Citroen Dyane - the perfect budget friendly CHEAP practical classic car?!

Video Description

The Citroen Dyane Picture the scene, it’s the mid 60s and the Citroen 2CV is beginning to look a little…well, dated. It had come to market in the late 40s and despite having a stronghold over towns and cities across France, Citroen felt it was time to introduce something a little more modern to the range to compete with the Renault four which was taking 2CV market share. The range before the Dyane arrives is 2CV, Ami and the D Series - with the Dyane sitting slightly above the 2CV instead of replacing it. Ironically a little like the Metro in Britain set to replace the Mini, the 2CV actually outlived the Dyane! However, what do you do when your design departtment are busy on updating the DS and Ami? Well, you enlist the help of panhard who had become part of Citroen. Their team headed up by Louis Bionier produces a concept - this was then heavily rejigged by Robert Opron who was Citroen’s chief designer. In the UK, it was marketed as a car to get you about comfortably without fuss; with the versatility and economy aspects of the car being touted across adverts. The possibilities were endless, with the back seats removable to accomodate a roadside picnic or to increase the load space to make it as practical for bigger jobs. With the seats in place, you’ve got arouns 9 cubic feet of luggage space. It was at one point in time, the cheapest 4 door on the UK market and what a car it was! In fact, it’s worth mentioning at this point that the Dyane did so well in the UK that they stop selling the 2CV for a brief point during the late 60s and early 70s and the 2CV only comes back to UK markets again around 1974 when the oil crisis strikes and fuel economy is the big motoring concern. As for the Dyane’s spec, It sported the Citroen suspension which was welcome then but even more welcome on today’s roads; fully indepdent with inter-connection between the front and rear wheels. Hydraulic shock absorbers and dampers on all four wheels. It’s a front wheel drive car and as you’d definitely expect by this point at the very least, it’s rack and pinion steering. The 602cc engine is air cooled and the adverts tout this as a must-have, saying it means theres no head gasket failure. Thinking of the competition in the UK market, this was very much a concern for motorists and would’ve given peace of mind to some who had been burnt before! It is advertised as doing around 52mpg on old adverts running on 3 star fuel - which of course we cannot replicate today without that fuel available - but i’ve been told the 602cc engine on a decent run can hit 50mpg on good quality E5 fuel. As for the top speeds, you can easily do the advertised 70 miles per hour. It’s worth noting the Dyane had taller gearing than the 2CV which meant you could even hope to reach 75mph on the flat - although we haven’t proven this today! The mechanicals and suspension are largely the same as the 2CV. The car although budget, was by no means miserly and came with a heater and demister, two sun vistors and small selection of handy tools as standard - no extra charges. This might shock some overseas viewers, but until a point, heaters and a passenger sun visor were an additional cost in classic cars! There were other small considerations too - the rectangular headlights were adjustable for varying loads, the glass in the front screen was flat for easy replacement should the worst happen and door catches were concealed for additional safety. The handbrake was noted on adverts as being ‘powerful’ and anti theft ignition lock was fitted as standard. Also it’s worth noting these are easy to repair in the even of a bump, because panels are easily detachable. The turning circle of these is 36ft - to compare it to its biggest European competitor - the Renault 4 was 35.4ft. In metres this is 10.9 metres versus 10.7. Interestingly the turning circle of the MK1 Mini is also around about this too! All in all, a genius little car and lots on offer for very little financial outlay.