likewise the early 1990s Honda Accord / Acura Vigor platform twins (or at least cousins). The Accord was transverse 4, Vigor longitudinal 5 cylinder. More subtle but in a way even weirder, when the Accord (possibly only for North America?) got a V6 version in 1995, the V6 engine faced transversely to the right while the 4 cylinder as before faced to the left. I've never heard any technical explanation for why that was. Or I should say, the Accord V6 using the powertrain that had been in the Legend since 1985, had to stay with the Legend's orientation, but why was the 1985 clean-sheet design of the Legend done that way unlike all previous Hondas??
I’m strangely fascinated by the European cars of that era, particularly the ones that never made it to North America. Almost like looking into an alternate universe. Thanks Andy!
I still remember the snowy January day in 1980 my Mom picked us up from school in her brand new metallic blue 652cc Visa Club. It later became my first car in ‘86. I loved it so very much
exactly the same here, in 1986 I got my first car, a two-cylinder Visa when I was 18, which was a nice rust bucket when I bought it for peanuts. Replaced the mud guards, did a lod of body work together with my father, reworked the engine which was leaking oil, afterwards I got a car which was so much fun! I owned several cars afterwards, but I'll never forget the Visa 🙂
I used to use the C15 van for work, bombing around quarries and landfills. It was great off-road. You'd take a run-up at a muddy patch and just bounce across it. I never broke it.
My first car was a 1986 Visa RE 11 Leader. I bought it because I got an almost new one for 40% below its humble new price - and it was much better than any Polo, Corsa, Fiesta or 205 I could have got for that price. It soon grew on me - it was very roomy for its class, had an excellent suspension and its small Peugeot derived 4 cylinder engine was smooth and frugal. And it was my first car - which would have given any car a special place in my heart...
We owned a Y reg (82-83) Visa 1124 for 4 years. It only let us down once, on a trip down the A9, we lost all drive. RAC recovery got us home and I found the problem. A small splined connecter in the gearbox had stripped and no drive from engine to gearbox. We had a towbar fitted and regularly pulled a small box trailer for family holidays to Wester Ross. It was very comfortable, soft seats and the total package of suspension compliance with Michelin tyres meant an easy ride for everyone.The (then) unusual driver controls for lights and indicators soon became intuitive and one of the best ventilation systems ever. We could demist the front screen, have warm toes and through the front vents still have fresh air in our faces, something we miss. Now, all we get is blended through every vent.
The first car I owned was a 1975 Citroen GS 1200 Club, and over 50 cars and fifty years later, it’s still one of the most fun and reliable cars I’ve ever owned.
I ordered a new C15 in 2006, based in the fact that for about £1000 more than a decent used van, I could have a brand new one...and it didn't have to be white! Mind you, I had to wait seven weeks for it to arrive from the factory. I treated it rough and hard, more like a Land Rover, shepherding livestock, driving through floods and carting dogs about. For nine years it never missed a beat, the DW8B engine averaged 51mpg over the first 125,000 miles (I gave up bothering to check it after that). A great van and our household has forever been a Citroen one since, except for my Morris 1000 Traveller.
Thé C15 is still very popular in the countryside, even today, here in France, though there are now very old, replaced by more recent vans. Kind of a legend. 😁 Used to move wood, livestock and whatever dirty thing needs to be move around, including dogs for hunting.
Had the DW8B on a Citroen Xsara and a Fiat Scudo. It was a pain in the ass - slow, poor torque, mediocre fuel economy. In comparison with XUD it was very bad. Maybe on a light van as the C15 it could perform better.
If I remember correctly, when the C15 was launched in the UK it came in 2 colours, red and white, which were sold as "Van rouge" and "Van blanc", a play on words for red and white French wine
I have a C15 and i love it. I live in the Sierra Nevada mountains in southern Spain and it is absolutely brilliant on the tracks around here. It's load capacity is over 500kg, has the roof rack, mostly easy to service, cheap on fuel, cheap to insure and tax. I can camp in the back of it. Had it four years now. One of the best vehicles i have ever owned. Certainly not one of the newest or most luxury vehicles I've had but when it comes to reliability and practicality, it's great.
I've always fancied an Oltcit. Used to see a bright red one locally on a regular basis, usually at the supermarket, and always got pangs of car envy whenever I saw it. Sadly, I haven't seen it since covid, so I'm guessing things didn't go well for it's owner. I like to think the car is still in daily use somewhere, hopefully with a family member.
In 1992 I got my first car. A 3rd hand VISA diesel, from the local Citroën dealer. I had it for just short of 10 years! Finally selling it for £250 to someone who wanted spares for there van. I still choose Peugeot diesel engines to this day because of how long that little car lasted me. Can't say I loved that car but it definitely earned my respect after years of getting me through 2 floods and countless heavy snow falls that had stopped bigger salons buy the road side.
The C15 has gone as far as to attain meme status here in Spain. It's regarded as absolutely indestructible, proven by the fact there's still LOADS of them being driven around, some with so much tear and wear you'd think they've been to a war zone.
The Renault 21 had a similar combination of longitudinal and transverse mounted engines in their range, which made them have differences in the front structure dimensions.
I came here to say the same thing. The 1.7 petrol (shared with the Volvo 340) was transverse, and the larger engines were longitudinal. The exterior bodywork dimensions were the same but the wheelbases were slightly different.
I had a 1987 Visa Leader 1.7 diesel some years ago, anyone who got in it said how comfortable it was! Loved that car but traded it for a last of line 2cv, which I still have today
My family had one in the 80's, so i bought myself one few years ago. Even today it's a great little car. To my surprise it behaves excellent on highways,absorbs bumps very well and have great stability at high speed.Fuel economy is also ok, even for "powerful" 1.1 engine.
