Returned my C3 Aircross to OKMobility at ALC yesterday late afternoon. Had some spare time, even more so due to a 3 hour RYR delay, so had a mooch around their rental fleet.
Yes, it’s a bit sad, but preferable to many other airport options...
A huge range, from 500s, fancy big SUVs, all many of convertibles, performance cars, you name it, and something I’d never seen or heard of....I had to google the OK Mobility rental fleet online to see what it was....a ‘Lynk & Co 01’.
I think every make of car on their advertised fleet was parked up in the multi storey yesterday.
As a regular customer you’d think they’d give me an upgrade..
That nice Mr O’Leary sent me a €4 evoucher due to the delay...sat outside at the Budweiser Bar drinking cold bottles of agua con gas for 3 hours topping up the tan just before the sun set.
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Not that I’m ever likely to buy one, but I sort of like the look of the C3 Aircross. Can’t say why really. Was it any good?
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I have steered clear of Citroens since the days when I owned an ID19 in 1962/3, was it?
Was I wise?
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I’ve only ever had one Citroen, it was a Xantia diesel hatch. Never really bonded with it, couldn’t get a comfortable driving position, the boot was too small for my purposes and it seemed to eat headlight bulbs.
Otherwise, it was just ok.
The adjustable suspension height came in handy occasionally in deep snow I suppose. Got my first Mondeo estate after that and for me anyway, that was a much better car.
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I did see recently, an XM estate, which looked to be in near perfect* condition, such presence that I did briefly scour the web for examples. Very difficult to find, but not that expensive. www.stonecoldclassics.com/1993-citroen-xm-vsx-tdi-estate/
If I had the garage space, it would be in there in a heartbeat.
*White, which shows the rust and there was none, and was parked, suspension still up and no LHM puddles.
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>> If I had the garage space, it would be in there in a heartbeat.
But only if I had room to put it next to the Slough built light 15 in black.
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Decades ago, after completing a sponsored Lyke Wake Walk, a friends dad picked us up at Robin Hoods Bay and drove us home to Bradford in his Citroen Safari.
It must have made a large impression on me as I remember it clear as day.
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Also decades, in fact 40 years ago, I lived and worked in Florence in Italy. My boss was a fairly abrasive Italian/American Jewish guy with a fondness for industrial quantities of Chianti.
He had a big Citroen, might have been an XM or a CX, can’t remember.
What I do remember is being given a lift home by him with some others in it from a dinner somewhere in the Tuscan hills while he was seriously on the wrong side of about 4 bottles of his favourite tipple.
On one tight bend, he missed the corner completely, smashed through a farm gate, continued at speed across a ploughed field, and exited back onto the road at the other side of it. All the while with a foul smelling cheroot clamped in his mouth and without so much as an acknowledgement to us fellow travellers of the unplanned and unfortunate diversion to our route.
In fairness to the car, it navigated the rough surface with aplomb and at the office the following day, the damage while visible, was much lighter than we could have imagined.
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…yeah, must have been a CX, it was 1982.
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'at speed across a ploughed field'
Bet you didn't break any eggs, did you?
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>> Bet you didn't break any eggs, did you?
No, but I may have broken wind at some point…
;-)
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>> I have steered clear of Citroens since the days when I owned an ID19 in
>> 1962/3, was it?
>>
>> Was I wise?
Before the BX, more so in its Mark 2 incarnation, Citroens were a bit different. You mention the ID and by implication the DS. The CX followed later.
Visited France for the first time in 1973 when there were DS, GS and the 2CV and it's siblings everywhere. The DS particularly hit a spot for me. Tried to persuade my Dad to have one as his Company Car. His firm was UK based but imported products from the French company Francolor. Cars could be either British or French but the experts vetoed anything at all off beam.
Thought about a DS or more practically a GS when I got own wheels in 1982 but in the end went for a Mini.
