Well at least on the Cactus for sure... and probably all models.
We quite fancied stop/start and even if the fuel consumption benefits in real life were only half that claimed they were still worthwhile.
But on a town run the system never kicked in... couldn't find it on the control tablet menu either where there should have been a enable/disable button.
Suspected the car didn't have the system.
Dealers first response "Yes all that model have the system".
Second response "We've checked the build against Reg no and it is "without stop/start".
Third response "Citroen have very quietly stopped fitting the system on all Feb-on builds due to safety concerns and also that in real life the system is unable to produce anything like the claimed emissions/economy figures".
Long and short of it dealer has issued a very fair compensation sum. Happy to accept as otherwise the car is spot on for our needs.
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I think you are better off without it and the compo is a nice touch.
Opinions differ but many people turn their stop start systems off every trip. The one on my Civic hardly ever works in winter anyway as its very sensitive to battery state. Irrespective of make the default setting of those systems seems to "on" which is mildly annoying.
in a normal car I do switch the engine off if I am going to be stationery but a machine doing it immediately on stopping, then restarting an instant later if you move off, doesn't feel very mechanically sympathetic. Hence my hardly every leaving it enabled.
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As I have previously said on several accasions, I am against many of these modern "improvements" to the motor car, this one included.
But last year, I had difficulty judging the clutch at low speed, in a hire car in Italy, and it usefully restarted each time I stalled.
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We have them on the vans at work. Never had a problem with them, they work perfectly.
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I wonder if other makers will follow suit and start to stop the stop start feature?
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I did wonder if Citroen should have stopped before they started... but perhaps they decided it was better to have started and stopped than to have never started at all....
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A while back I was privileged ( in motoring terms ) to have a loan of a Panamera for a few hours. Sadly though this was mostly in and around central London so I didn't get much of a chance to 'explore its potential' shall we say.
It was indeed though a wonderful thing to drive, but the thing I really couldn't get on with was the stop start. I know why it's there and it worked perfectly, but I just disliked it intensely.
In a minor way it spoiled an otherwise delightful experience, for me anyway. Irrational I know but there it is. I guess I could have switched it off but have you ever seen how many switches there are in those things?
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I was initially suspicious of it in the A3, but doesn't bother me at all now (like the electronic handbrake). Just disable it sometimes when crawling along in a queue.
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Don't like it on our Tiguan and wife always turns it off immediately she starts the car. I turn it off first time the car stops, as I can't remember procedures like she can.
I've driven a few Mercs with and I have to say it works well - but I think MB use a belt driven starter / alternator and the car moves through start into go pretty seemlessly.
Last edited by: Bill Payer on Thu 17 Mar 16 at 14:20
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You will note I made no mention of stop/start in my Cactus test, because it didn't have it, no option in the menu. If It had it, I would have mentioned it in a deeply disparaging manner because i hate it with a passion. And it achieves nothing.
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The Merc has stop start. I don't give it a second thought now... Early on I did an entirely unscientific comparison, and on a 10 or 11 mile commute involving plenty of roundabouts with queues the OBC reckoned it was around 10% less efficient with it turned off. On longer journeys I imaging the impact is negligible...
Mind you, I filled the A3 up prior to a long journey a couple of days ago. It had done 688 miles on 26 litres of petrol. I reckon that's around 120 mpg :). On a 414 mile round trip it 'only' average 52mpg mind. About on par with the diesel Merc...
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Well now that's interesting Peter. I think we've previously identified that my E250 is a few months older than yours and that while mine has a 5 speed box and no stop/start yours has a 7 speed box and stop/start.
It is of course impossible to say if our driving styles are similar enough to fairly compare, but on a normal working day which usually includes at least a couple of hundred miles or more, I'm getting...52 mpg.
And, what's more, my gear lever is in the proper place, not stuck up on the steering column like a lowly wiper stalk !
;-)
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Yes, the Merc will do 52ish on a decent length run, but only 40 or so just running around. The Audi will do 52ish on a decent length run, and 120ish just running around... And it's much more refined...which given its nominally 2 sizes smaller is surprising. How we were ever persuaded that diesel was acceptable I do not know ;) It does have a very small boot though!
I've grown accustomed to the glorified indicator... The key benefit of the column gear change as I see it is its one touch nature... A quick flick when setting off and that's it. It automatically puts itself into 'P' when you turn off the ignition. The less manual labour the better ;)
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>>And it achieves nothing.
Not true at all!! It saves about £2 of fuel a week. Just needs a reversible alternator at £600 or so, and a heavy duty battery at £250 or so when they fail after 60k miles....
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Hardly ever get the benefit of stop/start in my A1 - I am rarely stopped or in heavy traffic. Yet it has still gone awry - at the T-junction at the end of my street over Xmas it kicked-in but emitted a loud buzzing vibrating noise. Ever since, there is a faint but audible tinny buzzing noise for 5 seconds on start-up. Wtf?!
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It's debatable, isn't it, whether VAG electrics are actually any better than French electrics.
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Seems to work fine for me on the Volvo - essentially, if you're stopped with your foot on the brake the engine is off and depending on outside temperature it'll cut off below 5mph. Can be a bit disconcerting at roundabouts but the engine is always going again by the time you get your foot to the accelerator.
Gentle downhill slopes in heavy traffic means the engine doesn't run for 5 minutes or more. I think it's a useful invention if only for the benefit to pedestrians of not chucking out emissions at traffic lights.
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>> it'll
>> cut off below 5mph.
I've never heard of the engine stopping before the car's stopped before. On the VW, if you're quick off the brake pedal (auto-hold keeps the car still) as the car stops you can defeat stop / start.
>> Gentle downhill slopes in heavy traffic means the engine doesn't run for 5 minutes or
>> more.
Wouldn't the brake servo empty in that amount of time?
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>> Wouldn't the brake servo empty in that amount of time?
Presumably either (a) vacuum is maintained by an electric pump or (b) the engine is still pumping air even when switched off.
AFAIK diesels always had a servo pump, albeit driven by a belt or odd end of camshaft as there is insufficient manifold vacuum.
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>> AFAIK diesels always had a servo pump, albeit driven by a belt or odd end
>> of camshaft
And usually petrol cars when a car is fitted with EBA.
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Citroen - Citroen pull stop/start production! - martin aston
