Thought I’d share my experiences of the new Citroen DS5 following a 24 hour test drive. The model I had was the 2.0 HDi 160, which Citroen say will be the best selling engine. The trim was middle of the range DStyle, priced at £25,900.

First impressions were good, bold aggressive styling with some neat design features. The chrome “blade” which runs from the A pillar to the leading edge of the front wing looked particularly good on this car which was finished in black. The DS5 looks good from the rear too with a squat stance set off by the roof spoiler and what look like twin chrome exhaust pipes. In fact, one is a “dummy” to balance the look of the car.

Inside, things get better still: Dense, soft feel plastics and a build quality close to that of the German marques. A range of textures with chrome inserts on the steering wheel and a grey brushed metal effect on the console and dash create an expensive aura. The dash sweeps around the driver into the central console, where a large rotary knob, similar to BMW’s i-drive, controls everything from the (standard) SatNav, Bluetooth telephone, live traffic updates and the multi-media infotainment system. Now I usually like gadgets and the idea of getting to grips with new controls, but I have to admit, the DS5’s facia is quite daunting. Too many buttons, too many menus, and I found myself taking my eyes of the road just to perform a minor task. At night all the controls are backlit in red which contrasts well with the bright white of the speedometer. The interior lights are blue tinged LEDs and it all looks very cool and impressive. A different world to the blandness of the 3 series.

The seats were excellent, supportive, very comfortable and beautifully upholstered in a half leather, half alcantara type material. I would have liked to have been able to tilt the front of the seat base upwards a little, but a good driving position was easy to find, even if some may find the seat a little high even in its lowest position.

This model came with a panoramic roof with no less than 3 electrically operated sunblinds (one for rear passengers, one each for the driver and front passenger. On the headlining, the space between the two glass roofs is separated by an overhead console which houses the controls for the sunblinds, interior lights and two “call” buttons, one for SOS emergencies and one for breakdown assistance. The former automatically alerts a call centre in Luxemburg with the exact location of the car using GPS, who then contact the emergency services.

The SatNav was one of the worst I have come across for ease of use. It has no full postcode search, so addresses have to be dialled in using the rotary control, first the town, then the street, then the number. All very clunky – so much so, that I ended up plugging in my Tomtom and using that instead. One very good feature was the reversing camera, augmenting the rear parking sensors – a good thing as visibility through the tiny rear window is terrible, and the screen looks about 50 yards away in the rear view mirror.

So how does it drive? The first thing I noticed after firing the engine up using the keyless entry start button was just how muted this engine is, both at idle and when extended. Refinement generally is very good, with little wind noise and acceptable road noise, despite the 18” alloys and 45 series tyres. The HDi 160 has plenty of low down torque available, so the car responds eagerly to even a gentle prod of the right foot. The gearbox was not the most precise, suffering from a rather long throw, but the clutch was fairly light and allowed smooth progress through the gears. The gearing is high, even for a diesel, although this promotes a more relaxed driving style, and in fact I found the car deceptively quick when pressing on. My average fuel consumption for the day was 42 MPG, some way short of the 55 MPG combined figure, but there was quite a lot of stop/start city driving, and the engine had only done 2000 miles, so I would expect a figure in the high 40’s realistically. The steering lacked feel for me, contributing to a somewhat remote feeling, so you’re not going to relish attacking twisty bits on A and B roads in this car.

All of which brings me to the DS5’s worst point: Ride quality.

Anybody expecting Citroen’s usual magic carpet ride will be very disappointed. The suspension crashes into potholes, jiggles over coa*** surfaces and when transverse ridges are encountered on motorways or dual carriageways, a sharp shock and judder is felt. Without doubt the 18” wheels and 45 series rubber do not help, but quite simply, in my opinion, Citroen have tuned the suspension all wrong. In wanting to attract drivers out of their BMWs and Audis, Citroen have missed the mark in trying to deliver an engaging drive, and created a car which is neither sporty to drive nor rides as well as these Germans.

This is a shame, because with some tweaks to the suspension to make it ride better, Citroen could have a great car on their hands, and I believe the majority of owners would forego sharp handling for the exciting design and interior of the car, if only it was comfortable over the bumps.

As it stands, however, the DS5 is “neither Nowt nor Summit” as we say in Yorkshire. Time will tell how good the residual values of the DS5 will be. Citroen will no doubt be hoping that its exclusivity will protect these; certainly they have managed this with the DS3, whose used values seem to be holding up remarkably well.