By the time I could afford a decent car it was around 89 and we got a BX 'saloon' - actually a hatchback - a 1.6RS with a rather weak petrol engine. When my daughter came along in 1992 I replaced it with a 1.9RD Estate. The XUD engine was a revelation. 0-60 it was marginally slower that the petrol but in the real world the torque and 30-50 and 50-70 times left the petrol for dead. Lovely car to drive, seat fitted me like a glove. Kept it until 2005 when an MoT failure spelled its end.
By that stage it was our second car having acquired a run Xantia 2.0 HDi/110 estate in 2000. Nice enough car but like Humph I struggled with the driving position. It might have been a Vendredi Apres-Midi thing but it wasn't as reliable as the BX and became a bit of a workshop queen. The only serious issue was the displaced cambelt which was, in all likelihood, a result of poor workmanship when the belt was replaced. But lift pump, electric windows, brakes, exhausts etc together with fault indications I just lived with made it a pricy thing in the end. We ran it into the ground but from 2005 it was #2 to the next Citroen...
Since 2005 we've had two Berlingos as out main car. The first a lowly powered non turbo diesel on the last knockings of XUD tech. Slow off the mark but on the motorway it was as fast as anything else and swallowed all we needed with two teenagers, sometimes a third, for everything we wanted. Took us as far as the Costa Brave one way and the Western Isles the other.
Current family car is a 2013 Berlingo 1.6 HDi/110. Now on 125k miles and never let us down once. Grounded for a few days when a stuck caliper screwed up its disc and we had to wait for the garage but it's never been on a flatback or needed a breakdown call out.
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>> Not that I’m ever likely to buy one, but I sort of like the look
>> of the C3 Aircross. Can’t say why really. Was it any good?
>>
Comparing oranges with lemons viz my GRY.....I disliked it. A lot.
Rubbery gearchange, vague steering, roll poly handling with lots of body lean when cornering briskly, 5th & 6th gears ran out of puff on uphill motorway sections.
It’s sole redeeming feature was it didn’t break down...surprisingly no front or rear sensors or rear parking camera, unless they could somehow have been turned off...I searched the menu to no avail.
My heart dropped when the girl at checkout gave me the keys...previous Fiestas, Ibiza, Leon and 208 GT from OKMobility were lovely to drive and although I begged her for something else the lady wasn’t for turning.
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Mmm you saying there was no way to check externally whether it had parking sensors or cameras????
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>> Mmm you saying there was no way to check externally whether it had parking sensors
>> or cameras????
>>
I put the cart before the horse....sat inside with AC on full...pushing 30C when I collected it...couldn’t find anything in the menu and I wanted away for lunch and a beer after a 7AM flight.
Later I had a quick look for camera...no sign of one, and obviously no rear sensors visible.
But it was French...
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I've had a soft spot for Citroens, probably since dad had a Dyane 4, DS 23 EFI Pallas and GS 1220 Club when I was a kid. On and off over the years I've had a few and my current daily is a Berlingo XL. Oh, and the 2CV which I've had for over 20 years now!
The standout was the BX GTI I had from new back in 1989. I drove over 100,000 happy miles in that in just 4 years. Great blend of performance handling comfort and space.
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A year ago in an extended Spanish break we rented 3 basic cars - price not performance was at the head of the list!
Seat Ibiza - well engineered and did all that was required of it. Precise steering, compliant but stiff suspension
Vauxhall Corsa - better in most respects than I expected given the mostly very average reviews that Vauxhalls got pre Stellantis
Citroen C3 - a surprise, nothing to write home about in terms of performance or handling but very comfortable.
The only one I would consider buying, probably as a second car for wife, would be the C3, given its capacity for soaking up bumps and potholes, or doing a long journey in comfort.
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Agreed....for bimbling around town, a C3 or C3 Aircross should prove comfortable.
For me, not hanging around on the motorways, or anywhere else given the opportunity, it was a Very disappointing car from a handling point of view, but that’s not it’s raison d’etre.
