C5 Impressions after four months. - Xpat
I bought a C5 station wagon 2.0 HDI auto at the beginning of June (in Spain). I've done 3,500 miles, a mixture of town driving and a number of 200 - 300 mile runs. I had a Renault 21 and a Laguna II, both petrol, before the C5 and can confidently say that the C5 is by far the quietest (from inside the car). I really feel it's a big step up from the Renaults. Drives beautifully. It's a big car, something I'm still getting used to. Very spacious inside with a good size boot (not so in the saloon model). It looks great in black with chrome trimmings.
Gear changes are very smooth, hardly noticeable at times. On uneven road surfaces and winding dual-carriageways (there are many in Spain) I find the Sport mode for the suspension and steering a must. Otherwise the car wallows. With this mode connected the ride is extremely stable and comfortable. Acceleration is sluggish from a standing start, better once doing 30mph and very good at higher speeds. On a 10 mile run to work through town traffic and along some fast roads, I'm getting 32mpg. On the long runs, 44 mpg was the best return doing a steady 75 mph (120kmph) and using cruise control. At a slighty higher cruising speed (80 mph) 40mpg was the norm. I reckon I could get up to 50mpg at say 65 - 70 mph, but purely stop-start town driving would probably be as low as 25mpg.
The seats are firmer than in the Renaults. It's annoying when something exists in your old car, but is not available in the new one. I miss the card key (although it didn't always work properly). The cup or can holder is positioned between the front seats and therefore useless to the driver (obviously don't want us to drink and drive). Finding the horn buttons in the centre of the steering wheel is taking some getting used to. I have to use a cable to connect my Tom Tom Go to the aux sockets in the glove compartment to get the commands and stored MP3 audio files over the car's audio system, but this does not pause the car's radio when the GPS gives directions.
Overall I'm extremely pleased with the car
C5 Impressions after four months. - Alby Back
Is it one of the new "German" C5s Xpat or the previous model ? I rather like the look of the new one. One of the few large estates which could tempt me away from my car.
C5 Impressions after four months. - Brian Tryzers
Me too, Humph. On paper it ought to be a fabulous long distance machine. It's one of the few non- Volvos I'd consider for my long motorway commute.

Firm seats sound promising; add decent ergonomics and a Volvo-matching sound system (please) and it becomes a tempting proposition, especially in that splendid metallic red. Do Citroen dealers offer 24-hour demos?
C5 Impressions after four months. - Graham567
Thanks alot for spending the time giving us your review.I love the look and refinement of the C5 and would consider it as my next replacement,so your review is greatly appreciated.If anyone has a new Honda Accord they would like to review then thats also one on my list.
Cheers

Edited by Videodoctor on 27/09/2009 at 22:14

C5 Impressions after four months. - DP
I too love the look of these cars. Nice to read such a positive review. After experiences with several Peugeots and a Renault (but not a Citroen, yet), I couldn't help thinking that if only the French could up their quality/reliability game, their cars would be world beating. They have a flair to their design that you just can't find anywhere else, and least of all in a German car. Always superb in terms of comfort, ride and refinement too, even the sporty ones. Hopefully the C5 has the reliability that such a lovely piece of design deserves, and certainly the review above wouldn't suggest otherwise.

WdB - Volvo matching sound systems are pretty hard to come by. I am still blown away by the standard fit system in my S60, and with mine being the poverty spec S model, it's not even the flashy Pro Logic version. Sounds fantastic though.
C5 Impressions after four months. - gordonbennet
Yes a good report, i like the new C5 with 2 exceptions, the A pillar angle is too low causing a strangely shaped thing like me to have to limbo under to get in and out...this is a common problem with many cars.

And the estate version load area and rear opening are smaller than the previous model, which was cavernous.

As said, the proper auto box is lovely.
C5 Impressions after four months. - Xpat
Yes a good report i like the new C5 with 2 exceptions the A pillar
angle is too low causing a strangely shaped thing like me to have to limbo
under to get in.....

The electrically controlled seat adjustments might help you here. In fact, when you turn off the engine, the driver's seat automatically moves backwards allowing for an easier exit from the car. It stays in this position for easy entry and then moves forward when you turn the ignition key.
C5 Impressions after four months. - Xpat
If anyone has a new Honda Accord they would like to review then that...

