1977 Citroen GS Reviews

An eccentric Swiss company has created a car with a periscope-style camera to scan the road ahead and a steering wheel that can be stowed – so you can browse the web on the way to work.The Rinspeed Budii (pronounced "buddy") is the star concept car at this week's Geneva motor show, due to open Wednesday March 4, Australian time.The Swiss firm based its latest flight of fancy on the BMW i3 electric car, which has been pulled apart and rebuilt so it is unrecognisable – and loaded with advanced equipment from more than two-dozen technology suppliers.The periscope uses laser and camera technology to read traffic and detect obstacles, while the steering wheel can be used as a makeshift table to rest a lap-top while the car finds its way through traffic.The steering wheel can also be swivelled from the left to the right side of the cabin depending on where the vehicle is sold – or can be slid across at a moment's notice if the driver is too tired.A dedicated app for smart phones (and smart watches) enables owners to set the air-conditioning temperature of the car minutes before they are due to start driving, and activate the electric car's recharging cycle.Although the Rinspeed Budii concept car is not equipped with autonomous driving technology, it does provide an insight into what the inside of self-driving cars could look like.There are large iPad screens in the sun visors, with road information for the driver, and a TV or DVD player for the passenger.The central cabin control screen is as large as a TV, and the display automatically reduces the amount of information shown based on what the driver uses most."The vision of autonomous driving will soon become reality and will fundamentally change the interaction of man and automobiles," says Rinspeed boss Frank Rinderknecht.The car industry is gradually increasing the level of automation in modern vehicles, starting with radar cruise control with "stop-start", which keeps a safe distance from the car ahead, automatically comes to a stop and restarts once the traffic is moving again – without the driver having to touch the brake or accelerator pedals. This technology is available in luxury cars today.The next step is "on-ramp to off-ramp" automation on freeways. Experts believe it will be 10 to 15 years before the technology is good enough to handle the complexity of city and suburban driving."The autonomously driving car will require more than solving technical problems and legal issues in the next two decades," said Mr Rinderknecht. "We not only have to redefine the interaction of man and machine, but must also raise questions about responsibility, tolerances and expectations."Police and insurance companies have already made it clear drivers will still be responsible for obeying the law while behind the wheel of autonomous cars, just as a pilot must stay alert and in control when a plane is on auto-pilot."Even the best technology will not be perfect, albeit less prone to error than humans. That is something we will have to accept," said Mr Rinderknecht. "In the future, cars will do just as we do: they will keep learning every day, and as a result will get better and better at mastering the complex challenges of modern-day private transport."Rinspeed has a long history of creating unusual concept cars. Last year it showed a Tesla electric car with the seats facing backwards – towards a large screen TV – to illustrate how quickly autonomous technology was developing.In 2013 Rinspeed showed a tiny city car in which drivers and passengers stood while strapped to a seat rest; the idea was to create a super-small vehicle that can carry five or more people in comfort.Although the latest Rinspeed concept car does debut a number of world firsts, it wasn't the first company in the world to dream of a bird's eye view of the traffic ahead. Last year Renault unveiled a concept car called the KWID which had a camera drone beam live images back to a screen in the dashboard.It is fitting that so many supercars and racing machines for the super-rich are due to bow at the 2015 Geneva motor show. You need a tax haven to be able to afford to buy – or bend – any one of these.Clearly a recession is around the corner. History shows when super cars become common as muck the global economy collapses, the car industry contracts, and we start all over again.In the meantime, here's a taste of how Europe's filthy rich are living it up as we race towards a fiscal cliff.We don't know what the name means either, but what we do know is that this is the new two-seater sports car concept from the German-owned British brand Bentley. The 'EXP-10 Speed 6', to give its full name, is a pointer to a new model to sell alongside the Bentley coupe and sedan that are already on sale and the SUV that is a few years away from showrooms. The press blurb waxes lyrical about the design and the "expression of muscular, athletic surfaces inspired by the aerodynamic shapes