There is nothing better than 80’s French 🇫🇷 cars. Peugeot 205, phase 2 Renault 5 & Citroen AX, absolute classics with bags of charm and character. Great video, keep them coming!
When I was learning to drive in the 90's, I really wanted a Visa. With a few exceptions, just about all of my peers seemed to have a mk1 or 2 Fiesta, or a Nova. I wanted something different. I couldn't find a Visa that was worth having at the money I had. So I got myself a Renault 5 TL instead.
We all had a R5 back in the day, good seats, heating and comfort, unlike a rattly old fiesta 🤗👍🇮🇪 I also had a couple of Uno's as they were more affordable then and you could work on them yourself 😮👍🇮🇪
I agree with you that the Phase II Visa represents one of the very few cases in which the restyling actually improved on the original car's design. As you said, it was a remarkably clever intervention, dirt-cheap yet very effective, and it transformed the Visa's commercial fortunes, even if the Visa always remained a left-field choice in its segment.
Having grown up in 1980's France, the Visa was quite a common sight during my childhood, yet it always fascinated me, despite its uglyness... or maybe because of it... My family always drove more conventional Renaults or Peugeots, so a Citroën, especially the more quirky and awkward ones, was still something special.
Same story with me, grew up in 80s France, family all had more conventional Renaults and Peugeots but one of my aunties owned a white phase 1 Visa with the air cooled engine, for some reason it used to scare the 💩 out of me
I used to work in the service department of a Citroen dealership back in the 1970s/80s. I much preferred the two pot 652cc engine than the 1100cc version I suppose because it was more utilitarian/ agricultural/back to basics motoring. Plus at that time I was a 2CV Nut and had a great fondness for the A range engine.🙂👍
Hi Sion another great video and have really enjoyed the review of the phase 1 and 2 visa like you I have many memories of the later cars and not the pig nosed original I always thought they were very capable cars and did what they were designed to very well in Citroen fashion! I do like the earlier car and much like the cx and BX the Citroen quirks got toned down by Peugeot over time! Kudos to the owner for keeping both of these lovely visas going happy new year to you Daniel
I had two twin-cylinder Visas back in the day, and miss both of them. Long journeys were no problem at all. You quickly adopt to the digital style of driving -- either pedal to the metal, or not -- and don't worry about over-stressing the engine, because it is bulletproof. Cruising at 70 mph / 120 kph is easy, but that's all it does, and meanwhile the smooth twin sings its song. Always enjoyable: the ultra-soft suspension, the capacious interior, the light controls. It's as good as an R4 in most respects, and betters it in some crucial ones (less claustrophobic driver's position, more elbow room).
Visa is great car. I remember Visa 11RE and Visa II super that car was popular in ex Yugoslavia. But price was the too much. Thank you for a video and great support 👍👍👍👍
So many aspects of this are so characteristic of Citroen within that era. Really interesting to see what was effectively the forerunner of my Pug 106. Remember a fair few back in the day but definitely a rare sight now! Thanks for another really interesting comparative review 👍😊
My pleasure. It’s a shame Citroen haven’t kept up the quirkiness over the years. But then you have to give the masses what they want, in order to make sales
@ - Yes Citroen & some others stood out for that back in the day. But perhaps that in part contributed to their decline & brand mergering etc! It’s all about sales ultimately! 🙂
The "II" on the badge can be confusing, because in later versions (I think from 1984 or 1985 onwards) the Roman numerals were dropped and engine capacity was shown as a two-digit number plus the trim level. For instance a mid-level Visa would have a Visa 11RE badge, where 11 stood for 1.1 litre engine. Earlier cars with the 1.1 litre suitcase engine would have been badged Visa II Super E.
Oeh I like it, this would be my favorite Visa although the utilitarian C15 would be high on my list. Did drive 2 of those. The base Visa didn't have reversing lights but how did they leave it out? Didn't put bulbs in the rear light clusters? So many questions with French and Italian cars...