Had the Visa2 with the 2cyl. - lovely charming car and very reliable - sadly I was cut off by a lorry and the car beyond repair… Still miss this quirky gem…
Thank you for the video. I'm long-time Big Car subscriber and a Visa owner - Visas rare in the UK now. The Visa has a surprising amount of charm for it's pretty ordinary underpinnings (mine is a 4 cylinder version), and I'm often surprised by just how warm and nostalgic people feel for my Visa when I'm out and about in it. Passengers also always comment on how roomy and comfortable it is.
In early 90s, my father started to work with a friend in a newly established business, after the regime change in Romania. That friend encouraged my dad to get the driving license, and sine he couldn't yet afford buying a car, this great friend borrowed my dad, an Oltcit 12 TRS. At the time it was the most powerful passenger car built in Romania. My old man drove it for almost two years, and I started to learn how to drive, at the wheel of this car, in parking lots, and on remote village agriculture roads, which were not public roads. I was just fascinated by that little car.
I love seeing those late C15 vans, I couldn't believe they were still making them long in to the 2000's and was even more surprised to learn the only reason they stopped production is becuase the tools had worn down completely. It was even a controversy with locals thinking it was a fake reason to stop producing the C15!
The real reason production stopped is probably more likely to be that it couldn't meet emissions and/or safety regulations. Shame, because it was a good little van. I'd rather have a C15 than anything produced nowadays, that's for damn sure.
A little to add: the Visa Bicylinder had a nicely working heating system although air cooled. There were special editions with an all blue interior, dashboard, steering wheel and controls included. And very rare: the Visa 'Chausson' with altered boot lid. The space between the rear lights was cut out for easier loading and the boot lid was given an extension. Oh, and not to forget: the various Romahome camper vans based on the C15. Somewhere on TH-cam there is a nice home made 'Visa Electrique'.
Great episode, as always! And what a nice little glimpse of the other romanian produced car, the Oltcit Club/Citröen Axel. Even today most of the people think that the Oltcit was a bad copy of the Visa, but instead it was the Citroën Y prototype that preceded the Visa. There are a lot of people that call the Oltcit Club/Citroën Axel as "The last truly Citroën".
I had a Visa GT way back when. Great car. Took me on my wife all around Europe for several years. It looked slightly different than the more pedestrian versions. The dash controls worked very well. Never had a single problem with it.
My grandfather had a Visa. I didn't like it at the time, but I was just a dumb kid. He had had company cars before that, so it was hard to see why he had chosen the stark contrast of a Visa when he retired. I appreciate his thinking more now. As for the brown, yes! I have a brown Smart Fortwo, with a grey/brown interior. It's so 70's and I love it.
And the BX which was transverse also had the Group B homologation special ( 4TC? ) which was longitudinal engine needing a longer front end oh and 4wd as well.
There is a lot of love for the C15 vans! Thank you for the indepth look into them. Specially after having sugested a van video in a previous comment😂. Amazing video as usual👏
My brother lent me his C15 van when my transit was written off. It was so comfortable I wanted the same seats in my next van, no other van had such comfy seats since.......... the suspension was legendary too. If a company could remake the champ with a slightly larger load capacity, I'd buy a new one at a drop of a hat. It was almost perfect 👌🏻
Really love your videos they are brilliant and perfectly narrated - thanks for doing this one. A silver late model Citroen Visa was my very 1st car - Hated the look of it to be fair but got it for only 500 quid. Ended up having to be scrapped as I went over a "sleeping policeman " too quickly and the back suspension spring shot up into the back seats which meant it was too expensive to fix.
Almost every motoring journalist bagged Citroen's non-cancelling indicators. I sure wish I had them back again, though. They were always light to use and your brain just gets used to turning them off when you want. In contrast, I find normal indicators have a detente requiring way more force, then cancel themselves when you move into a turn-lane so I seem to have to turn the indicators on twice for a turn and most other people just turn without getting into the turn lane. Bring back non-self-cancelling indicators, I say!
Great video of a real people's car. So good to see honest cars celebrated. Many people depended on cars like this to just live their lives, not to show off or swank around. Families, students, workers. This is the true spirit of motoring. Well done. Very enjoyable. More like this, please? How about Proton-especially the Jumbuck..
Thank you for reminding us of the Citroen LN, which had seemingly vanished into history! I think it looked very ordinary at the time, but in retrospect, it looks neat and practical - not to mention compact! In the current world of grotesque overblown SUVs, it now seems a work of genius! As for the Visa, its fascinating to think about how much effort was made in those days to have all the controls accessible without your hands leaving the steering wheel. I imagine the designers would have been appalled at the thought of the absurd and borderline dangerous touch screens that so many modern cars have!
Citroën already became one of my favorite car brands. Even though i don't own one, i like how much soul their cars have, from the unique designs, quirkyness. Innovations, Etc. It's only a shame the Visa didn't had a 2-door version, unlike the Axel.
Another great video, thanks for creating it. I was wondering if you had any plans to create a video on the Citroen AX. It was once in the Guinness book of records for the most special editions. 👍🏻😊
I have a 2CV. It had a 652 cc Visa engine. It reached 130 km/h easily. The engine was in a bad condition and had to be overhauled. Long story short; it now has a normal 602 cc engine with the unused ignition computer still in it.
How i loved my Visa 17d Crystal!! Very very very economical and strong enough to pull a caravan through Scandinavian countries. I loved the suspension, as it was true french-soft. Too bad it rusted away, ending it’s life too soon
It always amazed me how long they kept selling the c15 for, the Berlingo/Partner was in it's first facelift by the time they axed the c15. I wonder if they intentionally kept manufacturing them, or if they just had loads of bodyshells left over.
8:39 The Renault R21 had that same with engine layouts but here harder to understand as all engines were 4-cylinders while for the Visa the longitudinal engines were the old 2-cyl Boxer. Fantastic explanation to the many rally versions, thank you very much!