of aircraft fuselages and wings". But nowhere does Bentley mention what type of engine it has. Perhaps 'six' is a clue.For some people, even Lamborghini supercars aren't fast enough. That's why cars like this are born. Lamborghini has extracted 50 extra horsepower and trimmed 50kg of bodyweight from the regular V12 Aventador to produce this limited edition lightweight model. It's called (deep breath) the Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce. All you really need to know is that with 750 horsepower (or 560kW in modern parlance) it can reach the speed limit in just 2.8 seconds and will likely cost more than $800,000 when it goes on sale in Australia late this year.Only 24 of these will be made and, as the saying goes, if you have to ask the price, you probably can't afford it. You will need especially deep pockets given this is a race car, and spare parts won't exactly be "off the shelf". The entire body and chassis are handmade from lightweight carbon-fibre. And the U-shaped steering wheel looks like something from a fighter plane. The Aston Martin Vulcan is the company's latest track weapon, said to have a handy 800 horsepower from its 7.0-litre V12. This is Aston Martin's answer to a one-make racing series for the super-rich.Aston Martin's first sedan since 1976 was released as a limited edition for the Middle East in 2014; now the company has extended production of the aptly-named Taraf to other global markets – in both left- and right-hand-drive – but will cap the number built to 200. Price "remains confidential" but the British press report it will cost £400,000 (approximately $800,000 in Australian dollars, but closer to $1 million by the time Luxury Car Tax and GST are added). Each car will be powered by Aston Martin's 6.0-litre V12 as the engine deal with Mercedes-AMG is yet to start.Do not adjust your eyes: this is the new, second-generation Audi R8. You can tell because it has vertical slats in the lower section of the front bumper, a bigger bulge in the side vents, and squinty headlights. Despite the visual similarities with the original, every panel is new. And the 5.2-litre V10 has been given a tune-up: 449kW in its most powerful guise. On sale here early next year from an estimated $400,000.After 10 years and 450 sales (at €1 million plus taxes apiece) the last ever Bugatti Veyron will bow at the 2015 Geneva motor show. In the end, the world's fastest car had an epic 895kW of power and a mind-boggling 1500Nm of torque from its quad turbo W16 (yes, two V8s mounted back-to-back). Top speed: an average of 431km/h over 1km and a 0 to 100km/h time of 2.5 seconds, which is faster than a Formula One car. The good news: Bugatti is developing a successor.The 488 GTB is the first turbocharged mid-engined Ferrari since the epic F40 supercar made from 1987 to 1992, and is only the second turbo V8 in the company's modern era after last year's California T. As with almost every brand, Ferrari is moving to turbocharging because it can extract more power from smaller engines that burn less fuel. A sign of the times, the 488 GTB (reviving the 40-year-old badge from the 308 GTB) easily eclipses the F40's output (351kW/577Nm) with an impressive 492kW of power and 760Nm of torque to create a 0 to 100km/h time of 3.0 seconds.This may look like another bad-ass Mercedes AMG GT but the bigger news is under the bonnet. It's the last hurrah for the high-powered and highly-strung 6.3-litre V8 that has been at the heart of almost every Mercedes-Benz AMG V8 model for the past decade. And it's going out on a high as the engine to be used in Mercedes' GT3 racer next year.British F1 firm McLaren has joined the long list of supercar makers with a new racing program: the P1 GTR is powered by a 1000 horsepower twin-turbo 3.8-litre V8. The show car is finished in the same colour scheme as McLaren's LeMans winner from 20 years ago. McLaren's one-make racing series for the well-heeled kicks off later this year.German sports car maker Porsche has finally done what diehard fans have demanded for more than 10 years. It has fitted the bigger and more powerful 3.8-litre six-cylinder engine from its 911 flagship into the smaller, more affordable and mid-engined Cayman. The result is a car that promises to out-pace and out-manouvre the iconic 911, which is precisely the reason Porsche was so reluctant to build it in the first place. In local showrooms by the end of the year with a price we're guessing will top $200,000.Meet Mercedes-Benz's monster truck, and one of the most expensive four-wheel-drives in the world. The G500 is based on the legendary Mercedes G-Class body (originally developed for military use but has since been made for civilians) and uses AMG's new twin turbo 4.0-litre V8. But the big news is the desert-racer suspension and the massive 22-inch wheels and tyres – and a price tag likely to cost in excess of $500,000. Fortunately it rides so high there isn't much chance you'll scratch it.Not