This year my company increased the size of the list of cars which we are allowed to choose from. In addition to the usual Fords and Vauxhalls, we were able to get Peugeots, VW’s and Citroens. I decided to go for the Citroen C5, 2.0 SX estate as I do like a decent sized car with enough load space to get all the kids toys, bikes etc. in. I’ve had it for about 12 weeks now and have covered just over 1500 miles so I think I can make a reasonable assessment of it.
OVERALL LOOK OF THE CAR It is very streamlined and looks good in the silver colour I opted for. It has aluminium roof bars which are, for the silver version, as near as makes no odds to being body coloured. Most people comment on how large it is when they first see it (stop it) but at 4756 mm long it is an inch shorter than the equivalent Mondeo estate. It also gives the impression of great width but again, at 1770 mm at its widest point it is not only narrower than the Mondeo (1930 mm) but also the Citroen Xsara (1981 mm). I think this is due to the fact that the C5 has very straight sides, it doesn’t have many projections which keeps the overall width down whilst still giving plenty interior space for both passengers and luggage.
It’s fitted with 15” alloy wheels and, overall, it looks pretty good without ever reaching the point of being a head turner.
INSIDE THE PASSENGER CABIN Standing on the outside looking in, the C5 is a fairly big car. However, once inside the cabin, it feels even larger. This is, in my opinion, due to two main features. Firstly the floor is almost flat and this means that the centre rear passenger has more room than normal. Secondly, there is bags of headroom in both front and rear which gives the interior a nice airy feel.
In terms of headroom, the estate version is even better provided for than the saloon due to the body shape, but I did sit in the back of the saloon version and, despite the fact that I’m six foot tall, there was still bags of headroom.
Both the drivers and front passenger’s seats are adjustable for height as well as lateral reach. Like I say, I’m six foot tall but I can still put the seat up to it’s full height and have headroom aplenty. The C5 is a surprisingly tall car, and this means that if you have the seat set high you have a great view of the road.
Instead of a central storage compartment behind the gear stick, both front seats get individual armrests. This is quite nice but the driver has to position it correctly in order to make changing gear an obstacle free process.
The steering wheel is adjustable for rake and reach and you should be able to find a nice comfortable driving position.
There are loads of storage areas around the cabin. The standard passenger’s side glove box is provided and there is a smaller version on the driver’s side which incorporates a coin holder in the fold down door. There are two sliding storage drawers; one under the driver’s seat, the other under the front passenger seat. Both front doors have the standard open shelf/tray in them and also an extra storage bin which hinges inwards and is big enough for a couple of pairs of sunglasses.
In the rear, the centre armrest opens up to reveal a large rectangular shallow tray, good for storing comics and sticky sweeties for the kids. Also in the rear central armrest is a pop out double drinks holder, again good for the kiddies.
Climate control comes as standard with independent temperature settings for the driver and passenger sides. There is a six speaker radio/CD player which, in addition to the central controls on the dash, can be controlled from a stalk on the steering column. The controls are pretty well laid out and are easy to read.
Unlike Ford, Citroen haven’t tried to copy VW and the dashboard is quite distinctive with lots of swoops and curvy bits. Overall, the interior is good.
GADGETS AND GIZMOS I could have covered this under controls but, given the hype and advertising which has accompanied the C5, it probably does merit a separate section.
One of the nicer features is the fact that the windscreen wipers come on automatically when it starts to rain. Even better is the fact that, as the rain gets heavier, the wipers increase in speed. Given the summer we’ve had this year this could probably prevent you from getting RSI.
Another feature, slightly less useful in my opinion, is that the lights come on automatically if the light level drops below a certain value. You probably won’t notice this if you’re driving along on the open road at dusk, but you will notice it when you go into an underground car park or under a motorway bridge.
A central trip computer is fitted which will tell you the following details:
Driving range left till next fill up of petrol Average mpg mpg at any instant Average speed
Most of my driving is done in and around Edinburgh. Over 1500 miles I have averaged 24.5 mpg and – get this – my average speed is 14 mph. I’m glad I went for the 2.0 litre engine.
Fascinating stuff but I’m still not convinced that this is useful rather than distracting:
Q: “And what were you doing at the time of the accident?” A: “ 22.7 miles per gallon Your Honour.”
One other nice touch is the fact that the tailgate height can be adjusted between 493 and 693 mm above ground level, which might be handy if you have a heavy load to get into it or if you have to hook up a trailer or caravan.
DRIVING The C5 is fitted with Citroen’s new Hydractive 3 suspension “combining digital technology with re-designed, simplified hydraulics”. The height of the car varies according to road conditions and speed. On the motorway it lowers the suspension for better road holding whereas on a rough surface at low speed the car raises up to prevent grounding. You can also select “sport” mode which puts the car into performance mode more often – not so useful in Edinburgh city centre perhaps.
