1996 Citroen C15 rd 1.7 diesel
Summary:
I think that the Citroen C15 is an excellent car. Its the absolute bomb!!!
Faults:
We had to buy a new battery in Austria at 115,000 kilometers.
Also strangely for a diesel, the exhaust pipe snapped in two from rusting 100,000 kilometers.
The security switch which we had in our car (without us realizing) initiated after we hit a bump in the road, and cost us money for a tow. this could have been fixed by pressing a button under the bonnet...
General Comments:
This car is slow, but amazingly economical... we were going 800 kilometers off a 45 litre tank, which is really really good. We slept in the car for 3 months in a row and I'm 190 centimeters tall, all I did was push the seats forward a little and was extremely cozy. we slept in in minus 1 degrees in Germany without a problem.
And another thing especally for travelers is that this type of car has an excellent buy back price., meaning you won't lose too much money after you've done 50000 kilometres.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 22nd January, 2003
1st Jun 2010, 17:36
I am on my 3rd C15 now. It's 03 reg and 87000 miles. I love them, they are so handy and nothing goes wrong with them. Trouble is, they can look very tatty if you dent the panels, but I call mine Marmite. I love it, but my friends think it's a dinosaur.
2nd Aug 2026, 16:53
This little van is literally indestructible!
It might not be the fastest, but if you find a diesel model in reasonably decent condition, it could easily last you a lifetime. They were produced until 2005, and its successor—the Berlingo—was far worse.
In terms of reliability, I believe it was the best product Citroën ever made. Even today, in many countries, especially in Southern Europe, some people still use it as a work vehicle.
3rd Aug 2026, 15:38
Sadly they rusted pretty badly, but besides that not much to go wrong. Extremely simple and robust. We had one in the '80s. Besides brakes and a rusted out exhaust system, I don't think we replaced a single part on this van. Was wrecked after circa 10 years, the sills and inner wings badly rusted. But they use a lot of salt in the winter here. Anything that isn't rust treated rusts to pieces after few years.
5th Aug 2026, 06:12
Yeah everything other than maybe Mazda in that era was prone to rust.
26th Aug 2007, 18:35
Hello, could you tell me at what speed you were going (90 ó 120) when you got 800km for 45 liters? Thank you.