Strange choice of fabric for the dashboard and door cards, and despite always running the AirCon at 16C ( or less) whenever I restarted the engine the blower came on at 21C without AC switching on. It was a default setting I simply couldn’t change. Probably buried in a menu.
My third C3 rental in 12 months, and on every one the seat belt warning light took about 30/60 seconds to go off.
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>> My third C3 rental in 12 months, and on every one the seat belt warning
>> light took about 30/60 seconds to go off.
>>
“They all do that, sir” Although I don’t know why? Reminder for those in the rear to buckle up?
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We looked at the C3 in its, then, Picasso iteration when our first Berlingo needed replacing.
It was a nice car but the combination of the 16V HDi engine's reputation for lunching turbos and some frankly dishonest tactics from the selling dealer led us to walk down the road an buy a Roomster instead.
We've got a small hire car booked for our arrival on Madeira a week on Friday. I will of course report here on what we get and how it goes.
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Like LL, we were given a C3 by OK or Goldcar at ALC as a replacement for the Focus I'd taken back. The nicest thing about it was the paintjob, a mid-grey.
IIRC it had less than 5k on the clock and the synchro on 2nd and 4th was already shot. The worst thing about it though was that no matter where I positioned the seat or wheel I couldn't see the top half of the speedo.
Not something you want when the Guardia are having a speeding blitz.
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Decided to fly back to ALC later this week...last minute 7 days trip. OKMobility booked directly again..€65 for 8 days. Please don’t let it be my fourth C3 rental.
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Just a heads-up LL.
I've just been told that new speed cameras have been approved for use in Costa Blanca/Alicante area. Compact little things that cops can attach temporarily to street furniture etc. They can also snap vehicles travelling too closely and can be monitored remotely.
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n332.es/new-radars-approved-for-use/?fbclid=IwAR1CQrIwWCo1IgfSq5AqfR6ecX0xHNlhMTDZMxP2Tibl9y4mkCOgxXnqCzA
Sorry about that...can it be shortened by someone cleverer than I ? Yes, me. Smokie :-)
ThanksKevin...I read about the new generation of speed lasers ( Velolaser ) on the N322 FB page, run by police and other volunteers. I rarely exceed, nor would I wish to in my recent motley selection of hire cars, 140 kph on the motorway, normally cruising around 130kph if the vehicle is comfortable with that. Often they aren’t.
Today was a new Opel Corsa diesel. Leagues better than recent C3 and C3 Aircross. Not particularly good reviews I read, but feels far more solid, quieter at speed, 6 speed manual, trip computer showing a range of 860kms when I collected it this lunchtime. Diesel locally is €1.529 litre, that’s 12cents a litre less than petrol. Not complaining. 17” rims, Apple Car play, front & rear sensors, reversing camera and that 360 aerial view on a split screen which I had on the Macan.
Pulls really well on motorway inclines, didn’t need to drop from 6th, and my low initial expectations when given the key are blown out of the water. No idea about rear space, but goes much better than previous rentals...lovely leather trimmed flat bottomed steering wheel with thumb rests, over light steering , decent gearchange, progressive brakes, good headlights in the tunnels, easy to use touch screen, old fashioned twiddly heater controls which I prefer.
Not as much fun as the 208 GT with flappy paddles, but very acceptable.
Last edited by: smokie on Sat 15 Apr 23 at 00:18
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>> Not as much fun as the 208 GT with flappy paddles, but very acceptable.
>>
The Corsa is of coursea 208 in drag, so will be similar to drive.
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>> >> Not as much fun as the 208 GT with flappy paddles, but very acceptable.
>> >>
>>
>> The Corsa is of coursea 208 in drag, so will be similar to drive.
>>
Didn’t know that...very different though cos it’s a diesel and the 208 a 130 horse petrol.
After a fast drive up the motorway yesterday, and an hours drive into the mountains today and back, it’s looking amazingly frugal. And, as usual, diesel is cheaper to buy here.