every car at the Geneva motor show is expensive, inaccessible and unlikely to ever hit the road. But nor is every new car actually a car. Between the regular passenger vehicles is an increasing array of small SUVs.The world's biggest selling car (and the top-seller in Australia for the past two years in a row) is due for a facelift mid-year. New headlights combine with a futuristic-looking grille and sleek front bumper to give it a freshen-up. It's also tipped to get a rear-view camera as standard on every model (bringing it up to speed with the Corolla sedan and the Yaris hatch). The photo is of a hybrid version sold in Europe but Toyota Australia still has no plans to introduce the petrol-electric Corolla.This car should erase any doubts about Hyundai's continued climb up the sales charts. The new Hyundai Tucson (the first European reveal for an all-new Hyundai) is due in Australia in August. Underneath its miniature Hyundai SantaFe looks is a choice of 2.0-litre petrol, 2.0-litre turbo diesel and 1.6-litre turbo petrol power.The initials "GT" are usually associated with iconic Falcon V8 sedans or Ford's US-made Ferrari-fighting sports car, but BMW has decided to add the badge to its first people mover. The 2 Series "Grand Tourer" is the seven-seat version of its 2 Series front-wheel-drive hatch. Note the longer body, taller roof and the bigger boot to fit the third-row seats. On sale later this year.With its bright red paintwork, dark grey alloy wheels and sleek lines you could be forgiven for thinking this could pass for Ferrari's first ever wagon. In fact, it's a Kia. This concept is a pointer to the new generation Optima sedan, which will also be available as a wagon for the first time. Due on sale in Australia late this year.This cool-looking concept comes from Mitsubishi, which has a habit of making its production cars look nowhere near as exciting as the motor show tease. Here's hoping we're wrong. This is the preview to the all-new ASX compact SUV due in showrooms next year. The concept has plug-in hybrid technology but we're not certain that'll make the production version. Petrol and diesel engines will likely be standard fare.Nissan's luxury brand Infiniti (which doesn't know how to spell "infinity") is about to join the baby SUV boom with the oddly-named QX30. Car makers are switching to letters and numbers because apparently we're running out of car names that don't offend someone somewhere in various languages. Expect a showroom version of this to appear next year.It's difficult to know whether this is a tall hatchback or a squashed SUV. The Lexus LF-SA (be careful how you say that) concept is said to be a pointer to the brand's first pint-sized SUV for the city. As is the case with previous Lexus concepts, the showroom version won't look anything like this unfortunately. Imagine this car with normal doors, much smaller wheels and tyres, regular headlights, and then squint a bit, and you have an idea how the real thing will look when it arrives next year.This is a concept intended to warm us to the look of the new generation Audi A4 and A6 wagons due in the next two years. The concept also previews "production ready" plug-in hybrid technology, joining the long list of European brands embracing electrical cords to reduce the emissions ratings for their petrol-powered cars.We're not sure if this looks like a Kia, or if the latest Kia cars look like Citroens. But just to be clear this is the facelift for the Citroen DS5, with a slightly cleaner front-end look while the rest of the car is unchanged. That said, it still turns heads, three years on. The update should be in Australian showrooms by the end of the year.The photos of the new Ford Focus RS hot hatch were released last month, but the vital signs and "tech specs" will finally be made available during the car's first public outing. Powered by the same 2.3-litre turbo four-cylinder engine used in the Mustang, and matched to an all-wheel-drive system, it promises to become Ford's fastest and most powerful hot hatch.The Honda Civic Type R has been in the making for almost as long as the Nissan GT-R. Here's hoping good things come to those who wait. We've seen the concept before, and we know it'll be powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, but the production version of the Civic Type R finally bows at Geneva. There is just one catch: Honda says we might not see the car in Australia until 2017 because the priority is to get the Honda NSX supercar in local showrooms next year.Is your idea of sleeping under stars simply a hotel with a five-star rating? This could be the camper trailer kit for you. Jeep has created a trailer in the same shape as the tail-end of its new city-sized SUV, the Renegade. It comes with a wide screen TV and a massive sound system to annoy other campers. But fear not: it's only a motor show tease. You will not be able to buy this source of public disturbance at a Jeep dealer any time soon.