The Visa II was very popular in the Netherlands. I think they did the facelift very clever, no tinwork was changed! Edit: except the rear hatch, apparently (strange because hardly visible) 😅
Great review & well equipped for a 1982 base model, intermittent wipers & headlamp levelling & centre consul & lights on buzzer. There were quite afew of these Beige Visa’s in my school & college car parks throughout the 1980’s
You should definitely get one! A Visa II with first generation dashboard is a good choice as it will be easier to source specific interior and trim parts than for the Visa I …
When I was a 17 year old apprentice I worked on these at a Citroen specialist. Back then not really a fan of the air cooled models The 1.4 went really well and diesel were incredibly reliable and quite lively. My auntie had a Talbot Horizon diesel and it was replaced with a very low mileage Citroen visa we use to look after. And are two workshop beast of burden were a Peugeot 504 pickup and a Citroen C15 both well past there best.
Just by looking at them you know that there is nothing expensive or of higher than mediocre quality in a Visa. Still absolutely love this type of cars.
I used to own a Visa II Super E with the 1124 engine on a Y plate. Nippy and bright 'Jeunesse' colour (bright yellow with a hint of green). Good points were fun to drive, user friendly control pod, a bit different from other cars of the day and enough room for a young family. Not so good points were the brakes could have been better and DIY under bonnet maintenance was difficult due to lack of space/ some special tools required. Enjoyed the review
Oh I know that colour, it’s rather wonderful. You would have looked and felt very special on the roads in that! Interesting point about under the bonnet access, it did seem rather compact under there, particularly as the spare wheel takes up a lot of the space!
I remember hearing Hubnut talk of certain models of these having a "suitcase engine". I always thought it was an intriguing name for an engine. Do you have any info on this and do any of the models you have driven have this engine? Nice video and best wishes for the new year! I actually like the tappety engine sound, kind of reminds me of the older Fiesta models. Maybe I am strange!
They call it a "suitcase engine" (official name Peugeot X-engine), because the gearbox is mounted to the side of the engine, making the combination look like two halves of a suitcase. It's an OHC engine, so shouldn't sound tappety like the OHV Ford Valencia engine, but the transfer gears of the engine to the gearbox give it a distinctive whine. I could always tell by ear whether there was a Citroën Visa or BX approaching, those cars were very popular where I live. The engine orginally appeared in the Peugeot 104 and its badge engineered siblings Citroën LNA and Talbot Samba, early Peugeot 205 and Renault 14. The engine was tilted backwards almost horizontally, access to the spark plugs in the 14 (my dad had one) was very difficult, you needed a special around-the-corner tool to remove them.
My mate had a gti and cost next to nothing ,it was brilliant faster than an xr2 or sr nova and handled so much better ,the following ax gti was also very underrated car
I learned to drive in Visa Champagne I had just switched driving instructors the previous car was a Ford Fiesta, I could never get used to the Visa the Gears were a disaster for me they were so stiff and narrow thankfully that instructor changed to a new Peugeot 205 Diesel and it was back to normal driving I loved the PUG it was really conventional with so much more power, I passed my Test and my 1st car was a Citroen BX 1.4 it was so unreliable, I have never had a French car since stylish but completely off the wall on engineering and quality
@MorselsAndMotors They were not in my era either, but after 3 Dyanes, I now after something similar but you can actually live with. A visa would be nice, but like hens teeth.
I _love_ aircooled engines. It's kinda sad (though understandable) they don't make any anymore. There's a VW in Brazil called the Gol, which has a Beetle engine in the front driving the front wheels and I'd love to buy one. Unfortunately nigh impossible to import.
If you can get a go in an early 205XE with the 954cc engine - roly poly fun - it was all about momentum to keep the speed up and as you like a base model its gloriously sparse inside
The Visa II is definately the better looking car. As it uses the 2cv engine I wonder what the performance is like as there is so much more to it body wise
Reading all these enthusiastic comments, I have a fair deal to offer you. We French send you all our Visas and you send us back all your Austin-Healeys ....
