Sense Plus PureTech 130 EAT8 Auto Start/Stop 5dr

Style over Substance

Anyone who bought a C5x based on reviews of the top of the range hybrid model, will be disappointed with this car. It is a pity that there are precious few reviews of the 1.2 and 1.6 petrol engined models.

The plus points are that the car is spacious and good looking in the eyes of the beholder. From the front it looks like an enlarged C4. It is a pity the rear styling is not the same. Take a look at the back of a 2015 Renault Megane hatchback, and the C5x is almost identical.

Other manufacturers like Peugeot have made a much better job with the rear design of their 308 estate or the new 408. The rear of the C4 looks great. The boot space is generous in non hybrid models and there is no load lip.

There is noticeable tyre roar on anything but smooth tarmac, but the tyres themselves may be the main culprit here. The suspension is floaty but not subtle. It still transmits the whack of motorway tarmac strips, plus larger bumps into the cabin with a shudder. The tall rubber allows a lot of flex and the skinny 205 section tyres can run out of grip. Citroen have sacrificed too much in the handling department for a softish ride that is not all that great either. Reviewers rave about the hydraulic bushes, but I do not find they make any difference at all. Ford achieves a much better compromise with their suspension set ups than this.

So if you want a C5x in my experience already with the 1.2 Sense Plus, you have to sacrifice quite a lot of driving enjoyment. With this engine the car cruised well enough to to 85mph, but after that the gearbox keeps changing down to 7th or even 6th gear on the slightest incline. Keeping it at 80 mph is fine however on Continental roads.

The C5x has an Alexa style voice recognition system, but mine didn’t work initially. There are quite a few C5x’s apparently with this problem due to a wiring fault, but is easily fixed. Not sure how they left the factory like that. The cabin quality is excellent for this price point, and the design is superb, but the seats are very poor in my opinion.

The seats rather than being anything to write home about, are the worst I have ever had in any car I have owned. There is a metal support strut under the foam about where the middle of your thigh would be. Adjusting the seat may mitigate this pressure point, but the seats are not generously padded, and neither offer much support. The squab base you sit on feels too short. These are supposed to be “Advanced Comfort Seats”!

The other major problem with the seats is that they fail to support you. Driving around roundabouts, the car rolls so much you feel you would fall out of the seat if it wasn't for the seatbelt. The C5x needs to be retrofitted with the seats which are in the C5 Aircross which are much better, supportive and generally more comfortable.

The 1.6 engine with 180 bhp has now been dropped. The 1.2 engine has a good torque output and copes well with the weight of the C5x. Actually you would never know it was only a 1.2 engine under the bonnet, unless someone told you. The engine does sound a bit gruff under acceleration but settles down alright and is silent in the cruise. On the first few tankfuls of fuel with 80% motorway driving, tank brimmed and mileage recorded it has averaged an excellent 43.5 mpg. On another cross country run the car used 3.56 gallons over 166 miles. Thus worked out at over 46 mpg! Pretty impressive for this size car. The best value model in the range is the 1.2 Sense Plus. For a car this size, and so well optioned already even as a base model, it is a bargain.

Dynamically though this car falls apart. Body control is poor. The ride can get quite bouncy and this seems to affect the cruise control, which becomes mildly jerky over road undulations. Citroen should fit adaptive suspension as standard or at least make it an option on all models. The hybrid cars have a much better ride quality and do give you that old Citroen magic carpet experience. That is probably why 99% of the reviews are on top spec hybrid models, but it is not a true picture of the lesser versions.

I have owned a 2003 C5 estate, a 1999 Xantia, plus a 2001 C4 Picasso in the past. All purchased brand new. This C5x does not ride and handle as well as the old hydropneumatic suspensioned cars, or even the steel sprung Picasso. In this department the Skoda Superb is better all round.

It is disappointing that the C5x only achieved 4 stars in its recent NCAP crash test, which has not been widely reported or commented on.

Citroen do not offer a service plan of their own for this car, you have to take out an insurance backed scheme.

If you need a car to mooch about in, then the C5x will be for you. It is very good value, appears well built and should be cheap to own. But anyone coming from the German or Swedish brands will find it ticks neither boxes.

UPDATE

After ten month's of ownership and 12,000 miles, my initial impressions have not changed. Fuel economy is excellent, and on a recent round trip of 536 miles, the car averaged 46.4mpg. Local mpg is no less than 33 - 34 mpg. The car is well suited for long trips, except for the front seats which are quite frankly terrible. Small, seat squab is short, they lack support and the foam is too thin. Try the seats in a Citroen C5 Aircross and you will find they are much better.

Because the rear suspension has a long travel, the headlights or the suspension should be self levelling. I find that with any sort of load, I must remember to adjust the headlights or I will dazzle oncoming cars. Apart from the initial fault with the voice command system, the car has been totally reliable. Adaptive suspension should have been an option on all models, as it is so much better than the standard set up. The front suspension on my car does tend to bottom out easily driving over sunken manhole covers, and crashes into potholes. On the motorway though the car is quiet and refined.

Some owners of the C5x are waiting a long time for parts such as windscreens and a rear light.

Report as offensive