I then took it for a scenic drive, there was 4 of us in the car and the air con was used when needed. Im really impressed with the space, i did 90 miles on a mixture of roads, motorway, town and mostly country roads. Everyone had enough room and commented on how good it was to be in. I brimmed the fuel tank before setting off, i did so again after the 90 mile drive and i was shocked at the MPG results. It had done 62MPG. That is truely amasing given the weight it had, the use of air con, the demanding hills and me using the revs at times.
So im very impressed with the economy of the C1, its great. However i like the rest of the car even more. It has real character, something missing from a lot of modern cars. The 3 cylinder 1.0 engine really does make the car. Its very willing and flexible, revs really well and sounds great. There is a distinctive exhaust note when pulling away and driving hard but all other times the engine remains quiet. There is road noise but that is the only thing to be heard as speeds increase. At motorway speeds the engine is silent and there is no wind noise, just road noise - i might look into a dynamat kit. I was crusing along the motrway with the 4 of us in at 'good' motorway speeds, while being totally impressed with the refinment and pull of the engine (it felt like it had more to give but i didnt want to work it too hard on its first run out.)
The ride is a bit jittery with one or two people on board, but with 4 peopls its actually very soft and comfortable. The steering is great, its very light at parking speed but weights up really nicely when going along, its very accurate and the car is quite a joy to dart around country roads. The turning circle is tighter than a supermarket trolly, it really does turn on a sixpence. The gearbox is really nice, very slick. The gearing is impressive, its a little over 3100rpm at 70mph, which for a 1.0 car is impressive. Our Seat is almost 4000 RMP at 70 and the engine can be heard buzzing away, unlike the C1s.
The 1.0 3 cylinder 68bhp engine does a great job, its lively, characterful, economical and nippy. There is a steep long hill leading out of town from a roundabout which is dual carrigeway, i was very embarassed while going up there at full chat in a C5 110 that i couldnt catch a C1! I feel it is going to fee up nicely once the miles pile on our C1, but at the moment i think its a brilliant little car, i can really see why there are so many Aygos, 107s and C1s around now, they do bring fun into driving, ive not been out of ours!
So, despite my earlier comments about new cars (yes there are some new cars i like) and previous comments about not liking a 107 which i had as a loan car back in 2005, i really do like this C1. If its taken for what it is and not too seriously, a small cheap, functional and fun car its a brilliant thing. Obviously it doesnt compare to the C5 very well, but it does offer a fun drive and character, something the C5 has none of.
Im driving down to Hull to go to The Deep one day this week, so im planning on taking the C1 and seeing how it goes on a longer trip, 200 miles or so.
My C5 has been behaving yet again, im trying not to get used to it. I was quite surprised the other day while i was sitting in my car which i had just parked when someone reversed quite hard into the back of my C5, moving it forwards slighty. I truned around to see a Fiesta jammed up against the back of my car. After she had pulled her Fiesta from slightly under my C5 we assessed the damage. Her bumper was cracked and the numper plate lights were hanging by their wires. Luckily mine sustained only a few minor scuffs which have polished off and are now not noticable. I have checked in the pannel in the boot and under the car but its all fine. C5 bumpers are pretty good for withstanding knocks it seems.
It was the annual National Traction Owners Club event this weekend. A full weekend event but we only went for the Sunday as Saturday was spent collecting and driving the C1. I did have chance to give the traction a good polish for the event (unlike the CCC national where it was in need of one). We had a run up to join the 32 other tractions (an amasing number, i didnt expect so many), we then had a convoy scenic drive to Anwick Castle where we parked in the grounds of the Castle on a huge lawn dedicated to the event. There was some really stunning tractions, a lovely roadster, pristine examples and a good display of the many combinations of traction avants which were avilable, eveything from the smallest 11Bs to the Commercials - worlds first hatchback? I think 35 tractions ended up at the end of the event, with people coming from all over the Uk and even some from europe to be at the event. It was only a 70 mile drive for us, which was nice.
The event ended with an awards giving, amasingly our traction won the best new entry award cup and also the best car of the show award cup. We were delighted with that.
Some pictures of the funky C1 to follow ....
Thats all for now