Never has Citroen followed convention, just look at the lines of the C4 Picasso. Like its predecessors it looks like nothing else on the road. Most of the upper surfaces are glass, from its huge windscreen that almost merges into a super-sized sunroof and onto the sleek rear rear glass it's all about looks.All occupants have 360 degree surround vision, then there are the big pictures above them. Great fun and sure to take the boredom of of long trips.Fortunately for Australian drivers, particularly in the northern areas, the sunlight can be kept out if need be. This is achieved by moving the front of the cabin's roof forward in two sections to make the windscreen smaller (I'm not making this up! Call into a Citroen dealer and see for yourself).Citroen C4 Picasso is a cross between a tall hatchback and a crossover SUV. Okay so there's a lot of 'crosses' in that sentence, but the latest Citroen really doesn't slot neatly into any category body wise. Where it does fit, is onto the short list of buyers looking for something a bit quirky and who don't like to follow conventions.We've had the Citroen C4 Grand Picasso in Australia for some time, but it's quite a different vehicle to the Grand-less Picasso. Whereas the Grand is a seven-seat people mover with diesel power, the Picasso is a five-seater that's petrol powered, as well as being nimbler and easier to drive than its extended brother.Picasso has five individual seats, with the rear three all having the same dimensionsInterestingly, with a starting price of $40,990 it falls into the Vfacts category that includes BMW's new 2 Series Active Tourer, and Mercedes-Benz big selling B-Class. The Citroen importer is delighted to see its Picasso in such exalted company.Picasso has five individual seats, with the rear three all having the same dimensions. The rear seat can slide back and forward to let you choose between passenger legroom and boot capacity. With the seats in their rearmost positions there's good legroom for adults.Luggage space is good, 537 litres with the rear seats back, 630 with them all the way forward. The seats can be folded flat to give you a voluminous 1851 litres.Driving the C4 Picasso is a new experience, not only do you have that goldfish bowl in front of you, the gear lever is in an unusual spot on the top-right of the steering wheel. The front seats have adjustments in multiple directions, some of the setting are controlled via small buttons on a flat area set into the front corner of the seat. It looks as though it takes up unnecessary space but seems to work well enough. Check it out for yourself.There's a huge electronic screen in the centre of the dash that contains the main instruments. The screen can be set up with a choice of displays to suit your individual driving situations. While the central screen obviously suits right-hand and left-hand steering wheel situations, the stylists haven't been instructed to make the dashboard symmetrical. We like this, because that sort of setup screams out cost saving, and this is no low-cost car.Ride comfort is everything you expect from a French car, smooth and quietA smaller screen in a more conventional position in the centre console looks after air conditioning, audio and other minor tasks.Picasso C4 G has a strong range of standard equipment, with keyless entry and start, automatic headlights and wipers, LED daytime running lamps, and fog lamps with a cornering function.Ride comfort is everything you expect from a French car, smooth and quiet. However, there was occasionally more tyre noise than anticipated on some of Australia's notorious coarse-chip surfaces.Handling is safe enough, but tall hatches never feel as good as standard height ones due to the higher centre of gravity. If you're a keen driver who likes press-on motoring in hilly areas perhaps look at a different Citroen.There's no manual gearbox option in AustraliaPower is supplied by a modern 1.6-litre turbo-petrol unit that produces 120 kilowatts, torque is a very useful 240 Newton metres all the way from 1400 revs to 4000, the typical engine speed for almost all drivers virtually all of the time. We liked the way the six-speed automatic transmission worked with the engine to have it at its best revs. There's no manual gearbox option in Australia as there is in European markets, a wise decision by the Australian importer.We threw some peak hour traffic, motorways and steep hills and bends at the C4 Picasso during a drive program organised by Citroen out of Sydney and it performed very well in all conditions.Citroens have a six-year warranty, capped price servicing and roadside assist package.