Have to say I much prefer the mk1 version. Much more idiosyncratic compared to the rather bland looking mk2. (Admittedly I don't care for 80's styling overall, so that helps)
Wow, no wonder Japanese cars were becoming so popular at this time. For an 80s car it seems like it was built and designed in the 60s apart from the odd French quirks. Your a bit cute 😊
Seat belts in a car made like a biscuit tin 🙄 You just drive it as carefully as possible and you will be alright, its survived this long so if careful it will outlast you 🫣👍🇮🇪
Sadly we will never see such simple light small and critically cheap to run cars again, modern safety, emissions and the reality that the age of the car has to end means such cars are nolonger possible and are now part of history.
@@mfbfreak We have those in Sweden, just like the Reliant three wheelers in the UK they exploit a loop hole in the law, but being 40kph they are only suitable for people in rural locations for people who don't qualify for a proper car licence. In areas with denser populations public transport can and in usually in Sweden although too rarely in the UK does a better job. If they did become popular then they would start to attract legislation regarding safety and emissions that woukd simply make them impossible.
The Visa is so ugly to me that I prefer the uglier version, the design turns around and becomes nice, ugly but nice and unique, the phase II seems bland and not as graceful, more forgettable.
Yeah…I do actually see what you mean. Before I saw these two cars together I was convinced that the phase 2 is where my heart lay, but having spent time with them both I’m now far less sure
That´s good. It´s a souped-up 2CV engine. Boring. What I do like is the time he took for the interior. We all know HubNut as a benchmark, I really enjoy MaM takes his time moving the camera slowly around, also he talks quite a bit slower, helping me as someone who did not have english as my native language.
There is nothing better than 80’s French 🇫🇷 cars. Peugeot 205, phase 2 Renault 5 & Citroen AX, absolute classics with bags of charm and character.
Great video, keep them coming!
What a cheerful little car! I think I like the MkII styling much better
I did think so too, but having spent time with the pre-facelift car as well, I just can't decide!
@ I suppose if it come down to ow ring one. I would want the better driving one or the one that felt right regardless of design.
When I was learning to drive in the 90's, I really wanted a Visa. With a few exceptions, just about all of my peers seemed to have a mk1 or 2 Fiesta, or a Nova. I wanted something different. I couldn't find a Visa that was worth having at the money I had. So I got myself a Renault 5 TL instead.
We all had a R5 back in the day, good seats, heating and comfort, unlike a rattly old fiesta 🤗👍🇮🇪
I also had a couple of Uno's as they were more affordable then and you could work on them yourself 😮👍🇮🇪
Well I think a Renault 5 is still a great choice - did you like it?
@MorselsAndMotors I really liked it. It was a great little car. Replaced it with another French car. Peugeot 309 GR phase 2.
Very good review indeed. Showing EVERY detail of ALL the controls - and not just the reviewer's prejudices that you usually get!
Thank you 😊. For me, it's the little details that bring a car to life on screen
I agree with you that the Phase II Visa represents one of the very few cases in which the restyling actually improved on the original car's design. As you said, it was a remarkably clever intervention, dirt-cheap yet very effective, and it transformed the Visa's commercial fortunes, even if the Visa always remained a left-field choice in its segment.
Thank you Matteo, appreciate your comment.
I really enjoy your “talking about a car while pointing at it” videos. 👍
Having grown up in 1980's France, the Visa was quite a common sight during my childhood, yet it always fascinated me, despite its uglyness... or maybe because of it... My family always drove more conventional Renaults or Peugeots, so a Citroën, especially the more quirky and awkward ones, was still something special.
