| WE KNEW the Citroen CX Safari Estate Car
was unusually long, from seeing it at various Continental motor shows,
but we did raise an eyebrow on seeing - in the information provided by
Citroen on the new car - that it was 98 ins longer in the wheelbase
than the equivalent saloon. Yes, it was a mistake, but the real figure
of 10 ft 2 in. wheelbase is impressive enough. Overall length is 16 ft
2 in.
This new Citroen was introduced on the Continent towards the end of
last year, and has recently become available in Britain at an inclusive
price of £4,230.72. Standard equipment includes a rear window wiper and
washer, electric operation for the front windows, and ventilated disc
brakes front and rear.
Suspension and transmission are identical with those of
the saloon, but the running-gear has been strengthened to cope with the
additional loads the car is capable of carrying. Kerb weight is 3,080
lb, and total weight is 4,554 lb when laden to the maximum limit,
meaning that the payload runs out at nearly 1,500 lb. Towing weight is
2,860 lb which should look after the heaviest of true touring caravans.
It has always been our intention to carry out a long
term test of the Citroen CX series, to see how well this remarkable
design, with front wheel drive from a transversely mounted engine,
allied to the advanced Citroen wizardry of oleo-pneumatic suspension
and power systems, stands up to hard use. For one reason and another,
the long term test became delayed, until it was leamed that the Safari
estate car was to come to Britain this year. ”We must have one of
these," we said, and so it was arranged. Autocar took delivery of' our
CX Safari at the beginning of the month, and our usual detailed report
of running experiences and costs will be published in due course.
“How do you like it so far?" we are asked. Well, we’ve
already made enemies of our car park attendant. You see, he doesn’t
like the way it sticks out from the rest by about four feet, even when
the back end is reversed up as far as it will go. But without doubt it
is a car which tums heads, and earns a great deal of respect in London.
Other drivers give it a wide berth, much as they do when you’re in a
Rolls-Royce. When you overtake people you feel like saying “Hang on,
there’s lots more to come, but there’s no need to worry, they're
usually well tucked in anyway.
Our first experiences of using the load space have been
impressive. You have a bed to move, put it in with the back seat folded
forward, and find there’s still about a foot and a half to spare. Have
children to bed down for the night while you drive on? Well, tuck then
in, and there’s still ample space for luggage at the rear.
Inevitably we found the running-in rather laborious,
because although the 4,000 rpm limit means you can do 75 mph, you
really need all the revs available to be able to overtake anything.
Performance, we fear, is not the shining feature of the Safari, though
one can soon learn how to make the best of it once the constraints of
running-in have passed. One would have thought that the 2200 engine
would have been fitted as matter of course, but no - the CX Safari is
available at present only as a 2000. Still, that engine is no sluggard
- weighing in with a peak of 102 bhp (DIN) at 5,500 rpm, and offering
maximum torque of 112 lb ft at 3,000 rpm.
The big advantage is that Citroen VariP0Wer steering is
standard. This gives progressively reducing assistance as speed
increased, resulting in very effortless control at low speed, and yet
with precision when driving fast. We have found it is a steering system
which takes a little getting used to - but that is true of the whole
car.
Whatever else one can say, it is certainly a most
interesting vehicle. We’ll be reporting in full detail after more
experience of it.
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