Oltcit Club ❤❤❤❤ My father had two in the 90’s. Can’t remember many things because i was very young but the main thing i remember was the switches behind the steering wheel. Compared to Dacia 1300 (Renault 12) the Oltcit interior overall was from the future. 😅
I had a 1984 650cc with totally faded bordeaux red paint which I bought for €300. To me it was brilliant: it would do 130 kph , pretty good for such an engine. One time I was suddenly pushed off the road doing 95 kph in a rural area near home but I didn't want to brake since I felt I could trust the suspension and knowing that braking in bumpy wet grass would make the car spin very easily, me having done a fair bit of rallycross back in the day. So I steered it abruptly on the bumpy grass at speed and held it there for over a 100 yards and the car handled it beautifully, no issues. My dad was scared shitless though, he thought we were going to roll over and die. Ultimately he was very glad I was driving. I just thought it was funny.
My very first car was a Citröen AX. Drove like a go-cart and stopped like a Supertanker. Continually overheated, and when the engine would pack in, the brake servo died with it, which it did one day as I was approaching downhill a set of traffic lights. I never understood why the stupid steering wheel had a single spoke that was horizontal rather than vertical, and the clutch pedal was almost behind the radio (which coincidentally didn’t work). I eventually flogged it off to an unsuspecting soul, and bought myself a Rover 100. Much better.
Hi Sion a great video and wow it’s been some years since I’ve seen a visa. Remember them well growing up the original and facelift a friends parents had a later GTI! The original is so very Citroen in design and approach and love the dash it’s amazing yet bizarre all in one looking forward to part two and seeing how things change! It seemed to put a smile on your face you should seek to add one to the morsels fleet! All the best Daniel
I always liked the bizarre VISA 1. Its 650cc engine and the chassis/suspension came from the ingenious 2CV. I found the control satellite on the steering wheel very practical.
Alfa Romeo 145 and 146 were originally longitudinal flat fours. Later ones had transverse in line 4s. See also Renault 21 above (that I had completely forgotten about despite having owned two).
quite ironically, the most Citroen-like of all mentioned models, was the Oltcit with the longitudinally mounted air-cooled boxer 4 and torsion bar suspension. I had the pleasure in a 1995, low mileage, 1300 cc Club 12 TRS. Expected a commie shitbox and it felt like anything but. In very good condition, it was a sublime machine. Great comfort and road manners, very nimble, very nice engine both in sound and response, excellent 5 speed gearbox and brakes. Of course, running Michelin tyres and dressed in flush, disc aero plastic hubcaps in true Citroen style. About the size and interior room and feel of a 2 dr mk2 Renault Clio which i am very well acquainted with. Very positive driving experience and such a quirky and characterful thing !!
I heard the story that after the purchase of Citroen by Peugeot, the Visa project was abandoned. Luck made the contract with Romania appear and so the project was revived in the form of Oltcit with two doors. Thus, the Axel version with four doors was also maintained.
YES YES YES 🤩🤩🤩 Love your videos, every single one! For the VISA, it’s actually quite funny how such a „sh1t box“ - as many would probably see it (I personally love it!) - actually came to life FIVE times…as FIAT, as Citroën, as Olcit, as much better selling Facelift and as Wuling - who would think that of this little unsuspecting car? Great storytelling as always! So highly appreciated!
My wife's first car as a student in 1988 was a 1983 1.1L, it was a hugely endearing car, very economical and the 'barrel', as we called it, for the controls took 10 minutes to get the hang of
You have that little white Casio VL-Tone with the "Da da da" rhythm! My dad bought one back in the day. I sold it on eBay about 5 years ago. "Chrono" is short for "chronomètre", which is French for "stopwatch" and invokes speed.
8:30 I'm sure someone has already pointed out the Alfa Romeo Arna and Datsun Sunny with their choice of transverse Nissan engine or longitudinal Alfa Romeo boxer. 🙂
Another great historical video, I remember the Visa from my very young days as a little kid in the 80’s, a family friend had a brown Visa 11e I think that wasn’t the last word in a reliable car, then years later I owned a 2004 C15 van with a Berlingo 1800 Diesel engine, it felt very 80,s to drive but it had character. I’m pleasantly surprised the Visa front end carried on so long in the form of C15 van but for their time they were good cars and vans overall and served their purpose.
8:40 different available layouts were rare, but didn't stop in the 70ies: the Alfa 33 was available with a 3cyl Diesel in addition to the default Boxers, and the first generation of the 145/146 also came with the Boxers before switching to the Fiat engines.
My first car was a gift from my parents but my second car, which I bought, was a 1981 Visa II Super E fitted with the 1124cc engine. I had a few warranty issues then after the warranty had expired a few more issues that proved somewhat expensive to fix. After 4 years I wanted to change but the Citroen dealer offered me less for it against a new BX than a Honda dealer offered me against a new Honda Civic. The Honda was a vastly better car, but I soon learned just how poorly surfaced English roads were - the Visa was supremely comfortable over bumps and potholes (which haven't got any better over the past 40-or-so years). When I had the Visa I bought Citroen's own workshop manual as Haynes didn't do one...... and it's taken over 40 years for me to find out why the model code was "VD" ! Thanks for the story and the explanation
A real underdog, the Citroen Visa - I remember the original ‘puffin nose’ air cooled cars being tested by Car magazine, who rated them highly. It was interesting to see the Visa develop - I think it became a really well rounded, but honest car - maybe not the best looking, but infused with character - I kind of wished I’d sought one out as a first car, instead of looking at AXs (which were excellent cars) - I’d bet that owning a Visa would have been great fun.
