Touring French Mountains in a Deux Chevaux

I'd hate to attempt a mountain in that dog.

Years ago we drove in the French Alps in a 2CV, which we bought and kept In England at my sister-in-law’s. It was a right hand drive so we seldom drove it in England but took it by ferry to France several times. Great little car .... well, great for my husband , he loved driving it and changed gears like a pro. A friend in France told us that when she was young, she and three others, three! drove in a 2CV through the Alps with no problems. Or so she said.

My first car was a Citroen Ami 8 estate (photo),
Same 602 cc 2 cylinder engine as used in a 2CV, but in a bigger body. You could never over-rev it, you just put your foot on the floor, and it eventually reached 55 MPH and was quite happy cruising at that speed with your foot on the floor.
That was in relatively flat south-east England. Up mountains is not where I would wish to drive this car.

Hi,
I would hate to drive that in the mountains. It is really sluggish, and the first gear isn't synchronized, meaning you have to stop (or almost stop) to engage it if you need to downshift in a steep hill. Braking is OK with the newer models that have disc brakes at the front wheels, however.

That was my husband’s car when we married, before we moved up to a Renault4

Drove a 1970 VW convertible for 20 years, including over the Ridge Route to LA ... yes, flooring it to go up hills but nothing beat it going downhill. Charm is great, but a bigger engine and automatic transmission have a lot to recommend them, particularly on an uphill grade.
2CV sounds like fun, though.

If you know how to drive a duerche properly they are surprisingly nimble in the mountains - and surprisingly quick.

One caveat is that you really should call in to a mechanic on the first day in the mountains and get the carby set fior the thinner air up high. It will run richer in town, but that's their problem, not yours :)