Same story with me, grew up in 80s France, family all had more conventional Renaults and Peugeots but one of my aunties owned a white phase 1 Visa with the air cooled engine, for some reason it used to scare the 💩 out of me
all of that glorious brownness - I have to say I think I preferred the phase one pig nose look myself
Just subscribed as I'm a car enthusiast, not a "petrol head". Love seeing reviews of oft forgotten bread and butter cars.
I love the Mk1 original Visa warts and all.
I've really enjoyed seeing these videos on the phase 1 & 2 Visa, thank you. I remember these being a common sight when I was a kid.
Glad you like them! Yeah they were very popular in France, but I don’t remember seeing many where I grew up in the UK
I used to work in the service department of a Citroen dealership back in the 1970s/80s. I much preferred the two pot 652cc engine than the 1100cc version I suppose because it was more utilitarian/ agricultural/back to basics motoring. Plus at that time I was a 2CV Nut and had a great fondness for the A range engine.🙂👍
Oh that's interesting to prefer the old school tech! It is a great engine though, so characterful
Hi Sion another great video and have really enjoyed the review of the phase 1 and 2 visa like you I have many memories of the later cars and not the pig nosed original I always thought they were very capable cars and did what they were designed to very well in Citroen fashion! I do like the earlier car and much like the cx and BX the Citroen quirks got toned down by Peugeot over time! Kudos to the owner for keeping both of these lovely visas going happy new year to you Daniel
Thank you Daniel, and happy new year to you too!
I had two twin-cylinder Visas back in the day, and miss both of them. Long journeys were no problem at all. You quickly adopt to the digital style of driving -- either pedal to the metal, or not -- and don't worry about over-stressing the engine, because it is bulletproof. Cruising at 70 mph / 120 kph is easy, but that's all it does, and meanwhile the smooth twin sings its song. Always enjoyable: the ultra-soft suspension, the capacious interior, the light controls. It's as good as an R4 in most respects, and betters it in some crucial ones (less claustrophobic driver's position, more elbow room).
Yeah I definitely was staring to get that binary sense of the engine. If I drove it for a bit longer I’m sure I’d get super confident with it
Visa is great car. I remember Visa 11RE and Visa II super that car was popular in ex Yugoslavia. But price was the too much. Thank you for a video and great support 👍👍👍👍
My pleasure, glad you like it
So many aspects of this are so characteristic of Citroen within that era. Really interesting to see what was effectively the forerunner of my Pug 106.
Remember a fair few back in the day but definitely a rare sight now!
Thanks for another really interesting comparative review 👍😊
My pleasure. It’s a shame Citroen haven’t kept up the quirkiness over the years. But then you have to give the masses what they want, in order to make sales
@ - Yes Citroen & some others stood out for that back in the day. But perhaps that in part contributed to their decline & brand mergering etc! It’s all about sales ultimately! 🙂
The "II" on the badge can be confusing, because in later versions (I think from 1984 or 1985 onwards) the Roman numerals were dropped and engine capacity was shown as a two-digit number plus the trim level. For instance a mid-level Visa would have a Visa 11RE badge, where 11 stood for 1.1 litre engine. Earlier cars with the 1.1 litre suitcase engine would have been badged Visa II Super E.
Yes I must admit for the same reason I thought that it was saying 1.1 for a moment, until I realised that couldn’t be the case!
Oeh I like it, this would be my favorite Visa although the utilitarian C15 would be high on my list. Did drive 2 of those. The base Visa didn't have reversing lights but how did they leave it out? Didn't put bulbs in the rear light clusters? So many questions with French and Italian cars...
The Visa II was very popular in the Netherlands. I think they did the facelift very clever, no tinwork was changed!
Edit: except the rear hatch, apparently (strange because hardly visible) 😅
I thought exactly that about the rear hatch! I don't know why they bothered with that minor change
Great review & well equipped for a 1982 base model, intermittent wipers & headlamp levelling & centre consul & lights on buzzer. There were quite afew of these Beige Visa’s in my school & college car parks throughout the 1980’s
They do all seem to be beige don't they!!
