I think we are looking at this all wrong... Most of us think how awesome it is that Chris gets to drive such unbelievable cars. But if you were a car you'd be saying, "How amazing it is that someone who can truly appreciate and understand me is sitting in my front seat". Great videos Chris. Keep them coming.
I bought my Citroen 2cv after originally seeing your video, that's how much it inspired me, bearing in mind before your video I wasn't much into them and 4 months later I was a total nerd for them and I was looking at my own. It's sitting outside now, I can see it, in its seriously faded grey and red paint and slightly rusted wheels. It's the best car I've ever owned.
+Alfred Munkenbeck I know that Chris said the fuel economy is great but what is the actual fuel consumption, like how far can you go on a tank full and how big is the tank? If you know :)
Morgan Davie The tank is 20 litres, which is tiny, but it lasts around 200 miles, which makes the average fuel economy 45-50mpg. My car is a later car with around 3 times the power of Chris' car, so who knows how well his one does. The fuel gauge moves across the dash about as fast as any other car, but it's nice to get to a station to find you can fill it up with a £20 note (: I'm selling mine now sadly, it's in near concourse condition with very low mileage too. Strange as it may sound, I would rather have a 2cv that's a bit more of a project. I've driven my car every day for the past year and it's been brilliant, but it deserves to be more of a garage queen and that doesn't really suit the uses that I want it for. I want to take it to the countryside and run it through the mud and the snow, but I just clayed the whole thing and there's not a dent or a scratch in it. It's too pretty for my taste. It'll be sad to see it go though.
Alfred Munkenbeck Thats sounds amazing! I need one of these cars so bad now haha! I'd buy it off you if I didn't live on the other side of the planet in Australia.
Morgan Davie Oh yeah, I hear they're pretty rare out there. If you want one your best shot is probably importing one from South America, that's the closest place to you they actually sold it I think.
+Lolo Hill Paullier new cars ride so badly that the thought of cursing round country roads not in any particular rush is in incomprehensible to most modern motorists. "it is good to have an end to journey toward but it is the journey that matters in the end"
This is so enjoyable to watch. I've never heard Chris mentioning such small number (12 hp) with such enthusiasm. The clip showed me a new side of him i that appreciates slow automobiles. Sometimes less is more.
I love all your videos, but I always find myself coming back to this one (and then going immediately to a classified car website to look for 2CVs, before remembering I don't have space for another car). It just so perfectly sums up the joy of driving, and particularly of driving something a little old and daft, and that that joy comes in many forms, not just pure speed and razor sharp handling. Fantastic stuff, keep it up.
i had the honor to have learned how to drive in one of these and omg i was 16 years old and i can clearly remember how my dad would give me tips on how to "treat" the gearshift like a lady he'd say otherwise it makes a particularly noise telling u that u're doing it wrong but once u actually learn how to "listen" to this beauty u get the feeling that if u can drive one of this u can drive any single car u want, driving it was smooth and peaceful and very enjoyable, a true classic :)
I love my 3cv (that's how it's called the 2cv6 in Argentina, with full blown 32,5hp!). We, the "citroneurs" are mostly crazy people, i must say, but i love to see the smile in people faces whenever they see one. This video shows exactly how it feels to drive and enjoy one of this little wonder :)
This is interesting. The comments on this one all show engagement, interest and intelligence, very refreshing. Chris, I think that you have opened a new future for RU-vid, long may it last!
Back in the 70s I learned to drive in my Mum's 2CV. My Mum and I used to always call it the "deux chevaux" (two horses) as Citroën had intended, if you are French the letters "2CV" sound really like "deux chevaux". We liked that name. Mum's 2CV was a 602 cc 70s one, a lot more powerful than the one in this video. 65 mph was possible IIRC. In this video Chris talks about wanting to be able to bump start it if there is a problem starting, but the 2CV comes with a crank handle, maybe that is missing in Chris's car. No need to bump start. The 2CV was always a joy to drive and extremely reliable. In the summer opening that roof was lovely. The 2CV is very narrow and I like this because on narrow country lanes you can give cyclists and pedestrians a lot of room. With the 602 cc one I remember I would just push the pedal to the floor a lot, particularly when going along on the motorway, the 2CV would go along happily at maximum throttle and the engine didn't sound particularly bothered by this.
