Good morning to you, I am writing re the above as I am unsure which particular car to opt for. I am also unsure as to which particular model and engine size, I do have a rough idea but wanted some of your opinions. I know that the Vectra 2.2 is particularly thirsty and not too economical, the Citroen has some quailty issues and soem niggles but is very comfortable and provides good spec for the money. I am looking for a 52 plate onwards and have around £10k to spend, does anyone have a 2.0 DTI Vectra I would be pleased to hear from, also Saloon or hatch? thinking caps for a Saturday would be great.
Cheers all.
BM.
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Hi Badgerman
Well firstly have a look at the car by car breakdown for both cars - that'll give you a good idea of what both are like.
I've had my Vectra (53 plate SXI) for about 2 weeks now and I am very happy with it. It's a five door hatch so handy for putting the kids bikes in there and also I can tell everyone its got a ski hatch even though I've never even been near a ski slope :O).
I did have a Citroen BX a few years back and I to be frank it put me off French cars for life.(Maybe C5's are better I don't know.)
Try them out - I am very happy with the interior of my Vectra too and its quite good on petrol as it's a 1.8.
Just my opinion and no doubt some C5 owners will be along soon but I would go for the Vectra.
Good luck!
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I think the point of the 2.2 petrol was that it is supposed to offer the smoothness of a 6 cylinder with the economy of a 4. I have the 2.0T (a SAAB engine I believe) with a 6 speed box and it's a bit of a hooligan devloping about 170bhp. I get a constant 32 mpg and virtually all of my driving is motorway. I'm happy with that. The SRi spec that I have has lowered, stiffened suspension which makes for a harder ride so you may want to consider the "Design" (used to be Elegance) or "Elite" spec if comfort is more your bag
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I know that the Vectra 2.2 is particularly thirsty and not too economical,
Depends how you drive it. Round town I get approx 24mpg, and on a good run, 34mpg. Thats with an auto gearbox, btw. The manual box would be more economical.
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I'd go for the C5, ideally a 2.2HDi SX or an Exclusive. The SX is a finely specified car - ABS,ESP,Cruise,Hydractive 3+ suspension with Sport mode (better ride and handling),Dual zone climate control and front armrests. The Exclusive adds a leather interior with electric seats (the leather isn't great), tyre pressure monitor and auto folding and indexing mirrors and parking sensors (all of which are on the Parking Assistance Pack which was optional on the SX). I went for the SX as I didn't think the Exclusive was worth £2000 more and the seat leather looked like it would wear quickly whereas Citroen velour is exceptionally hardwearing - the drivers seat in my old Xantia was totally unmarked after 220,000 miles and 10 years!
Your £10k should buy you an 03 plate 2.2HDi SX with low miles in mint condition.
The engine is fantastic - its not as rorty as a 2.0 TDCi but its silky smooth and extremely quiet at all engine speeds. Its not the most economical of diesels, but they'll do 40mpg unless you drive it like a hooligan all the time. The C5 is very refined - inside its very quiet and there's no engine noise gets in, just a little road noise.
I think the interior is pretty good, the plastic is a bit grainy in areas but if the MK5 Golf is anything to go by grainy plastic is coming back into fashion. The layout is pretty much perfect and everything falls to hand. Comfort is fantastic - seats are good the armrests are ideal for crusing. In terms of quality I had no complaints about mine - no rattles or squeeks from anywhere.
Unfortunately mine met an early demise in an accident, but I loved it and I'd have bought another one a few weeks ago had I been able to find something decent locally at a reasonable price, but it was pipped by an excellent deal on a Mondeo TDCi from a Ford dealer who was more reasonable on value of my trade-in Focus. The Mondeo is faster and more fun to throw around, but it doesn't ride as well and its not as quiet. The Mondeo interior is often praised, but having long term experience of both I'd say its not much better than the C5 although I do much prefer the dials but thats a personal thing.
I had no problems or niggles at all with mine, it was on 03 plate and I had it 7 months and put 16k on it. I did get it cheap and I had expected some troubles with it but it was absolutely flawless.
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Do try a C5. It's a great deal of car for the money and greatly underrated. The HDIs are superb motors - thoroughly reliable, economical and quiet. (My 2.2 is quieter than my previous petrol Xantia - and it was a quiet car) There is loads of space, great versatility, comfort and high spec. I find the seats very comfy - like big armchairs.
There were a few niggles when the car was first launched, but these have all been resolved. Citroens are much more robust mechanically than people realise and although some people find the plastics a bit lightweight, I can't say I've had anything fall off or break on my one and the fit is tight and neat throughout.
I'd avoid the automatics and the HPI petrol motors. Unless you really want to avoid diesel the HDIs are by far the best bet.
Don't let the suspension scare you. The Cit suspension has always been inherently reliable (although let down in the older models by sticking linkages etc.) C5 doesn't have have mechanical links so even that niggle has gone.
