Citroen niggles are easily sorted, scouring the forums will throw most of them up with tutorials for DIY fixes.

VTS had the flappy paddle gearbox I think – these are renowned for having a slow response and not being that reliable, again up to how you drive, what you expect from it, and if you happen to get a lemon.

If you could live without aircon etc I’d get the GT with the manual box.

Thanks orangeboy

Im wondering if anyone posting here actually has a french car or is just regourgetating old stereotypes.

Have run french cars for 10years now …mostly the same 1 with a couple of older models as a second car.

Cheap and reliable , comfy and handles the rough roads better than any of my other non 4×4 cars in the past. Certainly doesnt eat wishbones bushes at the same rate as any of the fords ive had in the past – and the french cars definantly get it worse than the fords did since the back road to my house is a 2mile farm track.

No electrical gremlins. , couple of springs over the years – i attributed to rally driving the dirt track and a couple of eletrical sensors – crank and fuel solenoid)

Fwiw the rattliest most uncomfy, most eletrically challenged , most needy ive ever had was a 2004 vw golf.

The C2 vts is a good laugh. Slower Vtr is the flappy box.

Same engine as saxo vts (the king of citroen hot hatches Imo) responds well to breathing mods.

Personally don’t like the style of it. I chose the fiesta St (05-08) over the vts but both are good fun on the b roads.

If you really fancy a citroen and can live with the image get an un-abused saxo vts. Getting rare, Cheap as chips at present and will only go up in value. Not to be confused with the saxo Vtr. Sublime handling and great performance….

trail_rat – Member
Im wondering if anyone posting here actually has a french car or is just regourgetating old stereotypes.

Oooh, me me….

My wife had a 58 plate 308 petrol that was an absolute dog. Bought at 14 months old and got rid of it after about 18 months because she had no faith in it at all and hated driving it.
Kangarooed really badly when cold due for some reason, but was apparently ‘fine’. Also idled terribly when cold, hunting up and down to the point of almost stalling. Several other electrical faults and the catalytic converter collapsed causing the car to grind to a halt on a dual carriageway.
Comfortable on long journeys though.

Current c3 picasso – 59 plate bought last December with 33k miles on.
– Exhaust bracket rusted through and needed replacing (the exhaust and brackets on my 03 Ibiza by comparison, were original and had done 274k miles and were 13 years old when I got rid) – should have a better look before parting with my cash.
– fault with fuel tank/sender that resulted in the dealer replacing the tank and sender unit.
– as of a few weeks ago closing the passenger door at any time without the key in the ignition causes all doors to lock; obviously just what my Wife needs when carting a baby around. If you close the passenger door with the key in and turned but the engine off, you can hear the mechanism locking and unlocking the door as it tries to decide what state it should be in.

We won’t be going French again.

OP, looking for a small, fun hatch….Fiesta Zetec S, Ibiza FR, Suzuki Swift…?

Vts if low miles and good history are a nice drive, quick fun drive, VTR has the sensor drive (flap paddle box) don’t bother unless you need and auto, GT is a rarer VTR engine and Manual box.
I’ve worked on them since launch, I even went to the UK launch, they just wasn’t as good looking as the saxo they replaced and never gained the boy racer fan base that the saxo got so sales were not great. The VTS was a well spec ed car but stay away from high mile, multi boy racer owner ( same as any car) and run away from anything modded in anyway

Thanks chrisdiesel, Stumpy I was initially looking at swifts but then noticed the C2 and it appears to have less issues, don’t want forced induction.

trail_rat – Member
Im wondering if anyone posting here actually has a french car or is just regourgetating old stereotypes.

I know it is a stereotype, but we’ve had 2 c2s and in my experience it has been a true one.

My advice to OP would simply be to buy on condition. They are fun and different to most cars. But when they start getting electric gremlins, get rid straight away.

The faults on our second one gradually spread, first lights sticking on, then power steering disappearing, then radio randomly changing, then erroneous ‘bulb fault’ messages, then anti-theft errors, then the key blipper not unlocking the car…

I had the vtr one for 7 years, got rid when the sensordrive failed, cost more to fix than worth, as a cheap hatch great little car, nippy down the country lanes quick enough on the motorways. As others have said some have been boy racer ragged so look carefully at them, if you find the gt or code version both limited run do tend to of been looked after a bit more or a loeb one which are rare but they do pop up from time to time, tempted to get another myself at some point, the ds3 I replaced it with doesn’t have the same energy or feel.

Im wondering if anyone posting here actually has a french car or is just regourgetating old stereotypes.

Have run french cars for 10years now …mostly the same 1 with a couple of older models as a second car.

Had about a dozen Citroens and a pug 205 over the years. Only one ever let me down; a BX with a sheared hydro pulley. It was the subject of a recall but I let me mate weld it up instead…
Tried returning to Citroen a couple of years ago with a Berlingo, but it was truly hateful. Peugeot milked their 205 reputation for all it was worth and steadily lost the plot while killing off the Citroen eccentricities.
A return to form though with the missus’s C1- a lovely little car. I might be tempted by a C2 for some cheap fun…