It was on my short list before buying the C5 along with the new Avensis. I test drove he C5 first and then a top of the range Accord Tourer. C5 was far quieter when accelerating and far less road noise could be heard. Boot is a disappointing size for a station wagon too.
C5 Impressions after four months. - Xpat
Is it one of the new "German" C5s Xpat or the previous model ?

It's the new model. Didn't like the looks of the previous C5, but did like the ride. Colleague has one and is very pleased with it. I sat in the new C5 for the first time at the Madrid motor show back in May 2008. Thought then that it was something special compared with all the other cars in the same range (Mondeo, Laguna III, Honda Accord, Skoda Superb, Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Avensis etc.). Pleased to see a number of you were interested to read my report. I'll be back another time to give updates.
C5 Impressions after four months. - TheOilBurner
Just to add to this with my experience, here's my report on my 2005 C5 Executive 3.0 V6 auto estate after 2 months and 2,000 miles:

Seats I find to be OK, but nowhere near the same league as my old Volvo S80. The sound system is mediocre. I was forced to upgrade the speakers to something with a little more clarity and definition, something I've not needed to do on a car for a long time.
I've also plugged in the PSA "USB Box" to connect my iPod to the standard stereo, and that works OK, although the interface is a little clunky.

Upgrading the stereo itself is a complete no-no, as the stereo has the buttons to control the trip computer, dash dimming facility and bluetooth phone, so it has to stay.

The ergonomics are poor, it seems the car favours both very long arms and very short legs. It took me about 3 weeks to find a position I am remotely comfortable with, now I have, it's just about acceptable, but not ideal. Again, not a patch on Volvo.

The engine is very gutsy, as it should be with 211bhp available. Sounds awesome under hard acceleration, yet is near silent when cruising. The standard laminated side windows help with this. Economy is showing around 25mpg on the computer, which I haven't yet checked for accuracy, so it may be worse. This I think is OK for a car which doesn't get to see the motorway much. It'll be interesting to see what I can get from it on one of my trips to Scotland.

The gear change is variable. When warmed up, it is very smooth, however I've had on-off problems with it being jerky whilst cold, which the dealers have been so-far unable to fix, despite spending over 2 grand of Citroëns warranty money on it.
I've driven a car fitted with the same gear box (the new S80 D5) and that was very smooth, so there must be some kind of fault somewhere with mine, or Citroëns software is very poor.

Being the top model, it's loaded up with lots of toys, some of them I admit I don't use much (e.g. Lane departure warning) whereas the others I take for granted, having had a few cars so equipped now (e.g. dual zone climate, auto lights etc). No complaints there, everything works as it should. I do like the speed limiter, it's very handy in long sections of average speed cameras. More effective than cruise control on it's own, as you don't need to turn it on and off as other cars slow up and down in front for no apparent reason...

This is the first car I've had with a sunroof for a long time, and I've surprised myself by using it a lot. It's huge, stretching right back along the car, so lets in lots of light, and entertains the little ones in the back too. Shame it's length means there is no courtesy light fitted for the rear passengers. Couldn't they have put one in the C pillars instead?

I absolutely love the Hydractive 3+ suspension. It gives the C5 a dual nature of easy cruiser in standard mode, where (with help with the sensible 16" wheels) it has a lovely soft ride, yet push the sport button and it firms up brilliantly, also giving the steering more feel at the same time.
The switch to raise and lower the back of the car from the boot is very useful too. This is way ahead of the heavily compromised S80 suspension. Incidentally, the boot is massive, nearly as big as our Zafira in 5 seat mode, without the "mummy wagon" image... ;)

I would consider buying one of the new C5s if the driving position is better, but it'd have to be a model with Hydractive 3+ (not the horrible steel springs, if I wanted a Pug, I would have bought one...) and fitted with either the 2.7 V6 HDI or the newer 3.0 if I could afford it. Shame they don't do the petrol V6 now, I can understand why it's not popular, but it's a lot of fun and no HDI can sound as sublime, V6 or not.