Hi
Anyone have the new C5? Impressions?
|
Unfortunately I can't buy a new car now because of the credit crunch. That will change in time. That C5 Citroen saloon is the best looking car on the road. I know of a man in Essex who has had one for well over a year and he often pulls a caravan around in Spain, France and of course the UK. He is delighted with his C5. He loves the comfortable ride etc etc. Apparently he has had total reliability with his Citroen C5.
If you look up whatcar.com and look up Citroen C5, you can click on owners reviews. On average the owners seem to be very pleased.
|
Have one on order - due to be delivered on 18th May. Will update when I have had it for a bit.
Last 4 cars have been Audi's so its going to be interesting - few people on observing my choice have assumed its a step down, but I just liked the styling when I saw it at the motorshow last year.
Only thing in the back of my mind is that it will not have the solid feeling of my past Audi's, but I guess its what you get used to, and I think the gap between run of the mill and premium brands has narrowed in recent years
Citroen aftercare concerns me - my partner had a picasso, and although it was pretty reliable, it did have a few warranty / recall issues. One was a new fuel pump - got the car back and it dumped a full tank of diesel over my driveway. Dealer did in the end agree it was something they had forgotton to do, and stumpped up for a tank of derv, but not without a protracted argument.
Have had constant letters from Citroen HQ regarding my order, and a nice DVD telling me all about the car so I hope customer focus / care has improved over the last few years
|
|
It is actually a pretty heavy car. It did very well in the EU crash tests.
|
I have just ordered the estate version for my new company car.
The weight did concern me but being a second or so slower than a Mondeo or Insignia is a small price to pay for something that, to me, is better looking, quieter and a wee bit of a rarer sight on the road.
In my opinion the interior is better for not inflicting large swathes of silver plastic everywhere as in the Mondeo.
The real selling point to me was the ride quality. Where I live the council are a bit anti car and allow the roads to remain scarred and potholed whilst they spend all the money on tram projects. The C5 is far better at grinding around town than anything I have had before.
|
I quite like the styling, but poor leg room in the back for such a large car.
|
|
The car is fabulous looking and well built. The saloon is not as practical as some other cars; but I would have that C5 Citroen saloon in my driveway and be proud of it any day. So many new cars look horrible.
|
|
|
|
Just done 900 miles in a rented one. 2 litre diesel automatic.
Positive stuff.
Very smooth. The auto gearbox is very well matched to the engine, and unless you are watching the dials, you might not even know it has shifted.
The ride is brilliant. In ?sports? setting it soaks up bumps without feeling floaty.
Overall - feels very solid. Extremely quiet, except on full bore acceleration.
I did a three hour cross country run at a reasonably brisk pace and my (very critical) passenger commented that it was the most comfortable car she?d travelled in.
The next day I did 300 miles in one go and stepped out without any aches or pains.
Cruise control that allows you to nudge up or down in 1mph increments. Excellent. Why can?t all manufacturers do that?
A rough and ready calculation (rough and ready because you can never be sure the previous customer had brimmed the tank) says I got 40mpg out of it. The one I had was brand new ? only registered last month ? so it might improve - some people say diesel engines loosen up with use. Everyone will get a different result but for comparison ? over similar routes and using my usual driving style, I?ve got 45 mpg out of a Vectra diesel auto, and 55mpg out of a Passat bluemotion manual.
Not quite so positive.
The rental company usually gives me a Vectra diesel automatic. The Citroen engine isn?t quite as punchy as the GM unit I?m used to. You need a little thought before trying to get past slower traffic on an A road.
You can?t see the edges of the car ? in any direction. And I?m very tall ? it?s not that I couldn?t peer over the steering wheel?! Yes, this one had rear parking sensors, but all the same. Trying to squeeze through gaps on some narrow Lake District roads was a bit stressful as you just can?t be sure where the extremities are.
It seems to grip well enough, even when I was really pushing for a few miles on a twisty B road. But there is absolutely no ?involvement? from the steering. But I?d certainly be willing to give up some ?involvement? to benefit from that wonderful ride.
Electronic handbrake. How I loath those things. Luckily it was auto so I just put it in park when I switched off and never attempted to understand what on earth you have to do with the handbrake button.
Summary. Much better than I expected.
|
|
|
I've had two...
The first was a Tourer auto with the 2.0 HDI engine. As rcspeirs said above it's a little on the asthmatic side but very quiet, very refined, and surprisingly solid for a French car. Don't listen to people who still hold VAG aloft as some sort of build quality benchmark: Audi lurk in the bottom half of reliability tables, below Citroen, it's just the general perception is that such things are the other way around.
The ride isn't as "magic" as the older gas-suspended CX/BX/XM models of the 80s and 90s - you can't take sleeping policeman at 30mph and simply not feel them like you could in a CX - but it is both smooth and controlled. Unlike German rivals it won't transmit the road surface up through the car and replay it on your backside, and in this respect the controls seem rather distant. This feeling of 'remoteness' has been the C5's #1 criticism, but if you ask me it's exactly what you want when your government isn't spending what it should and your roads look like the surface of the moon. Citroens have always offered a way of anaesthetising you from poor tarmac and if you want something edgier, sharper and less soothing, it's simple... don't buy one!
For me the car has two areas where it falls down badly. The first is the criminal lack of rear legroom, and the second is the dashboard interface which tries to huddle everything behind a clunky menu driven UI that looks and feels like it was put together (a) in a hurry and (b) on the cheap. It also borrows too much graphical look and feel from the previous generation car and anyone upgrading from one to the other will be doubly disappointed. It's still not Bluetooth savvy, the navigation system still doesn't accept post code destinations, and while it does integrate a hands-free phone system you have to push your simcard into a tiny plastic cradle and push that into the dash. Really stupid.
The second C5 I had, and in fact still have, is the bigger, madder 2.7 biturbo diesel which radically alters things. The larger diameter wheels sharpen the ride without making it uncomfortable, and while it isn't that quick from the line - 0-60 takes ten seconds - the reason for this is pretty obvious. Like the C6, power delivery has been tightly reined to push you presidentially when moving from a standstill, with the urge you want only available above 30mph. At this point kick down is keen and sudden enough to catch you out. I've been up the back of people almost twice now.
The V6 oilburner is also the quietest and smoothest engine in the line-up. It feels like a GT and is happiest eating long distances. I shall be keeping it!
|
|
|