Enjoyed the video. I had a Visa II in the 80s with the 1124 engine. It was bright 'jeunesse' (yellow/green) and was a great practical car for us as a young family at the time. The control pod set up was very easy to use and it was a good drive even when fully laden on longer distances. The only downside I found was maintenance when trying to access different areas in the engine bay. There were two Visa's at The Festival of The Unexceptional this year, one 1124 with the control pod and one 1360 with traditional controls. Very rare cars today.
About the longitudinal engine in small hatchback: In Latin America VW sold the VW Gol from 1980 until 2014 (same chassi, only with facelift here and there) with engines from 1,0l until 2,0l mounted longitudinally... a weird combination such as Visa
I love these cars. But again Citroen is one of my favorite French car. 😊 Horizontal opposed engines are better suited mounted longitudinal instead of transverse due to packaging. Especially in front wheel drive. Its why all Suburus are mounted that way. 😊
Great video! Could you make one on the Citroen AX, please? I had two (1988 & 1996) and my family had several. All made it well above 300k kilometers and some even over 500k km before being sold to Africa. Great cars that proved that simplicity is best!
Really nice video! 👏 I would've just added an extra reference (and picture) about the Project TA - which preceded the VD one. I think there's still a red/purple-ish rolling prototype out there
Rover 75 also had both longitudinal and transverse engines. For similar reasons, home grown engine and one from a different company. Though with Rover it was the home grown engine that fit transversely, while the Ford V8 had to fit longitudinaly to drive the rear wheels.
My dad had a Citroen Visa Turbo Diesel 5 door and it was a good little car, very economical, and quite roomy plus very practical too, with a good amount of loadspace once the rear seats were folded flat.
Are you sure it had a turbo? I had a couple of 17RDs that were possibly livelier than a marginally heavier Peugeot 205 XLD, but a later 205 D-Turbo was in a different league.
@@philhealey4443 My dad's Citroen Visa diesel had a good turn of speed, and was pretty spritely for it's performance. It could've been the XUD7 1769cc Diesel model, yeah it wasn't a turbo, though it did make swift progress, once you floored it.
Great wee car. Had one when I lived in NW highlands of Scotland. Drove through snowdrifts and blizzards with no problem . Loaded gravel directly into the boot for my drive. Used it and abused it. One big problem though. Head gasket went which, because the block was canted forward, meant that you could not remove the engine head. So engine had to be taken out before you could remove the cylinder head - expensive.
It's pretty interesting looking at the Trophee's livery and the fact that AMC was under their umbrella around this time...reminds me of the drag specials that AMC produced only a few years earlier.
The Renault 21 also had the transverse/longitudinal engine layout.
"VD" in English refers to Venereal Disease, a sexually transmitted disease.
Rover 75 when they put the V8 in?
likewise the early 1990s Honda Accord / Acura Vigor platform twins (or at least cousins). The Accord was transverse 4, Vigor longitudinal 5 cylinder. More subtle but in a way even weirder, when the Accord (possibly only for North America?) got a V6 version in 1995, the V6 engine faced transversely to the right while the 4 cylinder as before faced to the left. I've never heard any technical explanation for why that was. Or I should say, the Accord V6 using the powertrain that had been in the Legend since 1985, had to stay with the Legend's orientation, but why was the 1985 clean-sheet design of the Legend done that way unlike all previous Hondas??
Same with Fiat Cinquecento, at least in Poland.
@@hagridman82 And so the original Fiat Panda, which in its base version "30" had the two cylinder engine from the 126.
@@marksandstrom4248 I believe that was because of the joint venture with Rover creating the Legend and 800 series.
the existence of the citroen visa and the austin maestro also implies a theoretical car model named mastercard or amex
The closest we got was the AMX by AMC.
This made my day, very clever 👏👏
The closest thing would be the infamous Mastercard Lola in F1
Trust you to get the credit for that gag. What a card.
@@theunknownstuntman4010 you're easily impressed
I’m strangely fascinated by the European cars of that era, particularly the ones that never made it to North America.
Almost like looking into an alternate universe.
Thanks Andy!
I still remember the snowy January day in 1980 my Mom picked us up from school in her brand new metallic blue 652cc Visa Club. It later became my first car in ‘86. I loved it so very much
exactly the same here, in 1986 I got my first car, a two-cylinder Visa when I was 18, which was a nice rust bucket when I bought it for peanuts.
Replaced the mud guards, did a lod of body work together with my father, reworked the engine which was leaking oil, afterwards I got a car which was so much fun!
I owned several cars afterwards, but I'll never forget the Visa 🙂
I used to use the C15 van for work, bombing around quarries and landfills. It was great off-road. You'd take a run-up at a muddy patch and just bounce across it. I never broke it.
My first car was a 1986 Visa RE 11 Leader. I bought it because I got an almost new one for 40% below its humble new price - and it was much better than any Polo, Corsa, Fiesta or 205 I could have got for that price.
It soon grew on me - it was very roomy for its class, had an excellent suspension and its small Peugeot derived 4 cylinder engine was smooth and frugal.
And it was my first car - which would have given any car a special place in my heart...
Last sentence was true enough
We owned a Y reg (82-83) Visa 1124 for 4 years. It only let us down once, on a trip down the A9, we lost all drive. RAC recovery got us home and I found the problem. A small splined connecter in the gearbox had stripped and no drive from engine to gearbox. We had a towbar fitted and regularly pulled a small box trailer for family holidays to Wester Ross. It was very comfortable, soft seats and the total package of suspension compliance with Michelin tyres meant an easy ride for everyone.The (then) unusual driver controls for lights and indicators soon became intuitive and one of the best ventilation systems ever. We could demist the front screen, have warm toes and through the front vents still have fresh air in our faces, something we miss. Now, all we get is blended through every vent.