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Returned the Corsa diesel to OK Mobility at ALC this lunchtime...brimmed it @€1.55 litre near the airport, and the trip computer was showing a range of 940kms when I handed it back.
Despite two motorways runs, driving between 115-135kph, and fully laden in the mountains and driven with gusto, it returned a whisker under 60 mpg. With a lighter right foot, and away from mountain roads, 70mpg would be attainable. Nice little car.
One thing I noticed...with the lane assist, on my own car and all previous rentals, it had to be turned off whenever the ignition was switched on. With the Corsa, I turned it off upon collection, and it remained off all week without having to de activate it again.
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Are you swapping it for something else LL or back home?
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Back home today....returning two weeks tomorrow for the final 3 weeks of the CBMW Spring walking programme which finishes on the last Wednesday of May, and commences again first Wednesday of October.
CBMW ( C Blanca Mtn Walkers Group )
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Several months of no sun UK?
Last edited by: sooty123 on Fri 21 Apr 23 at 22:41
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When is the road trip version planned LL? Or is it that “parked”?
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>> When is the road trip version planned LL? Or is it that “parked”?
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Sadly my old mums Alzheimer’s is progressing at a rate of knots, so I’ve changed my Brittany Ferries sailing to mid September...works better as her situation can be assessed in the next few months and acted upon accordingly, then my CBMW group have a weeks walking holiday booked in Vielha, Val d’Aran, Spanish Pyrenees late September. I’ll drive there directly from Santander.
Many great MTB trails in that area, according to friends who visit for that purpose.
I’ll return via my French friends home in St-Pierre-de -Rivière, located in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, and also visit the Picos.
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>> Several months of no sun UK?
>>
Not this year...for several years about 10/15 of us would stay in various rentals, and second homes, mid Feb > early April...6/8 weeks.
After the wettest March since ‘57 last year I vowed never again. My second home owning friends all flew home early. I now go last minute...poor UK weather, good in Spain, where it can be atrocious, cheap flights, available accommodation, cheap car rental...then I’m off.
I cram a lot into 7/10 days...
Obviously costs more in flights...4 trips this year by end of May, but if accommodation is available then late deals can be done.
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>> .... and something I’d never seen or heard of....I had to google the OK
>> Mobility rental fleet online to see what it was....a ‘Lynk & Co 01’.
>>
I think I keep an eye on what's going on but I've never heard of that either - looks a somewhat interesting car and idea.
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Arrived here on Friday, Jet2 from Stansted.
Hire company was Goldcar who tried every trick in the book for extra comission.
Presented the hire voucher together with the policy I'd taken out in the UK for excess and items outwith the 'comprehensive' cover advertised at booking. Opening gambit was that I could not insure the car; only the owner could. Explained I'd not insured the car, just my liability for the Euro 1600 excess. Mucho harrumphing about what it might not cover and how I'd be better paying (again) at twice the rate.
Then I'm asked if I've driven here before. No I say but i've had plenty experience of right hand running in Europe and the US. But apparently she meant Madeira. The small car I'd booked was only one litre and would 'struggle' with the hilly roads.
Now no doubt a Mini 1000 or Fiat Panda of my youth with around 45bhp might have done but, never mind the capacity; how many horses? Ninety I'm told. Fine says I, been up and down Alpe D'Huez and multiple other roads in Alps, Pyrenees and Massif (as well as Wrynose) in a sub 70HP non turbo Berlingo; I'll take my chances.
Car turns out to be a Citroen C4 Cactus. Spec looks like it's a 1.2 3 cylinder, a gander under the bonnet confirms the piston count but also discloses a turbo and plumbing for an intercooler similar to our HDi 'lingo. I'll go with the probability of 110PS.
What it did not do, even slightly, today was be reluctant to climb the hills.
Shysters....
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Take a good look around the car, especially under the sills and front/rear valance that can't be seen or video'd from a standing pos.
