P OF THE FORM
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graphically illustrated by the black collar of grime that builds up on the panels that flare out behind the cab doors and roof. It is pointless taking the van to a roll-over car wash as the brushes cannot get to the areas where these panels join the cab.
There are several items that our drivers have found generally inconvenient, some of which, like the lack of a clock, can be attributed to Citroen's understandable desire to keep the price down. Nonetheless, a light in the load space would not go amiss. The light inside the cab is mounted over the bulkhead but is only operated by the driver's door, or by fumbling around for an awkward manual switch. Items that cannot be blamed on economy are the lock on the passenger's door that can only be operated by a key or the driver leaning over to secure it, and the dashboard lights that come on whenever the ignition is turned on.
On a couple of occasions this has caused our drivers to head off at night up a brightly lit street without the headlights on. Although there is a headlamp adjuster inside the cab, when unladen, the headlights cannot be lifted far enough to give the illumination one might wish for or expect. This situation has improved now we are running partly laden.
On the subject of headlamps, Citroen would be well advised to replace their 40/45W tungsten bulbs with stronger 60/ 65W halogen lamps.
The single windscreen wiper does a reasonable job, although it leaves a large A-post blind spot for taller drivers. With the mirrors set out on stalks a good rear view is achieved, apart from the inevitable blind spot on the nearside. The rear door windows soon become opaque in the wet, rendering the internal mirror useless.
SUMMING UP
Up to now, the Citroen has not had an easy life and it is not getting any easier with the current abnormal weather. We have been pleased so far with the fuel consumption, low servicing costs and total reliability. Unlike some vans that we have had in the past, the staff do not avoid this one — indeed swaps have been done to get hold of the Citroen for longer runs. In general, that bodes very well for the little van, and if it continues to perform as well it will have aquitted itself commendably. All will be revealed in the end-of-term report when the van leaves us in the spring.
A full roadtest of the C15 appeared in CM 28 September-4 October 1989. Dby Colin Sowman