Road Test: Citroen C2 VTS

SPECIFICATIONS

Model: Citroën C2 VTS
Price: £11,995
Engine: 1,587cc, four cylinders, 16 valves, 125bhp at 6,500rpm
Transmission: five-speed gearbox, front-wheel drive
Performance: 126mph, 0-60 in 8.1sec, 40.9mpg official average
CO2: 163g/km

SPECIFICATIONS

Model: Citroën C2 VTS
Price: £11,995
Engine: 1,587cc, four cylinders, 16 valves, 125bhp at 6,500rpm
Transmission: five-speed gearbox, front-wheel drive
Performance: 126mph, 0-60 in 8.1sec, 40.9mpg official average
CO2: 163g/km

Never forget that we live in a marketing-driven world. Marketing involves both finding out what people want and making them want it, and the fewer risks taken the better. Citroën's C2 is a fine example.

The word "urban" crops up on an unfeasibly regular basis in the company's promotional material, but the C2's combination of chunky looks and a nippy nature, added to a sanitised, focused version of Citroën lone-furrow innovation, is right on target for a young-minded, free-thinking audience. That the outgoing Saxo, originally nothing more than a lightly re-skinned Peugeot 106, gained itself a cult following among young bloods, helps the C2's cred no end; it is amazing what a well-aimed free insurance deal can achieve.

So please meet the C2 VTS, the ultimate aspirational C2 and designed to capitalise on the old Saxo VTS's chariot-of-the-Max-Power-gods status. But there are several key differences in approach: most obvious is the price-versus-equipment quotient, but more telling is one of driving flair versus accessibility. Let me explain.

Central to the VTS's buyer-appeal is its low (group 8) insurance rating, the better to be afforded by young drivers. Its Saxo ancestor, by comparison, was in group 14, although its first year's insurance was sometimes free as, crucially, it is in the C2 VTS. Why the difference? The superficial answer is that the C2 is much harder to steal, and it is easier to repair after an accident. More subtly, though, the C2 better protects impetuous young drivers from themselves; its handling characteristics are designed to look after the inept, whereas those of the Saxo might demand some skill if enthusiasm exceeded available grip and road space.

The C2 VTS feels great for the first few miles, the first few bends. Its electrically assisted steering is higher-geared than that of lesser C2s, calling for just 2.6 turns from one extreme of movement to the other instead of 3.0, and its wider, hunkier wheels and tyres are attached to stiffer, more firmly damped springs and similarly stouter anti-roll bars. This is all standard souping-up stuff, as is the enhanced engine. This has 125bhp instead of the 110bhp of the other sporty C2s (VTR and GT), despite the same 1.6-litre capacity; the extra thrust comes from new camshafts, a freer-breathing cylinder head and a less restrictive exhaust system. It will rev right up to 7,200rpm, too.

And, thank the Lord, the VTS comes with a normal, manual five-speed gearbox with a particularly sweet shift. There is no paddle-shift, clutchless Sensodrive for this most serious of speedy C2s; that is the domain only of the gentler VTR. As for looks, though, VTS and VTR are almost identical apart from a few VTS badges and the larger wheels. Relative subtlety rules; think of it as a Max Power-type's blank canvas.

So, with reactions honed by a metaphorical Red Bull, virtual Nikes on my feet and something rhythmic but atonic imagined in the CD player, I scorch off in search of the magic that was the Saxo VTS. First thought: is this C2 fast enough? The figures suggest a yes. It is supposed to hit 60mph in just over eight seconds, for heaven's sake - but Citroën achieves this with uncommonly short-legged gearing. Even a Peugeot 205 GTI 1.6 was less busy at speed than this, although it is quiet enough. Part of the reason for this gearing is to mask the C2's weight; it may have 5bhp more than the Saxo VTS, but its power-to-weight ratio is 115bhp per tonne against the older car's 128bhp per tonne.

So you are aware of having to stoke up the engine to uncover the liveliness. The easy thrust of the Saxo is not so evident here, but against that the quickly responding steering makes for keen, agile reactions as you wrist-flick the steering wheel as you might a racing car's. This is good; instant response for every urban eventuality, if a little too instant from brakes whose snatchy responses makes them hard to apply and ease progressively.

Nor does that firm suspension wreck the ride comfort. The stiff, solid, rattle-free body structure helps here, giving the suspension something to work against at the expense of that weight. But there is something missing, suspected on a brief road route and confirmed when snaking around a tight, precision-demanding test track laid on for the purpose. That track proved how tidy and precise the C2 can be when flicked from direction to direction, especially with its gentle and quite non-intrusive stabilty control engaged, but driving the C2 VTS with gusto is a rather two-dimensional experience. Or perhaps "digital" is a better description: you feel that it is doing something or not doing it, but you do not feel the degrees of doing, or the way it does it.

Zoom into a corner in a Saxo VTS, and as the front wheels aim around the curve you can feel the weight moving across the back of the car, helping it round. Ease the power and that happens a bit more; snap the accelerator shut, or brake, and the tail moves out to tighten the line quite hard, maybe even pitching the Saxo into a spin if you provoke it enough. You undo a little steering to prevent this, of course - it is easy, and instinctive - and this interplay of accelerator and steering is deeply satisfying. Here lay one of the Saxo's core appeals. It felt alive around your body.

The C2 does not do this. Decelerate and it just, well, slows down. All the directional control is handled by the steering wheel alone, which sounds logical but in reality feels as if a channel of communication has been closed. For most people, most of the time, none of this really matters and for a young, inexperienced and possibly over-adventurous driver the C2 approach makes some sense. Could it be, though, that these failsafe handling characteristics are a hidden part of that low insurance grouping? Such things have been talked about, and they would be a sinister development.

Maybe I am overplaying these finer dynamic points, but they need to be remembered in case we lose sight of how a real fun car should be. Do not get me wrong: the C2 VTS is good little car, and remarkable value at £11,995 (just £1,000 more than the VTR and £1,000 cheaper than the Saxo VTS was at its mid-1990s launch). But it is like a techno remix of a classic pop song. Naturally, I would rather hear the original.

THE RIVALS

Ford Sportka SE, £11,120

Cheaper than the VTS, and lower-powered with 95bhp, the Sportka is fabulous fun to drive in the way that the best hatchbacks used to be. Design has stayed fresh despite its age. Insurance is a very low group 6.

MG ZR+ 120, £13,395

Sharper nose and tail styling, plus a new dashboard, have updated the ageing but still entertaining ZR. It's not really enough, though, especially given the price. Insurance group 10, but the cheaper 105bhp model is group 8.

Mini Cooper, £12,100

Good value in this company, but you don't get much equipment and most buyers go for many options. The Cooper is well and solidly made, though, and this icon-in-the-making is great fun. Insurance group 8, 115bhp.