The first car I owned was a 1975 Citroen GS 1200 Club, and over 50 cars and fifty years later, it’s still one of the most fun and reliable cars I’ve ever owned.
I ordered a new C15 in 2006, based in the fact that for about £1000 more than a decent used van, I could have a brand new one...and it didn't have to be white! Mind you, I had to wait seven weeks for it to arrive from the factory. I treated it rough and hard, more like a Land Rover, shepherding livestock, driving through floods and carting dogs about. For nine years it never missed a beat, the DW8B engine averaged 51mpg over the first 125,000 miles (I gave up bothering to check it after that). A great van and our household has forever been a Citroen one since, except for my Morris 1000 Traveller.
Thé C15 is still very popular in the countryside, even today, here in France, though there are now very old, replaced by more recent vans.
Kind of a legend. 😁
Used to move wood, livestock and whatever dirty thing needs to be move around, including dogs for hunting.
Had the DW8B on a Citroen Xsara and a Fiat Scudo. It was a pain in the ass - slow, poor torque, mediocre fuel economy. In comparison with XUD it was very bad. Maybe on a light van as the C15 it could perform better.
If I remember correctly, when the C15 was launched in the UK it came in 2 colours, red and white, which were sold as "Van rouge" and "Van blanc", a play on words for red and white French wine
You are correct.Really good van,too.We had one at work.
I have a C15 and i love it.
I live in the Sierra Nevada mountains in southern Spain and it is absolutely brilliant on the tracks around here.
It's load capacity is over 500kg, has the roof rack, mostly easy to service, cheap on fuel, cheap to insure and tax.
I can camp in the back of it.
Had it four years now. One of the best vehicles i have ever owned.
Certainly not one of the newest or most luxury vehicles I've had but when it comes to reliability and practicality, it's great.
I remember being driven in an Oltcit as a kid in Romania in the early 90s. The inside looked like it was from the future.
I'll bet
The Oltcit was one of the most innovative mini cars of its day when it first launched. 👍
I've always fancied an Oltcit. Used to see a bright red one locally on a regular basis, usually at the supermarket, and always got pangs of car envy whenever I saw it. Sadly, I haven't seen it since covid, so I'm guessing things didn't go well for it's owner. I like to think the car is still in daily use somewhere, hopefully with a family member.
In 1992 I got my first car. A 3rd hand VISA diesel, from the local Citroën dealer. I had it for just short of 10 years! Finally selling it for £250 to someone who wanted spares for there van. I still choose Peugeot diesel engines to this day because of how long that little car lasted me. Can't say I loved that car but it definitely earned my respect after years of getting me through 2 floods and countless heavy snow falls that had stopped bigger salons buy the road side.
The C15 has gone as far as to attain meme status here in Spain. It's regarded as absolutely indestructible, proven by the fact there's still LOADS of them being driven around, some with so much tear and wear you'd think they've been to a war zone.
Indeed. My favourite one is: ‘The FIA banned the use of the undestructible C15 at the Paris-Dakar race as it was a form of cheating’.
You can still find them everywhere in France, rust being a big issue on the C15, I can't imagine how well preserved they must be in Spain
@@fevriertheo1414 Not much I heard, spanish cars are just built different. Spain also has a very dry, car-friendly clinate.
I live in the Sierra Nevada in Spain and guess what i have as a daily driver.
Yep a C15.
Brilliant little van.
Moving to Europe soon. May buy one. Always loved Citroën.
The Renault 21 had a similar combination of longitudinal and transverse mounted engines in their range, which made them have differences in the front structure dimensions.
I came here to say the same thing. The 1.7 petrol (shared with the Volvo 340) was transverse, and the larger engines were longitudinal. The exterior bodywork dimensions were the same but the wheelbases were slightly different.
R21 a very good car, we had one in 1996-1998 5 door 1721cc (transverse).
I too was going to mention the R21, I owned both 1.7 & 2.0. Great cars
When you opened the hood on a 1721 cm3 car, you would basically remark that there was almost enough free space to squizz in another 1721 cm3 engine!
I had a 1987 Visa Leader 1.7 diesel some years ago, anyone who got in it said how comfortable it was! Loved that car but traded it for a last of line 2cv, which I still have today
The Citroen AX was my first car and very capable it was too. Interesting to see many of the characteristics from the Visa were carried over.
My family had one in the 80's, so i bought myself one few years ago. Even today it's a great little car. To my surprise it behaves excellent on highways,absorbs bumps very well and have great stability at high speed.Fuel economy is also ok, even for "powerful" 1.1 engine.
Had the Visa2 with the 2cyl. - lovely charming car and very reliable - sadly I was cut off by a lorry and the car beyond repair…
Still miss this quirky gem…
Thank you for the video. I'm long-time Big Car subscriber and a Visa owner - Visas rare in the UK now. The Visa has a surprising amount of charm for it's pretty ordinary underpinnings (mine is a 4 cylinder version), and I'm often surprised by just how warm and nostalgic people feel for my Visa when I'm out and about in it. Passengers also always comment on how roomy and comfortable it is.
Glad you've enjoyed the videos, and it was fun to cover the Visa.
In early 90s, my father started to work with a friend in a newly established business, after the regime change in Romania. That friend encouraged my dad to get the driving license, and sine he couldn't yet afford buying a car, this great friend borrowed my dad, an Oltcit 12 TRS. At the time it was the most powerful passenger car built in Romania. My old man drove it for almost two years, and I started to learn how to drive, at the wheel of this car, in parking lots, and on remote village agriculture roads, which were not public roads. I was just fascinated by that little car.
Oh please Mr Big Car, now do one on the GS! Had 74 model, the most amazing car ever ❤😊!
One day. It's on my list.
