Citroen C-Elysee. Long way home
The Citroen C-Elysee is a 4 or 5-door subcompact sedan manufactured by Citroën (France). It is a classic affordable model, modest, but charming. The modern subcompact C-Elysee sedan has been formally produced since 2012. It is built on the PSA front-wheel drive platform called PF1, shared by many models, for example, the Peugeot 208 and Citroen C3. But in fact, the C-Elysee is a direct continuation of the Citroen ZX, which was produced in China from 1992 to 2012. The Citroen C-Elysee competes with other similar sedans such as the Peugeot 301, Kia Rio, Nissan Sunny and Sentra, Toyota Yaris.
Surprisingly, this affordable compact sedan has won many awards. And for some reason it is especially loved in Russia. In 2014, the Citroen C-Elysee won the Golden Klaxon award in the Compact Car category. The C-Elysee was awarded a Golden Pegasus in the Small Sedan category at one of Russia’s most prestigious automotive events, the “Behind the Wheel” Grand Prix. And such awards are probable well-deserved, as the car offers a really spacious interior, a practical and roomy trunk, many niches for storing small items, reliability, good handling, good dynamics, and a perfectly tuned suspension that ensures excellent driving characteristics. According to the owners, the car is truly great.
Chinese past
In 1992, Citroën formed a joint venture with Dongfeng to produce the China-specific Citroën ZX (which was later renamed Fukang). There were even copies of this car, and the French automaker even sued some of them, since according to an interesting old Chinese tradition, copies were illegal. The name "Elysee" appeared in 2002 as a result of renaming the ZX after the restyling. Following a deep modernization in 2008, with more than 300 innovations being introduced to the car, the Elysee was transformed into the C- Elysee. In 2012, the second generation sedan was introduced in France. However, since that car was completely different from its ancestor, the generation of modern C- Elysee dates from it. Thus, it took the Citroen C-Elysee a long 20 years to get home.
The first generation
The manufacturer calls this generation of the Citroen C-Elysee the first, but in fact this is the second generation, which was released in 2012. The car was a 4-door sedan with a wheelbase of 2,655 mm. It was 4,442 mm long, 1,748 mm wide and 1,446 mm high, while its curb weight reached up to 1,165 kg. The C-Elysee is available in France and the French overseas departments, but is strategically targeted for exports to Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Unlike its competitors, the C-Elysee offered a larger wheelbase, the largest rear space and one of the most voluminous trunks of about 0.5 cubic meters. The list of standard equipment included, among other things, air conditioning with digital display, rear parking assist, cruise control and more. Depending on the sales market, the new Citroen C-Elysee came with an EB2 3-cylinder gasoline engine producing 72 hp, a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder EC5 engine producing 115 hp or with a 1.6-liter diesel HDi engine with an output of 92 hp.
2017 restyling
In 2017, the manufacturer introduced the restyled Citroen C-Elysee, featuring a wider radiator grille, redesigned front and rear lights, a new multimedia system with a 7-inch touchscreen, compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The engines are the same. At the beginning of 2019, production of the model was discontinued in France, but continued in Spain.
