27 September 2002: PARIS MOTOR SHOW. While the Citroen Pluriel (above) was the star of the the brand's stand at the show yesterday, there was also a lot of attention to be paid to the various versions of the C8 large MPV, which would push a strong wedge into the market of that particular segment.

The Pluriel is a lifestyle derivative of the C3 supermini, which has the potential to be used as a saloon, convertible, or 'spider' sports pickup, just by placing or remiving a couple of roof struts and fiddling around with seats and a roll-up panoramic window roof.

Thing is, the Pluriel is a real car, and will be introduced to Ireland next year. In its French specification, it comes with a 1.6-litre engine and automatic transmission. Look on it as a direct competitor to Ford's new Streetka, with attitude and a couple of extra seats.

Meanwhile, a duo of versions of the C8 on the Citroen stand showed a fair range of luxury and practicality in this latest large people-mover from the brand. We particularly liked the central instrumentation on the premium version. And the boot space in 5-seater configuration is enormous.

Citroen also revived memories of its famous SM series car with the C-Airdream (which we previewed here a couple of weeks ago). It attracted constant crowds from the thousnads of journalists present. Among the features it proposes is a 'drive by wire' system of 'no-pedal' controls.

The C-Crosser we have seen in earlier versions at earlier shows. It is described as a 6-seat SUV with removable top and also showcases the 'by wire' technology as well as a number of functions already available in several Citroen cars, including voice memo and voice recognition systems.