@@BigCar2That's good to hear. 👍🏼
@BigCar Olcit deserve his own video, it is worth it trust me 👍😎
I love seeing those late C15 vans, I couldn't believe they were still making them long in to the 2000's and was even more surprised to learn the only reason they stopped production is becuase the tools had worn down completely. It was even a controversy with locals thinking it was a fake reason to stop producing the C15!
That mean the 2000s C15 had bad build quality if all the tools used to make the car were all blunt. They would replace the tools first.
indeed it's BS. The van was replaced because it was a 30 years old project.
The real reason production stopped is probably more likely to be that it couldn't meet emissions and/or safety regulations. Shame, because it was a good little van. I'd rather have a C15 than anything produced nowadays, that's for damn sure.
A little to add: the Visa Bicylinder had a nicely working heating system although air cooled. There were special editions with an all blue interior, dashboard, steering wheel and controls included. And very rare: the Visa 'Chausson' with altered boot lid. The space between the rear lights was cut out for easier loading and the boot lid was given an extension. Oh, and not to forget: the various Romahome camper vans based on the C15. Somewhere on TH-cam there is a nice home made 'Visa Electrique'.
Great episode, as always!
And what a nice little glimpse of the other romanian produced car, the Oltcit Club/Citröen Axel. Even today most of the people think that the Oltcit was a bad copy of the Visa, but instead it was the Citroën Y prototype that preceded the Visa.
There are a lot of people that call the Oltcit Club/Citroën Axel as "The last truly Citroën".
I had a Visa GT way back when. Great car. Took me on my wife all around Europe for several years. It looked slightly different than the more pedestrian versions. The dash controls worked very well. Never had a single problem with it.
Casio SK-1 in the background. Legend
Record a burp into the speaker and you're a stupid teenager once more!
What a groundbreaking little synth it was!
And the Casio VL-1, I've still got mine, Christmas present from 1982.
Burp was the kinder option...
@@rockall66that demo tune is etched in to my brain.
My mom had one of these in the mid 90s. The dashboard was so incredibly stylish for a budget car!
Long awaited, but worth the wait!!
My grandfather had a Visa. I didn't like it at the time, but I was just a dumb kid. He had had company cars before that, so it was hard to see why he had chosen the stark contrast of a Visa when he retired. I appreciate his thinking more now.
As for the brown, yes! I have a brown Smart Fortwo, with a grey/brown interior. It's so 70's and I love it.
Thank you for this phantastic Video.
I am a proud Visa owner and I enjoy every ride with them. Here in Germany it's very rare.
And the BX which was transverse also had the Group B homologation special ( 4TC? ) which was longitudinal engine needing a longer front end oh and 4wd as well.
That Olcit interior around 10.43 minutes in is superb! Love it!!!
The Visa GTi was an utter hoot, light and handled like a well sprung go kart.
Loved my time with one.
There is a lot of love for the C15 vans! Thank you for the indepth look into them. Specially after having sugested a van video in a previous comment😂. Amazing video as usual👏
My brother lent me his C15 van when my transit was written off. It was so comfortable I wanted the same seats in my next van, no other van had such comfy seats since.......... the suspension was legendary too.
If a company could remake the champ with a slightly larger load capacity, I'd buy a new one at a drop of a hat. It was almost perfect 👌🏻
Really love your videos they are brilliant and perfectly narrated - thanks for doing this one. A silver late model Citroen Visa was my very 1st car - Hated the look of it to be fair but got it for only 500 quid. Ended up having to be scrapped as I went over a "sleeping policeman " too quickly and the back suspension spring shot up into the back seats which meant it was too expensive to fix.
Thanks!
Thank you Patrick!
I had a 1.1 visa, probably the most fun I have had in a small car. Light, reasonably fast and very practical.
Almost every motoring journalist bagged Citroen's non-cancelling indicators. I sure wish I had them back again, though. They were always light to use and your brain just gets used to turning them off when you want. In contrast, I find normal indicators have a detente requiring way more force, then cancel themselves when you move into a turn-lane so I seem to have to turn the indicators on twice for a turn and most other people just turn without getting into the turn lane. Bring back non-self-cancelling indicators, I say!
My first car was a '85 Citroën Axel 12 TRS, would love to see a more in depth video on that and the deal with Oltcit.
Great video of a real people's car. So good to see honest cars celebrated. Many people depended on cars like this to just live their lives, not to show off or swank around. Families, students, workers. This is the true spirit of motoring. Well done. Very enjoyable. More like this, please? How about Proton-especially the Jumbuck..
Actually the Satellite controls worked very fine, the indicators did not self cancel because it meant to give you full control of them.
Just love their dash boards, made by real thinkers. If I lived in France I'd collect a good example of them.
Danke!
Thank you Stephan!
My first company car ! The Visa Van , from 1986, D365 VAO.
Happy memories, punting around Cumbria, in it .
Thanks Citroen !
Great video ! 👍
Thank you for reminding us of the Citroen LN, which had seemingly vanished into history! I think it looked very ordinary at the time, but in retrospect, it looks neat and practical - not to mention compact! In the current world of grotesque overblown SUVs, it now seems a work of genius! As for the Visa, its fascinating to think about how much effort was made in those days to have all the controls accessible without your hands leaving the steering wheel. I imagine the designers would have been appalled at the thought of the absurd and borderline dangerous touch screens that so many modern cars have!
Citroën already became one of my favorite car brands. Even though i don't own one, i like how much soul their cars have, from the unique designs, quirkyness. Innovations, Etc.
It's only a shame the Visa didn't had a 2-door version, unlike the Axel.
Damn, it's the weekend, I got my bike running, AND got a new Big Car vid. Today is a good day.
Another great video, thanks for creating it. I was wondering if you had any plans to create a video on the Citroen AX. It was once in the Guinness book of records for the most special editions. 👍🏻😊
Maybe one day. Not any time soon though.
I have a 2CV. It had a 652 cc Visa engine.
