Exclusive 2.0 HDi 16v 4dr Saloon

Great Car

Launched in 2008, the latest C5 model was described as being Germanic in design. I’m not sure about the Germanic looks – to me it is of a typical French design that truly makes it stand out from other cars. The car looks big on the outside and feels big on the inside. At the front end, from the Citroen double chevron logo a sweeping bonnet stretches up to the thermal and sound insulated windscreen. The profile is typical three box design measuring 4779mm long (with a 2815mm wheelbase) and the back end has a unique curved rear window allowing greater access to the boot area – which is cavernous at 439 litres and can easily hold three sets of golf clubs.

Under the bonnet sits a powerful yet efficient 2.0HDi 4 cylinder diesel (which produces 160hp and 251lbs/ft of torque) connected to a six speed manual transmission. Although 0-60 times are not too impressive, 30-50 and 50-70 accelerations times are brilliant. Motorway cruising is effortless and on recent journeys I have been able to get 42mpg, which for a car of this size is good. The fuel tank holds 71 litres and under normal driving conditions you get about 600 miles between petrol stations.

The interior is luxurious and seats 4 passengers plus the driver. Extremely comfortable 10 way power seats are clad in full ivory leather and there are lots of gadgets to fiddle with including the unique fixed hub floating steering wheel, cruise control, speed limiter, ESP, sat-nav, 60W 30GB juke box (download 1000’s of song into the memory), double glazed side windows, DVD player, hydro suspension, Bluetooth, voice activation, massage/memory/heated seats, side and rear sun blinds, and the list goes on. The typical French comfy seats combined with the ‘air like’ ride means that a long journey becomes completely effortless and a joy.

On first entering the car you are confronted with a mass of buttons in the centre of the dash and on the steering wheel but you quickly learn what all the buttons do. The view forward is commanding however the A pillars do seem a bit thick resulting in slightly restricted visibility. The C pillars are also restrictive but reversing is aided by rear parking sensors which work well.

Minor gripes include: Lack of interior storage space (door pockets and glove box are very small), no convenient cup holder, no front parking sensor.

Conclusion: A great looking fully loaded car that is comfortable and exciting to drive. Overall performance is good even when full laden. Severe depreciation is a factor but who buys a car as an investment? Drive it and enjoy it! Vive la France!!

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