Citroen vs. Peugeot vs. Renault = Lower Market

Which of these big 3 French car models is traditionally seen as geared for the lower priced market: Citroen, Peugeot or Renault?

In other words, which of the 3 is the Ford or Chevy of the French market?

Reply 1

Erich Hartmann

When the French have money they buy German cars because all their cars are lower market cars.

Reply 2

HonestBob

Alright, that's great Erich, but which of these three then is the lowest of the low? I realise Peugeot and Citroen are under the same corporate umbrella--PSA, but which is considered the more upmarket of those two? If you are familiar with American car makers, you'll know that in the General Motors family of cars, Cadillac is the top dog in price and prestige. Next peg down is Buick, then Oldsmobile, then Pontiac and finally on the bottom rung is Chevrolet. At Ford Motor Company it goes Lincoln, then Mercury and Ford at the bottom. At Chrysler it used to be Chrysler, Dodge and then Plymouth as the lowest price and lowest prestige make of car within the Chrysler Corporation.

So, how would this play out between Peogeot and Citroen? And where would Renault fit into the mix? Slightly above or below?

Reply 3

Erich Hartmann

Original post by HonestBob

PSA cars (Peugeot and Citroen) are rather different when it comes to product placement, neither are more prestigious than the other the best analogy between them would be the difference between a Chevrolet and a Pontiac, they are both roughly around the same price but differed a lot in styling.

Citroens tend to have cutting age and sportier styling similar to Pontiacs while Peugeots tend to be a little more on the conservative side, though these days a lot of their designs are starting to move away from that.

As for which is perceived to be lower rung, most would say Renaults as they don't make any cars to compete in the premium segment any longer. Plus for a long time they were well known for producing the crappiest of cars...... similar to how in the US market people perceived Hyundais long time ago........only difference? Perception of Hyundais are changing, that of Renault hasn't :biggrin:

Reply 4

HonestBob

Thanks for the informative reply, Erich!

Reply 5

Erich Hartmann

Original post by HonestBob

Thanks for the informative reply, Erich!

Actually INSEAD did publish a case study on this at one time, it was on product placement.

Do a search for it, was quite an interesting read..... can't remember the title right now.

Reply 6

Indian_Prince

i think citreon is supposed to be the luxury car for them, no idea though, pugeots re just ugh nasty.... renaults seem to have a more sporty hatch theme with them

Reply 7

FTstudies

Well Peugeot/Citroen are the same company really, for example Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107 have almost an identical model. I would say Citroen are the more expensive, their new ds range and slowly increasing price tag means they are starting to turn up market a bit.

But there is nothing wrong with Renault, a lot of my friends have a Renault Clio, as they're economical and are very popular with students.

Reply 8

jhubbert

1.Citroen - Kia
2.Renault - GM
3.Peugeot - Ford

Why have I been negged for this?

I was merely stating Peugeots were terrible, Renaults were half decent and Citroen provided good value for money and quirky looks?!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 9

Né Stig

Original post by jhubbert

That makes no sense!

If a Pug is the worst (by your reckoning), then a GM is certainly worse than a Ford and a Kia is utter tosh.

If anything, Peugeot in my opinion provide better cars than the other two. If we looks at Pugs history, then there is no comparison. The French president swans around in a Pug 507 and used to ride in the 607 IIRC. Look at the RCZ?

The Renault has made a few good sports cars (F1 230 rings a bell as did the Williams 1/2/3) - but then Pug did the 205 gti/306 gti6 and on and on.

1) Pug
2) Renault
3) Citreon

In France by the way (where I spend about 1-2 months of the year), no one at all buys decent cars. It's all Peugeot! The only decent cars you see in France are those driven over the Channel by Brits. No joke.

Reply 10

HumorousGent.

They're on a level as far as I'm concerned. Not sure what difference it makes anyway, you can hardly brag about driving a Renault/Peugeot/Citroen.

Reply 11

Né Stig

Original post by HumorousGent.

They're on a level as far as I'm concerned. Not sure what difference it makes anyway, you can hardly brag about driving a Renault/Peugeot/Citroen.

?

You wouldn't brag about having a Renault Megane 230?
You wouldn't brag about having a Renault 3.0 V6 255?
You wouldn't brag about having a Renault Williams 3?
You wouldn't brag about having a Peuegot 205 1.9 GTi?
You wouldn't brag about having a Peuegot 306 Ralleye/Gti6?
You wouldn't brag about having a Peuegot RCZ?

So what car do you have out of curiosity?

Reply 12

HumorousGent.

Original post by Né Stig

I was referring more to the 'cooking' models (should have made that clearer perhaps), which will probably make up 9/10 of the overall production run. I'd love most of the cars you've listed, although the RCZ and Megane don't do much for me. I think you forgot the Citroen ZX 16V and the AX GT though, and maybe the Twingo/Clio cups, DS3 if we're just listing French hot hatches.

I've got a ZX, in lowly diesel estate form. Used to have a 205 and all being well will have my grubby mitts on a ZX 16V shortly.

This isn't exactly what I was getting at though. Although those are all very worthy cars, the OP was asking which brand is the most 'lower market'. If you ask me they are all pretty much the same and none have any sort of 'premium' image associated with them. For the most part, it's German brands people go to when trying to project that image, not French ones (as Erich Hartmann said earlier).

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 13

Erich Hartmann

Original post by Né Stig

You wouldn't brag about having a Renault Megane 230?

They are alright, but tbh it's not something I'd brag about, there are plenty of better cars out there.

Original post by Né Stig

You wouldn't brag about having a Renault 3.0 V6 255?

What?? NO... have you even driven one of those things before?

Original post by Né Stig

You wouldn't brag about having a Renault Williams 3?

Maybe if it was an outright mint condition.

Original post by Né Stig

You wouldn't brag about having a Peuegot 205 1.9 GTi?

TBH, I see a 205 as a chav car.... the GTI isn't exempt from it.

Original post by Né Stig

You wouldn't brag about having a Peuegot 306 Ralleye/Gti6?

They aren't anything special tbh, driven a GTi6 many times for the most part it's just another Pug.

Original post by Né Stig

You wouldn't brag about having a Peuegot RCZ?

I probably would park a few blocks away rather than let people see I drive that junk.

Reply 14

Né Stig

^ I don't think I need to say much more. Your post is utterly laughable.

Reply 15

KLBG3400

Citroën DS Citroën SMCITROËN 2CVCitroën la Traction

Reply 16

accountant-future

Original post by KLBG3400

Citroën DS Citroën SMCITROËN 2CVCitroën la Traction

You bumped a 6 year old thread to name a Citroen car?

Good god...

Reply 17

surbo_3659

Hi, for the Singapore market at least, Renaults have always been priced lower than either Peugeots or Citroens, which are now mechanically similar as they are both made by PSA. Many years ago, I had compared the suspensions of the 1.1 Peugeot 205, vs the larger and heavier 1.4 Renault 19, over the same broken tarmac. While the Renault should put any Asian car to shame on that stretch, the 205 showed it was a class above the Renault, dismissing the bumps and making the wafting quite entertaining. This is because Peugeot makes its own double-action shock absorbers, which will iron out bumps and help keep the body composed. In fact, few other car makers give a comparable ride. That is the reason why I keep using Peugeots.