Citroën C15
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| Citroën C15 | |
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| Manufacturer | Citroën |
| Parent company | PSA Peugeot Citroën |
| Production | 1984—2005 |
| Predecessor | Citroën Acadiane |
| Successor | Citroën Berlingo |
| Class | Panel van |
| Body style(s) | Van |
| Layout | FF layout |
| Related | Citroën Visa |
The Citroën C15 is a panel van produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1984 until 2005.
The C15 was based on the long-discontinued Citroën Visa, and used a 1.7 or 1.9-litre diesel engine. As well as standard van configuration, the vehicle was available with rear side-windows and a rear seat, which can be seen as a forerunner to today's utility vehicles such as the Renault Kangoo, Opel Combo, Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner.
In 2005, production reached 1,181,471, the last three of which were given to:
- The government of Vigo city in Spain, where the production of this car was held for last few years
- Museum of Citroën cars in Aulnay
- One of Vigo car factory workers
Over its 21 year production run, there were various minor changes and upgrades made. Models with 600 kg and 800 kg load capacities were introduced (the original was 500 kg). Trim details were changed, to give it a facelift, in the late 1990s: side plastic trims were added, and the bonnet trim changed.
The design was simple, but very reliable and effective, resulting in a remarkably successful production run in comparison to the not-too-successful Visa hatchback from which it was derived, albeit with a lengthened wheelbase, and a rear axle taken from the larger Citroën BX. The vehicle is very basic by modern standards, but this made it cheap to build, cheap to run and hard to break.
The availability of the vehicle with a 'chassis only' rear portion encouraged various conversions. The C15 was used as a camper-van base by Island Plastics, branding the resulting vehicle the RomaHome. It was a surprisingly practical small camper for two people.
[edit] Variants and history
The C15 was introduced in the UK only in 1986, initially badged with the pun 'van blanc' or 'van rouge' according to body colour. UK models were always shipped without rear side windows, as is usual for UK vans due to Tax regulations. European models had side windows, and a 'combi' version with a rear bench seat. There was also, in France at least, a rather rare 'stretch' version which was about 0.5m longer than a normal C15.
Early models had a single wide rear door, but this was awkward for loading in a tight space and prone to snapping off in a high wind, so, after a year or two, only conventional 2-door versions were sold.
The engine used was the extremely reliable PSA XUD series: XUD7 (1.7l) and XUD9 (1.9l on later models). Both Bosch and Lucas/CAV/Roto-diesel injection systems were used. A small number of TU petrol engined versions were also sold in the 1980s. The engines and drivetrains were taken from the Peugeot 205.
Numerous changes were made to the engine ancillaries over the years. Early models had an in-line electrical diesel heater, which invariably stopped working after a couple of years, but made no difference, unless used in very cold conditions, so it wasn't fitted on later UK models, the fuel passing over the thermostat housing to warm it up instead. The fuel filter moved from the wing to the top of the thermostat housing. The oil filler moved from the crankcase cover to the dipstick housing.
The front indicators were originally combined with the headlights, but later replaced by side lights (moved from the headlight reflector) and separate indicators were fitted to the bumper.
[edit] External links
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