Depreciation can be steep on C5s (less so on the diesels) but you do get a big discount when bought new and cars a couple of years old are absolute bargains. If you keep the cars a long time until depreciation levels out you get very good value for money.
If buying secondhand make a point of insisting that the dealer checks that the car has had all relevant updates.Check also that the car has a FSH - without this the 3 year warranty might be void!
Graeme
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Hi,
I agree with most of Graeme's comments except 1. The autobox on the 2.2 HDI is, IMHO, superb, very smooth and responsive (at speed).
There is a drawback, however, an auto 2.2 HDI does not nip out into traffic, more wafts gently into the path of whatever is heading your way until the Turbo kicks in.
Sorry nothing to add on new Vectra, no expereince of it.
Enjoy your new car!
Regards
Vercin
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Just want to add my support for the auto box on the C5. My only gripe is that it is only four speed but it is a smooth changing box.
Certainly, the PSA HDIs are lovely engines, being very quiet and smooth. The C5 is a much better car than it is given credit for, much like the Xantia was before it.
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Thanks all, your comments are appreciated. I will let you know in due course what I opt for. I'm still swinging for the Vectra, seen a pretty smooth 1.8 Elegance 03 plate for £9995.
Cheers.
BM.
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Hi
I came acroos this thread while doing a search on the C5 Estate
I've checked the Car by Car Breakdown and was a bit worried about the
amount of recalls. the C5 has had .
Anyway I hope i've made the right decision as I'm buying a C5 2.2 HDi Exclusive
it has the Auto Box the Car is from A Citreon Dealer registered Mar 2002
with 40000 miles so I't hopefullly has had any Problems resolved.
I was wondering if anyone had the same model and what they thought of it ?
I't also has the Sat Nav are these Disc Based where you can upgrade to the latest Software
or are they on a Hard Drive ?
Thanks for any Info
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As many on this forum will know, we have a C5 2.2 HDI. Ours is a Y plate and we have now had it for two years. During that time it has been almost trouble free, although the front passenger door lock won't open with the remote fob. It will lock with it but has to be unlocked with the key.
The one major issue with the car was the rear axle beam. This was never subject to a recall (shame on Citroen for this). You should be looking for uneven wear on the rear tyres. Also, listen for any rattles or rumbling from the rear end, which could also implicate the rear axle beam. We had the axle beam replaced by Citroen during last summer (after a bit of resistance initially from the local main dealer). The result of the replacement is that there is no longer any rumble from the rear end on uneven surfaces. It is too soon to comment on tyre wear, as the rear tyres were renewed only fairly recently.
As far as the auto box is concerned, it has been fine. It has a tendencsy to change up too soon when it is cold but you can just put it into tiptronic mode until it is warmed up. The tiptronic change is fast and smooth, so should be no problem. There have been some reports of jerky gear changes when in auto mode, so watch out for that.
The engine is superb, being very quiet and smooth, although not very frugal. With the autobox you will be struggling to better upper thirties per gallon with combined motoring. It will depend on how much urban driving you end up doing. It might well be only mid thirties, or slightly lower. It should not use any oil. The oil level indicator is very sensitive and may well indicate low oil if the oil level is around the max mark. You will have to check it with the dipstick.
Finally, the 2.2 HDI is heavy on front tyre wear.
I hope you enjoy your car as much as my wife and I have enjoyed ours.
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Thanks Machika
I will look out for any Problems with the rear Axle
I'm getting a years warranty with the car so hopefully anything goes wrong Citreon will fix it.
I'm wondering if the Exclusive model comes with Xenon headlights ?
also still trying to find out if the Sat Nav is Disc based or has an internal Hard Drive
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Yes the Exclusive does have Xenon headlights. The rear axle beam is worth spending some time checking, as it is an expensive item. Your car should have the remainder of its original three year warranty. What are you being provided with to take you past that? It is worth checking what the situation would be with regard to the rear axle beam, as it is a manufacturing fault. When I first went to my local dealer about the problem, they said Citroen wouldn't entertain a claim on a car that had covered more than 20K. I had to push the issue to get them to submit a claim to Citroen UK.
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Hi - The SatNav takes it's mapping info from a CD - the player being in what looks like a smaller glove compartment to the right of the steering wheel.
Disks are available from Navtech for all parts of the world and are regularly updated. The down side being the price, approx. £100 per update.
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All sat navs in cars are cd or dvd based. The more expensive full colour map machines do have a hard drive (or a solid state flash drive) but this only holds the operating system and even this can be updated with a new os cd.
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Well that's al the Info I need I will speak to the Dealer when I pick up the car regarding the Rear Axle I had a Test Drive but i'm going a bit Deaf so if it was making a noise i would more than likely not have heard it.
I'm getting a years Warranty plus RAC cover for a year so I would assume this will Start from the end of Feb 2005.
Will confirm when I pick up the Car
Regards
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