It reached 130 km/h easily.
The engine was in a bad condition and had to be overhauled.
Long story short; it now has a normal 602 cc engine with the unused ignition computer still in it.
How i loved my Visa 17d Crystal!! Very very very economical and strong enough to pull a caravan through Scandinavian countries. I loved the suspension, as it was true french-soft. Too bad it rusted away, ending it’s life too soon
It always amazed me how long they kept selling the c15 for, the Berlingo/Partner was in it's first facelift by the time they axed the c15. I wonder if they intentionally kept manufacturing them, or if they just had loads of bodyshells left over.
Wonderful insight, thank you. I appreciate you covering some of the more unsung heros of automotive history.
8:39 The Renault R21 had that same with engine layouts but here harder to understand as all engines were 4-cylinders while for the Visa the longitudinal engines were the old 2-cyl Boxer.
Fantastic explanation to the many rally versions, thank you very much!
Oltcit Club ❤❤❤❤ My father had two in the 90’s. Can’t remember many things because i was very young but the main thing i remember was the switches behind the steering wheel. Compared to Dacia 1300 (Renault 12) the Oltcit interior overall was from the future. 😅
Another good piece, altough I can not imagine any car producing "cc" 🙂
I had a 1984 650cc with totally faded bordeaux red paint which I bought for €300. To me it was brilliant: it would do 130 kph , pretty good for such an engine.
One time I was suddenly pushed off the road doing 95 kph in a rural area near home but I didn't want to brake since I felt I could trust the suspension and knowing that braking in bumpy wet grass would make the car spin very easily, me having done a fair bit of rallycross back in the day. So I steered it abruptly on the bumpy grass at speed and held it there for over a 100 yards and the car handled it beautifully, no issues. My dad was scared shitless though, he thought we were going to roll over and die. Ultimately he was very glad I was driving. I just thought it was funny.
My very first car was a Citröen AX. Drove like a go-cart and stopped like a Supertanker. Continually overheated, and when the engine would pack in, the brake servo died with it, which it did one day as I was approaching downhill a set of traffic lights. I never understood why the stupid steering wheel had a single spoke that was horizontal rather than vertical, and the clutch pedal was almost behind the radio (which coincidentally didn’t work).
I eventually flogged it off to an unsuspecting soul, and bought myself a Rover 100. Much better.
The Renault 21 had some models with a longitudinal engine and some with transverse engines.
Also Transit, Sprinter, Vito, Crafter and MAN TGE still have it.
@@JaakkoIsWatching never even considered the vans. Cheers.
Hi Sion a great video and wow it’s been some years since I’ve seen a visa. Remember them well growing up the original and facelift a friends parents had a later GTI! The original is so very Citroen in design and approach and love the dash it’s amazing yet bizarre all in one looking forward to part two and seeing how things change! It seemed to put a smile on your face you should seek to add one to the morsels fleet! All the best Daniel
I have so many fond memories of these small french cars going at 140 kmh down these french b-roads,that it almost makes me nostalgic!
I always liked the bizarre VISA 1. Its 650cc engine and the chassis/suspension came from the ingenious 2CV. I found the control satellite on the steering wheel very practical.
All my cars have been Citroën, and I'm a happy customer.
The Visa 11 RE 1984 was my first car ❤
Alfa Romeo 145 and 146 were originally longitudinal flat fours. Later ones had transverse in line 4s. See also Renault 21 above (that I had completely forgotten about despite having owned two).
I am glad that one Citroen visa 1000 pistes is actually still in Slovenia in its original condition
quite ironically, the most Citroen-like of all mentioned models, was the Oltcit with the longitudinally mounted air-cooled boxer 4 and torsion bar suspension. I had the pleasure in a 1995, low mileage, 1300 cc Club 12 TRS. Expected a commie shitbox and it felt like anything but. In very good condition, it was a sublime machine. Great comfort and road manners, very nimble, very nice engine both in sound and response, excellent 5 speed gearbox and brakes. Of course, running Michelin tyres and dressed in flush, disc aero plastic hubcaps in true Citroen style. About the size and interior room and feel of a 2 dr mk2 Renault Clio which i am very well acquainted with. Very positive driving experience and such a quirky and characterful thing !!
I heard the story that after the purchase of Citroen by Peugeot, the Visa project was abandoned. Luck made the contract with Romania appear and so the project was revived in the form of Oltcit with two doors. Thus, the Axel version with four doors was also maintained.
YES YES YES 🤩🤩🤩 Love your videos, every single one!
For the VISA, it’s actually quite funny how such a „sh1t box“ - as many would probably see it (I personally love it!) - actually came to life FIVE times…as FIAT, as Citroën, as Olcit, as much better selling Facelift and as Wuling - who would think that of this little unsuspecting car?
Great storytelling as always! So highly appreciated!
I loved the Visa, I had a few and also a C15
My wife's first car as a student in 1988 was a 1983 1.1L, it was a hugely endearing car, very economical and the 'barrel', as we called it, for the controls took 10 minutes to get the hang of
Loved the control pod for lights, wipers etc, had a yellow Visa, easy to use had a lot of fun with that car !❤️🇬🇧😎
You have that little white Casio VL-Tone with the "Da da da" rhythm!
My dad bought one back in the day. I sold it on eBay about 5 years ago.
"Chrono" is short for "chronomètre", which is French for "stopwatch" and invokes speed.
The ford escort cosworth also had a longitudinally mounted engine while the rest of the range was transversely mounted.
Love the Casio VL Tone! I've had one from new for over 40yrs now!