I've never had any problem with Goldcar but there have been two instances recently of Goldcar at ALC airport finding 'damage' under the car when renters have returned them...
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It's nice to know if you're going to be scammed before getting P'd off at the airport.
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Call me paranoid but I drive the rental to a less dark place in the multi storey at ALC, then get down on my hands and knees, check both sills, under front and rear bumpers and wing mirrors then set lights to auto .
Not fun entering the SAN Juan tunnel just north of the airport and frantically looking for the lighting switch. Or exceeding the 80kph tunnel speed limit and getting an email from the hire company a few days later with a photo attached, showing your car doing 97kph.
As a friend did. I stick to that limit ( but not the 120 kph).
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In March, in an attempt to give the bloke behind me a bit more exit room from his parking space, I released the handbrake with the engine not running and intended rolling a few feet down the hill to be a bit closer to the parker Mercedes in front.
The brakes didn't work as expected but the Mercedes stopped me quite efficiently. With such noise that people came out from nearby shops and SWMBO heard the crump from our apartment over the road.
I thought I heard glass tinkling so was at least expecting to see my headlights were toast, along with significant damage to the Dacia and the Merc.
Neither showed any damage, not even a scratch.
I then expected the hire company to find something but they didn't. Or plod waiting for me when I returned the car. Or a bill later from the hire company. Nothing.
I guess a crumple zone crumpled and sprung back, on both cars.
I seem to have incidents with pretty much every hire.
I think GoldCar was the one which I damaged the side of the nearly-new car by judging a driveway entry badly, and then the front with another braking issue going into an underground car park. The bill was €600 or thereabouts.
Last edited by: smokie on Sun 23 Apr 23 at 23:15
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The only time I’ve been stitched up was immediately pre Covid by Inter-Rent, an associate company of Goldcar. I didn’t know this when booking through DYS but all the paperwork had Goldcar on it.
Tenerife. Returned a tatty Fiat 500 and the agent, without any pretence, went immediately to a scratch beneath a bumper...must have been parked nose on to a high kerb.
That’s why you’ll see me on hands and knees checking the hidden areas before driving away.
Never used them since.
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Goldcar and it’s associates are absolutely notorious on the Canaries. Wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole I always use a local company with all in no excess insurance. Cicar are good
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Not long back from Lanzarote, car through Goldcar.
Collected it from a space in multi storey. Videoed it in the dark. When got to Villa found a whole load of other issues. Videoed them all.
Returned car to multi storey. Handed in keys to office ready for a fight. Thanks she said and turned and carried on talking to her colleague!
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Got done once when I flew into Dublin airport. Picked up the hire car and paid, didn't notice they'd carefully folded the receipt so I couldn't see that I'd (apparently) agreed to pay in euros and have it converted to sterling at their exchange rate! I wouldn't have knowingly done this, as my cards accept euro payments and convert to sterling at a much more sensible rate.
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Car returned yesterday afternoon as we we were done. Email to say all OK.
Walked from the drop off back to Santo Cristo.
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>> >> .... and something I’d never seen or heard of....I had to google the OK
>> >> Mobility rental fleet online to see what it was....a ‘Lynk & Co 01’.
>> >>
>> I think I keep an eye on what's going on but I've never heard of
>> that either - looks a somewhat interesting car and idea.
>>
Another one of the countless Chinese EVs flooding the market.
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As if the delayed flight wasn’t bad enough, had to go from the office in ALC terminal to collect the keys from another office on floor 2 of the multi storey, then collect the car from floor 4. Only it wasn’t there. It was on floor 2.
My nemesis. Another C3 petrol.
The upgrade option offered was an auto Audi A1 @ €132. As I’d already paid €209 for 3 weeks I declined.
Drat.
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...from another office on floor 2 of the multi storey,..
The 'Returns' office with the dodgy automatic doors that try to do a Joe Jernigan on you?