Chris Riley road tests and reviews Citroen C4 Picasso at its Australian launch.

The major brands are keen for a good start to 2015 and that means a lot of sharp deals for the first two months of the year.Low profile brand Citroen currently has a hot deal on its Berlingo compact hauler, offering the 66kW diesel manual long body version for $25,990 drive away. It has also thrown in an extended warranty, covering it for five years/200,000km.Volkswagen has two limited edition vans available now, with special drive-away pricing.They are called Runner models and are effectively entry-level models.The Caddy Runner is based on the TSI 160 petrol version of Volkswagen’s small van. It is not loaded with gear, but does have airconditioning as well as stability control, and costs $23,990 drive away.The Transporter Runner, based on the TDI 250 diesel, is not completely void of features either and has just picked up Bluetooth phone connectivity and cruise control in addition to AC and stability control.Volkswagen is currently offering it for $32,990 drive away.Renault is receiving initial stock of the new Master large van, but there are a fair few of the old one left and that means bargains are to be had.The company hasn’t locked in incentives with the dealers, instead asking them to check in when someone is interested, so it might well be worth asking.The company does have an extended warranty offer in place at the moment to help its Kangoo compact van, which covers it for five years or 200,000km.Ford is offering two special deals with price cuts and extended warranty deals for its front-drive Transit Custom vans.The first is a short wheelbase model at $38,990 drive away and the second is the long wheelbase version for $40,990 drive away.These are keen prices, especially as Ford has now introduced an extended warranty that lasts for five years/200,000km.Both models are standard, but the Transit is very well specified and each van has a five-star crash safety rating, stability control, cruise control, Bluetooth connectivity, a bulkhead and even heated seats.There is only one transmission, a six-speed manual, as an automatic is still being developed, and only one engine, a 2.2-litre turbodiesel.Fiat is not doing any special deals on its just-introduced Doblo and Ducato vans, maintaining the strong pricing structure from the launch, including the well specified Doblo compact van from $22,000 for the petrol 1.4 and the larger Ducato with a 3.0-litre diesel from $38,000, but neither price includes drive-away costs.

Little French master or space odyssey? Richard Blackburn rates the people-movers

Are you tired of being stuck behind an SUV? If can’t beat em, join em. Paris motor show previews the next big thing on four wheels: pint-sized SUVs for the city.The world’s car makers are rushing to release high-riding hatchbacks that have the commanding view of a family-sized SUV -- but fit in the same size parking space as a Toyota Corolla.SUVs are second only to small cars when it comes to new vehicle sales, and the big brands are finding new ways to fill every possible niche.That means we can expect to see a bunch of tiny-tot SUVs designed for the city, even though they will be dressed up with rugged, go-anywhere looks.Indeed, most city SUVs won’t even have a four-wheel-drive system because they’ll never leave the tarmac.So why are car makers so desperate to get their small SUVs into showrooms? Because buyers are happy to pay a premium for them even though they cost only a fraction more to build than a regular hatchback.Japanese car giant Toyota, the world’s biggest automotive brand, will unveil a city-centric SUV inside enemy territory at this week’s Paris motor show.Even though Toyota is one of the biggest sellers of SUVs on the planet, it has completely missed the march to city-sized softroaders, or “faux-wheel-drives”.Toyota’s swoopy looking “C-HR” concept car is a rather large clue as to what the showroom version will look like when it arrives next year, although no-one knows what ‘C-HR” stands for. “Compact High Rider” perhaps?Even the French, which once revolved against the SUV and vandalized them in the street less than a decade ago, has joined the party.Citroen is poised to unveil the oddly but honestly named “C1 Urban Ride”. It’s a version of its smallest car but with bulging bumpers and slightly taller suspension to give it a macho appearance.Maybe that’s why they’re becoming so popular: blokes need peer approval to buy small cars. Is a Bear Grylls