Richard Fairhurst

Never played the Lottery but still have 90%+ trouble-free motoring from two - yes, two - Pluriels. I wonder if the two are connected? ;) Richard 03 orange 1.4 and 05 silver 1.4, both going strong

There's a Cote d'Azur special in the dealers at the moment, too. I'm sure it's not intentional, but it does bring up memories for someone like me who grew up with 2CVs and Dyanes...

I'm seeing more on the roads now. But yes, from the reports here I guess we've been lucky with our first one. Our second one will be a much more recent model and looks like it's had the leaking mods applied, at least. Maybe you're right and I should start playing the lottery... Richard

We've just put down a deposit on a second Pluriel (ex-demo this time, 1.4 petrol) to go with our existing 03 of the same type. Gluttons for punishment? Well, our first one has been pretty much flawless...

Mine's got a spare wheel, too (03 1.4 petrol, believed to be from the first batch of 1.4s to make it over here...).

Just got my best result yet from one tankful - 386 miles from 37.5 litres, works out at about 47mpg I think. The Pluriel (post-X12) is showing an average of 42.1mpg over this period, but what does it know? :(

Several months on, the MPG read-out is still a lot less than it was before the recall - my journey to work turns out at about a 38mpg average now, when it used to be 42.7mpg. So I did a bit of calculation and worked out my own mpg figure from the amount of petrol I'd put in and the number of miles I'd covered. It came out at about 42.5mpg - much more like the old figure. I'm now wondering whether Citroen have just fouled up the software that works out the averages. Would be interested to know if anyone else has tried calculating their mpg by hand.

I'll be able to tell you what happens at the 40,000 mile service in a week or two. :blink:

Hold down the CD button until it says 'RND' - should take a couple of seconds.

Pretty minor, I know, but... why is the random function on the CD player so rubbish? It doesn't play in a random order - it's the same order every time. It always starts on track 2, then goes through a predefined order. I drive far enough every day not to notice the restart-on-track-1 problem, but this one... grr.

After a few weeks of running with it... Car now pulls better uphill, particularly in 4th and 5th gear. Economy has been reduced by several mpg, at least according to the on-screen display. I used to average 44.7 mpg on the way to work - it's now more like 41.4-42.7. I think I preferred it as it was... (Incidentally, our dealer said it took around an hour to upload the new software! How big is the ROM in these things? Or are they using a 1984-vintage 1200/75 connection?)

It's a new one! X12 - engine management upgrade, apparently. We're having it done next week.

Wouldn't know... I wasn't there (more's the pity). Imports maybe?

The inlaws spent a happy few weeks in Canada this summer, and report that the Pluriel is quite the in-thing there. Canadian weather is quite extreme - at least where they were. Glorious summers and freezing winters. There aren't many cars which are equally suitable in both... except the Pluriel.

I've been playing the Goldie Lookin' Chain album on my way to and from work for the past few days. It has a secret track. Basically, you start playing Track 1 as per normal (not too difficult on a Pluriel :blink: ), then hold down 'rewind', and you magically find another 3 minutes of music that aren't officially on the record. Or, at least, that's what you do on most CD players. On the Pluriel, you put the CD in the player, and it decides randomly whether it wants to play the official Track 1, or start with the hidden track. I've never encountered this on any other CD player. Just another endearing foible...

I wish!!! Our 1.4 has managed 31,000 (without a single leak :blink: ). Richard

I suspect it's not one of the ones listed - ours is a 1.4 so wouldn't need the only listed software upgrade (for the SensoDrive). Will let you know what transpires. Richard

Our dealer (Reg Vardy in Banbury, very helpful so far) say our Pluriel needs to go in for another recall - sounds like a software upgrade. Anyone know any more? Incidentally, nice piece in today's Independent on the Pluriel, one page after a pic of the new C4 which looks _very_ C3-like. Richard

But they don't necessarily give a complete picture. If you've had a bad experience with your Pluriel, you're more likely to search the web for fellow-sufferers, and post your experiences on the board, than if you're 100% satisfied. Our Pluriel has performed very reliably despite being driven 120 miles a day, a good proportion of which is on hilly country roads. It's a great car, and I wouldn't swap it for anything else (well... perhaps a Beachcomber :P ). Judging by the fast-growing number I'm seeing on the roads and the cheery waves we exchange, I suspect I'm not alone.

Agreed - I think ours was one of the first batch of 1.4s in the country and it's never leaked. Ours has the seatbelt warning working properly, but the point about the front seat bases is interesting. I do have a problem with the seats not locking properly unless you slam them all the way back, then move forwards from there (which obviously isn't great for the people sitting in the back :P ).

As I understand it, the averages are calculated from the time you last reset them - which might be several thousand miles ago. You can force a reset by paging through until you're on average MPG or average MPH, then holding in the CD track/display page button until the display changes to '-----'. A rolling average (say, last 100 miles) would be more logical... but 'logical' wouldn't be the Pluriel we all know and love. :P Richard

When we first got our Pluriel, there was no distinction on the dashboard between dipped and main-beam headlights. The same green light came on for both. But since its last service, the blue main-beam light has started working as it would on any other car. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm curious to know whether it was just a fault with ours, or whether it was part of the set of 'fixes' applied by the dealer. Richard

I can get 48-50mpg on a long motorway drive (managed just over 50 last week from Charlbury, Oxfordshire, to the Thelwall Viaduct on the M6). My daily commute across the Chilterns is a bit more up-and-down and usually works out at 42-45mpg. Our Pluriel (1.4 petrol) is also running more economically now than when new. But I wonder if that's just me getting used to the car. Richard