You should definitely get one! A Visa II with first generation dashboard is a good choice as it will be easier to source specific interior and trim parts than for the Visa I …
When I was a 17 year old apprentice I worked on these at a Citroen specialist.
Back then not really a fan of the air cooled models
The 1.4 went really well and diesel were incredibly reliable and quite lively.
My auntie had a Talbot Horizon diesel and it was replaced with a very low mileage Citroen visa we use to look after.
And are two workshop beast of burden were a Peugeot 504 pickup and a Citroen C15 both well past there best.
Those sound like great days, I would love to have a 504 as my garage runaround!
I am with you, Visa II front and satellite dash. So much that I looked for one and bought a Special in white that I have had for 9 years now.
Hubnut Road tested my white Special and the video is on his channel.
ruclips.net/video/_ZYs-FMahFs/видео.html
Shouldn’t it have a black plastic framing section behind the rear doors
5:40 There actually nothing in the side of the light cluster, it just hides the fact that the rear sheet metal is unchanged.
What a lovely car. I like the brightness of the yellow of the phase 1 but the styling of the phase 2. But, I think you’re right, you do need a Visa!
It sooo tempting!
Just by looking at them you know that there is nothing expensive or of higher than mediocre quality in a Visa. Still absolutely love this type of cars.
Not sure if the AX was sold in the UK but I think it was the successor of the Visa, the Saxo came after the AX.
I used to own a Visa II Super E with the 1124 engine on a Y plate. Nippy and bright 'Jeunesse' colour (bright yellow with a hint of green). Good points were fun to drive, user friendly control pod, a bit different from other cars of the day and enough room for a young family. Not so good points were the brakes could have been better and DIY under bonnet maintenance was difficult due to lack of space/ some special tools required. Enjoyed the review
Oh I know that colour, it’s rather wonderful. You would have looked and felt very special on the roads in that! Interesting point about under the bonnet access, it did seem rather compact under there, particularly as the spare wheel takes up a lot of the space!
The facelift was done by Heuliez, I believe.
Oh interesting - I didn't know that, thank you
They did the facelift? You certainly know your stuff!
I remember hearing Hubnut talk of certain models of these having a "suitcase engine". I always thought it was an intriguing name for an engine. Do you have any info on this and do any of the models you have driven have this engine? Nice video and best wishes for the new year! I actually like the tappety engine sound, kind of reminds me of the older Fiesta models. Maybe I am strange!
They call it a "suitcase engine" (official name Peugeot X-engine), because the gearbox is mounted to the side of the engine, making the combination look like two halves of a suitcase. It's an OHC engine, so shouldn't sound tappety like the OHV Ford Valencia engine, but the transfer gears of the engine to the gearbox give it a distinctive whine. I could always tell by ear whether there was a Citroën Visa or BX approaching, those cars were very popular where I live. The engine orginally appeared in the Peugeot 104 and its badge engineered siblings Citroën LNA and Talbot Samba, early Peugeot 205 and Renault 14. The engine was tilted backwards almost horizontally, access to the spark plugs in the 14 (my dad had one) was very difficult, you needed a special around-the-corner tool to remove them.
Bought my son a Visa Diesel on a D reg I think, that had the same controls as the C15; stalks etc.
Yes it would by 1986-7 ish
My mate had a gti and cost next to nothing ,it was brilliant faster than an xr2 or sr nova and handled so much better ,the following ax gti was also very underrated car
I learned to drive in Visa Champagne I had just switched driving instructors the previous car was a Ford Fiesta, I could never get used to the Visa the Gears were a disaster for me they were so stiff and narrow thankfully that instructor changed to a new Peugeot 205 Diesel and it was back to normal driving I loved the PUG it was really conventional with so much more power, I passed my Test and my 1st car was a Citroen BX 1.4 it was so unreliable, I have never had a French car since stylish but completely off the wall on engineering and quality
I do know where there is one for sale, not mine but another beige 652cc Visa II Special with Satellite dash.
