Citroen experiences

Sir,
May I add some of my views on Citroens, before the Editor cries enough? I own a French-built poverty model ID19, complete with natural glass-fibre roof, and fewer instruments than a VW.

I notice that British-built Citroens of similar vintage often look tatty, with rusted-through arches, peeling chrome, and funny wooden instrument panels. Mine was undersealed in the wheel arches in manufacture, and has stainless steel or aluminium trim. Citroen have now wisely given up the attempt to assemble cars at Slough. The road-holding, steering and comfort are superb. The acceleration is poor, but top speed and economy excellent (30.5 m.p.g. over 2,500 miles in a fast tour on cooking, French petrol). No car is perfect. It is long for parking, and the wipers and heater leave much to be desired (the latter two have since been improved). Service, in this country, is often poor, expensive and widely scattered. Spares, too, are expensive, e.g., a bonnet costs £35, although a bonnet for a Rover 2000, which is comparable, is £32 10s. My advice to the impecunious is to buy an ID, preferably French.

What is all this jazz in paragraph five of the Audi editorial ? “The Audi is the only car in the world with front disc brakes mounted inboard.” The 11-year-old Goddess has had them from the beginning. But then my “car of tomorrow” also has separate front and rear hydraulic braking, together with power braking if the master cylinder fails.

Brighton. K.J. Williams