I love my Twingo Mk.1 for very similar reasons. I feel like the Twingo Mk1 is one of the last cars that has been built with the same "small, cheap, simple" characteristics, and it is one of the last cars to ever be anywhere near the same vein as 2CV´s, Fiat 500 Mk1, Mini Cooper Mk.1, Fiat Panda Mk1, etc. The Twingo is arguably built to higher standards and not as puristic. But it still gives me a whiff of what it´s like to drive one of the oldies.
As many people described it is amazing how much I'm interested in getting a 2cv after this video. Your skills in explaining the feeling of driving a car like this (and the others) is stunning. I'm really glad you have your own channel now and I can't wait to watch the new videos. Thanks man!
Great video Chris. I had a later model than yours when I lived in the UK. Loved it - was in so many ways an involving car to own & drive and just as much if not more fun than the high performance cars I also had. Such awesome little cars!
my dad had 4 of these in a row the fist's base crumbled the second was a racing 2CV (he sold it) the 3Rd was a beautiful restored 2CV painted white with silver headlamps which he crashed while asleep and the fourth was the one I remember it was red with a black roof and was taken away due to my parents decided it wouldn't be safe for me as a 3 year old child... my dad really wants another one similar to his 3Rd car due to how much he spent with it HE had it restored from being rusting in a barn and i have always loved 2cvs
From France,deep congrats,you propose something amazing and 10 times funier than the French releases.I had a Ami 8 for years,what a car !Impossible to put her on her roof in the curves,haha!
this kinda reminds me of the james video where he presents his old rolls royce. Both very relaxed videos of very laid back cars that are perfect for the time you dont need a shouty car and dont want to drive a boring golf diesel.
REAL car lovers love all cars and cars of all kinds. The moment you attach yourself exclusively to one brand, you become a fanboi. The world of cars is old and diverse and each jewel and mongrel deserves to be celebrated for each of their unique reasons. Be it a track day racer, a luxurious yacht, a city runner or an ancient heap. There is so much more to cars and the motor industry than just paper stats.
***** Lmao! Would love to see that channel! Today, on "Chris On Cats" Chris will wrestle with a grown mountain lion and then try to outrun a Bengal tiger. 🐆🐺
This is such a charming video. And indeed : how can you not love these cars ? I'm looking at you, Clarkson. I drived a '71 model with the 625cc engine for a while, untill one of the front chassis arms developped a crack. It didn't break, but wouldn't pass its MOT, obviously. Anyway : one of my best driving experience. Always on the ball, thrashing it nearly all the time when the engine is hot enough, and use the brakes only in case of emergencies.
It's these quirky, simple vehicles that stand the test of time and the human heart. These are the kinds of vehicles, that we keep going and feel an attachment to. They give their all, and just ask that you give them your attention and time with them. They'll get you home and await the next journey. They'll be there sitting in the cold, neglected and waiting for the next owner to see the joy and smiles as they move again, simple as they are, fussy as they are; just asking us to drive and mend them.
This is why Chris Harris is THE BEST automotive journalist out there. He's objective and non-biased. As he said in the video, he likes to have the "full spectrum" - from underpowered mass transportation to overpowered tire-smoking 600+ horsepower super cars. THAT is the mark of a true car enthusiast. I've always told my friends that a true car enthusiast is someone who has a Citroen 2CV and a Ferrari Maranello in their garage and appreciates both. Lesser "car journalists" would have ripped the 2CV to shreds, then gotten into some 2-door super car and made up some laughable excuse as to how this super car is the better "family car" because you can go around the track in bla bla time and reach 62 mph in bla bla seconds. Pathetic. Chris Harris appreciates cars for what they are and were designed to do - and this is something which I feel is lost on the overwhelming majority of "car journalists" out there. I really enjoy his insightful and objective reviews and videos. Keep it up! Oh, and I also love the 2CV, and like Harris I prefer the earlier models. I want one!!!
