Citroën Acadiane

Citroën Acadiane
Overview
Manufacturer	Citroën
Production	1977–1987
Body and chassis
Class	Leisure activity vehicle (M)
Body style	Small van
Layout	FF layout
Related	Citroën Dyane
Chronology
Predecessor	Citroën 2CV Utility
Successor	Citroën C15

Citroën Acadiane speedometer

Citroën Acadiane

The Citroën Acadiane is a small commercial vehicle derived from the Dyane and only available in left-hand drive, produced from 1977 to 1987. Production totalled 253,393. The Visa-based C15 van eventually replaced the Acadiane.

Citroën had already used the prefix AK for its light commercials, so it was an obvious pun to name the AK Dyane "Acadiane" (similar pronunciation in French). There was no connection beyond the pun with the French-speaking region of Louisiana that is home to Cajun (Acadiane) cooking, or with l'Acadie, now part of Nova Scotia.

The Acadiane differed from the Dyane on which it was based in having heavier-duty suspension, a slightly altered chassis and a rear-brake limiter whose action was dependent on the load.

The Acadiane was also fitted with wind-down windows in the driver's and passenger's doors. The Dyane car had horizontally-sliding windows.

The payload was approximately 500 kg (1,100 lb), but handling was impaired when fully loaded.

The Acadiane was available in commercial (two-seater) form or as a "Mixte", with sliding rear windows and a removable rear bench seat. Citroën and many other manufacturers continue to this day (Berlingo et al.) with the option of rear seats in a vehicle clearly designed as a commercial. The Mixte version also had a passenger sun visor, missing in the more basic commercial version. In line with many Citroën light commercials, the roof of the rear bodywork was corrugated to add extra rigidity at little cost.

The Acadiane cruised on the flat comfortably and economically at 55 mph (89 km/h).

Top gear in the four-speed box was usually referred to as overdrive. This had been so since the earliest days of the 2CV. In most circumstances it was best used as such. Progress could be maintained in top, but further acceleration was unlikely. As the motor thrived on revs, third made a perfectly good gear to get up to 80 km/h (50 mph). The Adadiane came from the factory with Michelin 15x135 tyres, 10mm wider than those fitted to the 2CV and Dyane cars.

Production history

Model	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	Total
Acadiane	141	37,787	49,679	45,438	30,881	36,054	20,377	12,756	8,429	7,915	3,936	253,393

Citroën Geri

Geri pickup

The Citroën Geri, a pickup variant of the Acadiane, was produced by Cimos in Yugoslavia from 1981 to 1985.

External links

• Dyane/Acadiane links Citroën World
• Acadiane on the road!
• CitCity
• Citroën Acadiane at Citroenet
• Acadiane 1/43 modelcar