Oooh…
@@MorselsAndMotors It is a running project from a fellow Autoshite Forum member.
I had the c15 diesel.
Rotten, noisy, badly made, however it had a wafty ride and it just wouldn’t die.
I need one of these two, or Ami hatch?
I've always found the Ami less satisfying, but then perhaps because I never remember them growing up
@MorselsAndMotors They were not in my era either, but after 3 Dyanes, I now after something similar but you can actually live with. A visa would be nice, but like hens teeth.
I have a Phase II Super E (1124cc) if you were serious about having a go in one.
Almost bought a D Reg in 1993, dealer wanted £2500, but put off by the looks and being too eccentric. Went for a fiesta instead!
Were you happy with the Fiesta choice?
I _love_ aircooled engines. It's kinda sad (though understandable) they don't make any anymore. There's a VW in Brazil called the Gol, which has a Beetle engine in the front driving the front wheels and I'd love to buy one. Unfortunately nigh impossible to import.
Oh I didn't realise they used an aircooled engine for the Gol. A friend has just imported a Peugeot Hoggar from Brazil, so it can't be impossible!
@@MorselsAndMotors Yeah, check out the Gol, amazing car! It's only certain models with the aircooled engine tho.
If you can get a go in an early 205XE with the 954cc engine - roly poly fun - it was all about momentum to keep the speed up and as you like a base model its gloriously sparse inside
Would love a go!
The Visa II is definately the better looking car. As it uses the 2cv engine I wonder what the performance is like as there is so much more to it body wise
It’s slightly more power than the 2CV engine, and is really surprisingly nippy
Reading all these enthusiastic comments, I have a fair deal to offer you. We French send you all our Visas and you send us back all your Austin-Healeys ....
50 shades of brown!
The 80s were a very brown and beige place!
@MorselsAndMotors indeed! But I was referring to the different shades on this car. Seems like it has had a rough life!
Have to say I much prefer the mk1 version. Much more idiosyncratic compared to the rather bland looking mk2. (Admittedly I don't care for 80's styling overall, so that helps)
Wow, no wonder Japanese cars were becoming so popular at this time. For an 80s car it seems like it was built and designed in the 60s apart from the odd French quirks. Your a bit cute 😊
Only a bit? I always hope for very
@MorselsAndMotors lol, well very cute.
Seat belts in a car made like a biscuit tin 🙄
You just drive it as carefully as possible and you will be alright, its survived this long so if careful it will outlast you 🫣👍🇮🇪
Sadly we will never see such simple light small and critically cheap to run cars again, modern safety, emissions and the reality that the age of the car has to end means such cars are nolonger possible and are now part of history.
Yes and no. We do have quadricycles that get very close to being the same size and weight as 1950s - 1970s economy cars.
@@mfbfreak We have those in Sweden, just like the Reliant three wheelers in the UK they exploit a loop hole in the law, but being 40kph they are only suitable for people in rural locations for people who don't qualify for a proper car licence. In areas with denser populations public transport can and in usually in Sweden although too rarely in the UK does a better job. If they did become popular then they would start to attract legislation regarding safety and emissions that woukd simply make them impossible.
The Visa is so ugly to me that I prefer the uglier version, the design turns around and becomes nice, ugly but nice and unique, the phase II seems bland and not as graceful, more forgettable.
Yeah…I do actually see what you mean. Before I saw these two cars together I was convinced that the phase 2 is where my heart lay, but having spent time with them both I’m now far less sure
A car review that doesn't even lift the bonnet and show/discuss the engine!
That´s good. It´s a souped-up 2CV engine. Boring. What I do like is the time he took for the interior. We all know HubNut as a benchmark, I really enjoy MaM takes his time moving the camera slowly around, also he talks quite a bit slower, helping me as someone who did not have english as my native language.
I look at the engine of the yellow Visa in my previous video, this engine is identical
Single spoke steering wheel, single strut hatch!