Later 2CV models are more usable on open roads, with almost three times this power output. But the original idea was a car for the dirt roads of the 50s, and the early models are very well suited fo that-
Chris is actually going over 20% faster than he says as the speedo is 'off the clock' by 90kph which he believes is 45mph (half the kph reading) but is actually 56mph when going down hill.
These are wonderful low power cars, but your example need a little love to work as it really should. I drove this same car in similar conditons in N.Cal . Top speed should be about 52.. your clutch needs attention. this should be a very smooth shifting car with no clunks ! New clutch, valves and rings did wonders for mine. Over -revving is somewhat pointless in this car. I agree... the one real drawback.. is the possibility of being run down from behind by very fast cars with in-attentive ( and incompetent) drivers. A drunk in a speeding land yacht nearly wiped me off the face of the planet in the 1970's... a quick dart into the other ( on coming) lane saved me.. as he blasted through.. totally oblivious to me and my bright yellow 2CV in the dark. Highly worthwhile car if you inhabit back roads or live on one. Increadible low speed dirt road capabilities.. BTW. and 50 mpg.. very low parts count.. utter simplicity. A Mechanics dream if you already speak motorcycle.
@6:50 you would get angry driving this little thing in USA, where a moron with nothing ahead, not even a mouse, would break, and you would have to as well...
Because the Beetle was twice as expensive, infinitely less practical and much more narrow minded in terms of design purpose. The Beetle was designed to be very efficient at speeds never achieved by its buyers before on brand new roads never driven on. Hitler wanted to mobilise the people in a modern and sophisticated manner. The Beetle was not designed for a modern France, it was designed to be much more versatile so that it could not only be afforded by anyone, but used by anyone, no matter what part of the country they lived in. The 2cv accepted that France was not in a good way, and it recognised that most of its people were peasants and farmers. The 2cv was designed for a very broad spectrum of purposes and abilities with an equally broad target market. That's a proper people's car. The Beetle on the other hand was designed to move Germany forward, because it was designed for one type of family and that was the type of family that Hitler wanted everyone to be, rather than what they actually were.
Wow, shows how closed minded you are to think that the modern Beetle, the Beetle we all know and love is solely the product of Hitler and the idea of making money to fund war. You do realise it was the British who got the Wolfsburg factory running after the war and were so much in love with the design of the Beetle they wanted everyone who could afford one to have one. And no, it wasn't expensive, they were also easy to maintain and very reliable. You seem to forget the infinate uses the Beetle chassis has shown us, the Kubelwagen, the Schwimmwagen and the Kommanderwagen to name an early few. Did you ever see a 2cv win rallycross events? NOPE but Beetles did many times, because they were cheap, hardy and performed well off road so don't talk crap about how the Beetle was only designed for billiard table Autobahns
Flammen. I didn't say it was the product of making money for the war, it was the product of Hitler's vision of a future Germany, and there's nothing wrong with that. The point is he only wanted one type of person in the new world he was creating and this was the car that person would drive. The British were not in love with the design either, they did everything in their power to sell it to anyone they could but they failed, so they just let the Germans have it. Sure, some of them were given to the British army because the Beetle would prove a capable machine when it came to ease of maintenance and basic off roading but it wasn't a few years before the Land Rover replaced it. I don't deny that the chassis proved versatile but that wasn't necessarily by design. Now you ask if I ever saw the 2cv win rallycross events. They haven't, outright speed is not their strong point, but they have been driven across the sahara desert and through the arctic circle, they have tremendous off road capabilities because they were designed to be able to take any road and any field. The 4wd variant is utterly unstoppable when it comes to loose sand and it has held records for sand dune climbing that no contemporary Land Rover could match. Now I admire the Beetle, I actually quite like it, but it was a singular design vehicle that was then adapted to different environments whereas the 2cv was a much more versatile machine straight from the drawing board. My argument for calling it a better people's car is that it was built to cater to a vast array of actual people that lived in France, whereas the Volkswagen was initially designed for the only sort of people that Hitler wanted in the world, hence the death camps.
