Citroen C5 - C5 or E-Class

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
View Threaded
Sun 26 Sep 2010 16:54
Citroen C5 - C5 or E-Class - euro driver

I'm looking for a long distance motorway cruiser with decent load capacity ( ie estate )

I've looked at and considering a C5 or Mondeo (nearly new) but not decided yet whether to spend more and go into the 5-series / E-class range.

Looking at what's available now it seems to me that the gap between Ford/Citroen and BMW/Merc is much less than what it was.

This brings me to the question - is it worth paying the extra?

What to you get for the extra money now? A badge? or is there still a significant difference?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 26 Sep 2010 20:36
Citroen C5 - C5 or E-Class - ablandy

Have just come out of a a 2 year lease on a mondeo estate, covered 40k and been very happy with it. Never thought I would be happy with a mondeo but they are very good and quite classy inside. Get the top spec interior and im sure you will be happy.

Servicing cost and repair costs are going to be considerably lower than the bmw/merc. And the fact that you are even asking the question suggests you should go with the ford or the citroen. Havent driven the c5, but its a nice looking car.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 27 Sep 2010 10:23
Citroen C5 - C5 or E-Class - madf

<i>This brings me to the question - is it worth paying the extra?</i>

If you prefer form over function and are a badge snob: of course it is..

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 27 Sep 2010 10:28
Citroen C5 - C5 or E-Class - injection doc
Just remember reliability is questionable with the E-class. these cars are purley a badge thing these days. Ford mondeo is going to be much better value for money
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 27 Sep 2010 13:07
Citroen C5 - C5 or E-Class - ForumNeedsModerating

I second the above pro-Ford/Citroen sentiments. I've just come out of the purgatory of Mercedes-Benz ownership - I've had 2 in the past 10 years for a total of 7+ years & have never felt comfortable about their reliability or ability of franchised dealers to fix them (frequently!) at all, let alone at reasonable cost.

I wake up now to a gleaming silver Mondeo on my driveway - and although it still early days - I'm absolutely delighted with the comfort, economy, engine (2l 140bhp TDCI) & refinement.

What I'd previously mis-led myself into believing about 'quality' - i.e. apparent solidity, doors that 'clunk' nicely & high-falutin' claims about engineering excellence etc., proved to be illusions.

The Mondeo might 'lose' on superficial quality signifiers like acreage of slush-form plastics & the like, but even early doors (less than 2000 miles) the actual functional quality is apparent.

MPG, insurance, servicing (and parts) costs are all & will be considerably lower & the cost-to-change was ludicrously cheap.

Then there's the driving experience - fantastic! I'd driven several 'prestige' brands in the hunt for a replacement for the pile of garbage C-Class I was replacing and none - none, of them came anywhere near the near magical combination of ride quality & handling ability of the Mondeo.

Anyway, one happy Ford owner here - can't vouch for the C5 of course, but other comment I've seen has been pretty favourable.

As HJ said in his review of the 2011 Mondeo when comparing against the Teutonic selection - don't be a brand victim!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 27 Sep 2010 23:55
Citroen C5 - C5 or E-Class - Avant

I agree with the majority view above. If image is important to you, look at a BMW 5-seris Touring or Audi A6 Avant (I'd have either of those ahead of a Mercedes). The other more tangible benefit of a prestige brand is that they will hold their value better, so depending on how long you intend io keep the car, you need to do the sums.

The Mondeo would do the job of long distance cruiser just as well as the above - so would the Skoda Superb or Octavia estates, so I do suggest you try those too (Superb is bigger but Octavia also very capacious). They hold their value a bit better than a Ford: I'd buy a Skoda new (and have) but a Ford secondhand.

I've never tried a C5: you'll either love Citroens or loathe them, but unfortunately big French cars depreciate faster than almost anything

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 28 Sep 2010 15:48
Citroen C5 - C5 or E-Class - euro driver

I've never tried a C5: you'll either love Citroens or loathe them, but unfortunately big French cars depreciate faster than almost anything

This is one reason for considering the C5 - a big discount for a nearly new ( 1 - 2 year) ie more car for less money

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 30 Sep 2010 04:57
Citroen C5 - C5 or E-Class - SteveLee
C5 are pretty reliable, you can get odd niggly faults but they rarely break down, the suspension is simply unbeatable for load carrying and is practically maintenance free these days. Make sure you get a higher end model and not a basic steel-sprung one! The diesel engines are the same as those fitted to the Mondeo.

I put 600Kg of bricks, sand and cement in the back of my C5, the guy at Wickes came running up to warn me not to drive off (back of car literally on floor) I winked at him and started her up - level in seconds - you simply cannot feel the weight when driving. The Wickes guy looked very impressed!

Of course what I did was wrong on two parts, 1) I probably shouldn't carry that much weight in a passenger car. 2) I should have loaded the car with the engine running, letting it rest on the bump stops whilst overladen could have damaged the suspension spheres. Still they are quick and cheap to replace - not that they need replacing very often. Mine are still fine after 7 years of abuse.

I'll concur with most of above - modern Mercs are rubbish - always going wrong. Shame, coz they look nice at last.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link