8:30 I'm sure someone has already pointed out the Alfa Romeo Arna and Datsun Sunny with their choice of transverse Nissan engine or longitudinal Alfa Romeo boxer. 🙂
Another great historical video, I remember the Visa from my very young days as a little kid in the 80’s, a family friend had a brown Visa 11e I think that wasn’t the last word in a reliable car, then years later I owned a 2004 C15 van with a Berlingo 1800 Diesel engine, it felt very 80,s to drive but it had character.
I’m pleasantly surprised the Visa front end carried on so long in the form of C15 van but for their time they were good cars and vans overall and served their purpose.
8:40 different available layouts were rare, but didn't stop in the 70ies: the Alfa 33 was available with a 3cyl Diesel in addition to the default Boxers, and the first generation of the 145/146 also came with the Boxers before switching to the Fiat engines.
4:35 - I can see a lot of Fiat/Yugo resemblence in that car.
I'm looking forward to a video about the small van craze, sprouted by the C15, that went ahead of the popular Berlingo and Kangoo.
Love your videos, can you do one on the FIAT 127 please?
My dad always wanted a Visa in the 1980s Yugoslavia. There was small-scale production in Slovenia, but we were stuck with Zastava.
Cimos? We had an ami8 made there. I loved the looks of that thing though quality was... none. Rust in, rust out.
@@sjoormen1 I just checked, it seems that Cimos never assembled Visa in Slovenia (unlike Ami, Diana and GS), the company was just an importer.
@@Drunken_Master interesting good to know, thanks, so no produstion here if I understand correctly.
Visas were quite popular in Yugoslavia back then. And no, they weren't produced domesticaly.
I owned an 8 year old 1.7 diesel and used to drive it from Manchester to Mid Wales every week for a couple of years, was great!
My first car was a gift from my parents but my second car, which I bought, was a 1981 Visa II Super E fitted with the 1124cc engine. I had a few warranty issues then after the warranty had expired a few more issues that proved somewhat expensive to fix. After 4 years I wanted to change but the Citroen dealer offered me less for it against a new BX than a Honda dealer offered me against a new Honda Civic. The Honda was a vastly better car, but I soon learned just how poorly surfaced English roads were - the Visa was supremely comfortable over bumps and potholes (which haven't got any better over the past 40-or-so years). When I had the Visa I bought Citroen's own workshop manual as Haynes didn't do one...... and it's taken over 40 years for me to find out why the model code was "VD" ! Thanks for the story and the explanation
A real underdog, the Citroen Visa - I remember the original ‘puffin nose’ air cooled cars being tested by Car magazine, who rated them highly. It was interesting to see the Visa develop - I think it became a really well rounded, but honest car - maybe not the best looking, but infused with character - I kind of wished I’d sought one out as a first car, instead of looking at AXs (which were excellent cars) - I’d bet that owning a Visa would have been great fun.
Enjoyed the video. I had a Visa II in the 80s with the 1124 engine. It was bright 'jeunesse' (yellow/green) and was a great practical car for us as a young family at the time. The control pod set up was very easy to use and it was a good drive even when fully laden on longer distances. The only downside I found was maintenance when trying to access different areas in the engine bay. There were two Visa's at The Festival of The Unexceptional this year, one 1124 with the control pod and one 1360 with traditional controls. Very rare cars today.
About the longitudinal engine in small hatchback: In Latin America VW sold the VW Gol from 1980 until 2014 (same chassi, only with facelift here and there) with engines from 1,0l until 2,0l mounted longitudinally... a weird combination such as Visa
I love these cars. But again Citroen is one of my favorite French car. 😊
Horizontal opposed engines are better suited mounted longitudinal instead of transverse due to packaging. Especially in front wheel drive. Its why all Suburus are mounted that way. 😊
Great video. The footage of the Visa racing a biplane is classic 80s fair. Made me laugh.
Citroen LN looks like a Yugo 45 that was made many years later.
Great video! Could you make one on the Citroen AX, please? I had two (1988 & 1996) and my family had several. All made it well above 300k kilometers and some even over 500k km before being sold to Africa. Great cars that proved that simplicity is best!
I used to have a 1983 Visa Super. It was comfortable, cute, and extraordinarily fuel-efficient.
In addition to VD being a funny name, PSA is just as so in the same vein.
Really nice video! 👏
I would've just added an extra reference (and picture) about the Project TA - which preceded the VD one.
I think there's still a red/purple-ish rolling prototype out there
Rover 75 also had both longitudinal and transverse engines.
For similar reasons, home grown engine and one from a different company. Though with Rover it was the home grown engine that fit transversely, while the Ford V8 had to fit longitudinaly to drive the rear wheels.
Yeah, I'd forgotten that one.
Always fancied a Visa Cabriolet. According to How many left there’s only ONE still on the road in the UK!
Big Car casually pronouncing Peugeot as if France had won at Agincourt 😅
Sound very similar to the german pronouncing.
My dad had a Citroen Visa Turbo Diesel 5 door and it was a good little car, very economical, and quite roomy plus very practical too, with a good amount of loadspace once the rear seats were folded flat.
Are you sure it had a turbo? I had a couple of 17RDs that were possibly livelier than a marginally heavier Peugeot 205 XLD, but a later 205 D-Turbo was in a different league.
@@philhealey4443 My dad's Citroen Visa diesel had a good turn of speed, and was pretty spritely for it's performance.
It could've been the XUD7 1769cc Diesel model, yeah it wasn't a turbo, though it did make swift progress, once you floored it.
Great wee car. Had one when I lived in NW highlands of Scotland. Drove through snowdrifts and blizzards with no problem . Loaded gravel directly into the boot for my drive. Used it and abused it. One big problem though. Head gasket went which, because the block was canted forward, meant that you could not remove the engine head. So engine had to be taken out before you could remove the cylinder head - expensive.
It's pretty interesting looking at the Trophee's livery and the fact that AMC was under their umbrella around this time...reminds me of the drag specials that AMC produced only a few years earlier.