Citroën C2, Now With Stop & Start Technology
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 04. 4.06
French car maker Citroën introduces to the UK a new model of its C2 car. It features "stop/start" technology that allows it to shut off the gasoline engine when the car stops, and to restart it pretty much instantaneously (400 milliseconds) when the driver takes his/her foot off the brake pedal, producing a 15% reduction in fuel consumption in heavy traffic. That technology was first introduced on the Citroën C3 in 2004. The interesting thing for UK drivers is that Citroën is offering a cashback incentive of £1,696 (US$2,963, "sufficient to cover one year’s London Congestion Charge") to buyers of the new C2 Stop & Start. The price of the car in the UK is £10,690 (US$18,674), not including the cashback incentive.
The system delivers about 42 mpg US on a combined cycle, and reduces CO2 emissions by about 10% compared to the rest of the C2 gasoline line-up. [...]This C2 is equipped with a new generation SensoDrive automated gearbox, with paddleshift gearchange and automatic function, and a 90hp (67kW) 1.4i 16V gasoline engine.
::Congestion Charge Busting, CO2 Reducing, Fuel Saving - The New CITROËN C2 Stop & Start, via ::Citroën Introduces Start & Stop C2 in UK; Incentive Pays London Congestion Charge
I'm pretty sure this is not the first iteration of such "stop/go" engine management system. Wasn't there an Insight or Prius variant that did the same exact thing?
No, this is not the first time that technology is used. Most (if not all) current hybrids use a similar technology.
What's interesting is that it is starting to appear on non-hybrids (it's less expensive on its own than the whole hybrid drivetrain). So much gasoline is wasted by idling engines... This would make a big difference in urban areas like Los Angeles.
VW has been doing this for years in the Lupo and Polo. This is not new by any means.
Sorry for the confusion, I did not say it was new technology; just that it was new for the C2 in the UK, and that the cashback incentive was interesting.