At any speed above 50 mph it really is very sure footed and a pleasure to drive. Around the town at low speed you will feel every bump and pothole. I am guessing the suspension can’t react quickly enough to the rapidly varying conditions provided by Edinburgh’s car hating council.
The driving position is good and the height of the car combined with acres of glass mean good all round visibility.
The 2.0 litre engine is reasonable and would, in a smaller car be quite lively. Top speed is 126 mph and 0 – 62 mph takes 10 seconds dead. CO2 emissions are 200 g/km.
The weakest part of the driving experience is, typically for a French car, the gear change. Not positive enough for me with too much travel of the gear stick. Not a showstopper but could be better.
Another very small niggle is the indicator control, which quite often fails to turn off after you’ve rounded a bend.
SAFETY Many years ago, I was involved in a head on collision with an XR3 which was coming towards me on the wrong side of the road at a fair rate of knots. There was absolutely nothing I could have done to avoid it, it was just bad luck. I spent 4 weeks in traction and suffer back pain to this day, so safety is a big deal for me, especially now that I have a family to ferry around with me.
One thing they rarely point out in the auto adverts or magazines is that one of the best safety measures you can take is to make sure you’re driving a bigger heavier car than your fellow accident statistic. The C5 scores pretty well in this area. This one only works for accidents involving other cars, smacking into trees and walls will always result in you being awarded second prize, so do try to avoid this.
To make life a bit easier for you in this respect, ABS comes as standard along with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Emergency Braking Assistance (EBA). EBA automatically maximises brake application in an emergency and helps you to stop faster.
The passenger cabin is reinforced and features roll over protection. Side impact protection is incorporated as are front and rear impact absorbers and high tensile steel beams which are designed to transfer the shock of an impact from any direction away from the passenger compartment.
There are six airbags in total, drivers and front passengers (this can be de-activated to allow a child seat to be fitted), two lateral airbags built into the front seats, and two side window airbags located on each side of the roof. These run the length of the passenger cabin and protect both the front and rear occupants in the event of a crash.
All five seatbelts, including the centre rear, are three point belts. The two window seats in the rear have isofix child seat anchorage points fitted.
LOAD SPACE IN THE BACK You can access the cargo space either by opening the rear window or by opening the rear door completely.This area has a nice flat base and contains an elasticated cargo net which is really useful for stopping your shopping/carry out from rolling about all over the place. There is a retractable parcel shelf, more of a plastic curtain really, so you can keep the contents hidden should you wish. There are also two hidden compartments in the sidewall where you can store items. These are just about the right size for your golf shoes or football boots.
With the door open, the maximum access height is 819 mm and the width is 1306 mm at the widest point – this narrows to 1126 mm at the narrowest point just above the wheels. A retractable safety net can be withdrawn from the top of the rear seats, in either the up or down position, and connected to latches in the roof to stop any loads in the rear getting thrown forward into the passenger area.
Storage capacity is as below, with a max payload of 600 kg (this includes the driver and any passengers):
Space below the parcel shelf with seats up: 563 litres Space above the parcel shelf with seats up: 893 litres Space to the roof line with seats down: 1658 litres
In plain English; I managed to get two two-seater wicker settees (conservatory type furniture – you know the ones) and a foot stool in quite comfortably with the seats down.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS The C5 is quite a nice looking car, easily big enough to take a family of 5 in comfort with all their accompanying luggage etc. and is good to drive on the open road. Perhaps a little cumbersome around the city but, since the idea was to fling the kids bikes in the back and get out of the city, I don’t mind that too much.
Equipment level is good and most of the gadgets and gizmos are useful, to a greater or lesser degree. Fuel economy is reasonable for a car of its size and the CO2 emissions won’t hit company car drivers too hard.
The list price is circa £16k for the 2.0 SX estate, which isn’t bad for what you get - and you should be able to get a much better deal than this in the showroom as competition is quite fierce at the moment.
For a company car driver, the acid test is whether or not you would buy it if it was your own money. Difficult for me to answer – I doubt if I’d waste money by buying a brand new car of any make. However, I might just buy a year old C5, so I think that’s a recommendation.
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i think the review was spot on.the best advice was about buying one a year old as the c5 is virtually half list price at this point.another thing to factor in is there is still 2 years warranty left and hopefully a lot of the cars niggles will have been ironed out
netstation 18.02.2003 14:54
Excellent op with loads of info. I'm sure these owner/operator type reviews are far more useful than the Autocar "Two days on the French Riviera" stuff. As I said in my Hyundai op the C5 was one of my top 3 choices and given the deal you struck on yours probably would have been in my price range as well. I liked the fact that so many of the "bells and whistles" are actually useful, rather than just a marketing gimmick. Steve
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