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No, it’s a door you pull.
I’ve never heard of Joe Jernigan.
And it a very thirsty C3 compared to the Corsa diesel two weeks ago….
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Joe Jernigan was a murderer from Texas who donated his body to medical science before he was executed. They froze him and then cut him into 1mm slices to digitise his whole body.
Pre-pandemic the auto sliding door at OK returns in ALC (pretty sure it was OK) tried to chop the guy in front of me into little slices.
BTW. I've just booked a car in Greece for July - 35€ per day for a Panda. I also checked the cost of a hire car to get to Stansted and back instead of parking. National renters want £180 per day in July for a Corsa/Picanto !!
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Where are you coming from? Good rail service to Stansted.
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>> Where are you coming from? Good rail service to Stansted.
He would be hitting Waterloo (or Paddington if the slow way round) so needs to cross London to get to Liverpool Street.
Tho wait forgot the Elizabeth Line, Basingstoke > Change @ Reading >Liverpool street
Tho wait again, Even TFL suggest Basingstoke to Waterloo. because of the ridiculousness of the cross rail Elizabeth line not being a homogenous cross rail.
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>Where are you coming from? Good rail service to Stansted.
I'll give it a try but I don't think there's anywhere in Basingstoke where I can rent a train.
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>>I'll give it a try but I don't think there's anywhere in Basingstoke where I can rent a train.
... I'm sure Z will know a man .....
How good are you with a shovel?
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We found Jet Parks at Stansted reasonably priced for a week last month. Round the other side of the runway from the terminal but transfer was quick and efficient.
We could also have got a deal with Raddison Blu whose hotel we stayed in the night before we left for not a great deal more and that was walking distance from the terminal.
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In my experience www.holidayextras.com have had quite good prices for airport parking in the past. Go through Quidco for extra savings.
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Stansted Airport has a monopoly on on airport parking and there is no off airport parking as there is at Gatwick hence the high prices.
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Maybe, but Quidco claim to give you 15% off HolidayExtras Stanstead price for JetParks. No idea how their prices compare.
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This weeks, and next, rental from ALC is an Opel Corsa. New model, with 12k Kms.
Obviously declined all the extras at the hire desk, but it’s a fine small car. Similar to the 208 I believe.
8 speed EAT auto box, no rattles…possibly the 130 version as it has twin tail
pipes and goes like stink, as do Most of my hire cars. Flappy paddles work a treat, I don’t care about room in the back, and the AC works.
I’ve had far worse rentals…amazing how good these old Corsa’s have become.
Last edited by: legacylad on Fri 23 Feb 24 at 20:15
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Stellantis own Vauxhall. They also own (amongst others) Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Chrysler, Alfa, Lancia, Opel.
I assume it makes sense to use common components across the different brands which reduces R&D and manufacturing costs.
VW brands Audi, VW, Skoda and Seat are fairly clearly differentiated in terms of target market, and quality of finish, I wonder how long it will be before Stellantis start to trim brands and dealer networks - Citroen, Peugeot, Vauxhall all inhabit the same part of the market.
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While each brand has its own lovers and haters I imagine they'd keep them as is.
Can you imagine a certain moderator here becoming CitroenFan? :-)
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>> Can you imagine a certain moderator here becoming CitroenFan? :-)
I'd sooner that than becoming a DaciaFan.
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Actually, the new ones are starting to get quite a good reputation.
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To be honest a Duster or a Jogger would probably work really well for me now, but I’m not sure if I’m ready yet. Perhaps when I’m older eh?
;-)
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Two friends who live in Spain have recently bought new diesel Dacia Dusters. The new model, due this year, will not be be available in diesel form.
I’ve covered a fair few miles in their cars…as expected, a low rent interior, but perfectly acceptable. And they drive to the uk with them, and not uncomfortably do.
Diesel here currently 19 cents a litre less than unleaded.
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A rental car ? - Runfer D'Hills