bumper bar enough to get them over the line?Then again, Citroen also released a compact SUV called the Cactus, complete with plastic side mouldings so you don’t get door dings in the shopping centre car park.The Cactus might be made for the urban jungle but it’s not exactly the type of name that would make you want to boast about it.Australians have been at the forefront of the swing to super-small softroaders.Already on sale locally are the Suzuki S-Cross, Holden Trax, Ford EcoSport and Nissan Juke, all priced between $20,000 and $30,000 (when the cars on which they are all based start at less than $20,000).Around the corner are the Honda HR-V and Fiat Panda Cross. Next month Mazda is due to unveil a SUV to slot under the top-selling CX-5.South Korean car maker Hyundai is also working on a super-small SUV, which should be in showrooms in 2016.Meanwhile, for those who think motor shows should always be about high performance exotic supercars, fear not, although the definition of supercar has changed slightly.Lamborghini is preparing to unveil its first ever hybrid sports-car, while Porsche is about to unveil its first ever plug-in hybrid SUV.Porsche’s two-tonne luxury SUV sips less fuel than a Prius -- providing it has enough charge to travel the first 50km on electric power alone before the petrol engine takes over.More affordable eye candy, however, will come in the form of the first ever motor show outing for the new Mazda MX-5 (the world’s top-selling two-seater roadster), and Jaguar XE sedan (no relation to the Ford Falcon from the 1980s of the same name).

French people-mover shows it's designed to succeed with Best in Category for automotive.

The Citroen DS5 sits at the top of the top of the French brand’s premium lineup, above the DS3 and DS4 models.It’s not quite a replacement for the old C6 flagship though, being significantly smaller, and about half the price too.Despite its ‘5’ nomenclature, the DS5 borrows its underpinnings from the Citroen C4, not the larger C5, and the uniquely shaped DS5’s nearest rival would be the BMW 3 Series GT, but the Citroen costs significantly less.Unlike the BMW though, there’s no disputing the Citroen’s beauty, with cohesive shapes and lines throughout and exquisite detailing.The DS5’s aesthetic delights continue on the inside, with a luxuriously appointed interior that looks like it’s just rolled off a motor show stand.This automotive artform is also a practical five door hatch, with a useful 465-litre cargo area and folding seats, and it can tow up to 1500kg.There are a couple of design quirks though, including a lack of cupholders in the centre console, and the rear wiper is like watching a finger sweep the glass.On top of the leather and textured aluminium trim, the $51,990 DS5 diesel comes with heated front seats and a massaging driver’s seat, panoramic roof sections with electric blinds, a heads up display and satnav, and Xenon headlights that steer around corners.The PSA Group’s familiar 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine is the default engine choice, but this one’s the optional 2.0-litre turbodiesel which is well worth the extra 3 thousand dollars.With 120kW and 340Nm, it does a great job of moving the 1615kg DS5, and still returns a combined fuel figure of 6.1L/100km.Both engines come with a six-speed auto, which made good use of the diesel’s torque in our tester.The DS5 carries a full five star ANCAP rating, with dual frontal, side and curtain airbags, ABS, EBD and stability control.A reversing camera and front and rear parking sensors are also standard, but the DS5 does without collision alerts or blind-spot monitoring systems.On the road, the DS5 is a quiet and comfortable place to be, as long as the road is reasonably smooth.The ride is harsher than what you’d expect from a Citroen, and the steering is a bit vague and the torsion beam rear end can be skittish over mid-corner bumps.Overall, the DS5’s unique character and unquestionable style helps to mask its compromised chassis, and its relative value and load-lugging practicality score it more points again.The Citroen DS5 is an alternative choice in the premium mid-size segment, but it’s not a bad one, and it’s definitely a good looking one.

enter the Citroen DS3 hatch, a sweet little car out of France with plenty of kit and a totally different look.

Citroen has been making passenger-car-based vans for decades and the latest Berlingo benefits from this as it's on the same platform as a Citroen people mover.