Citroen C5 2.2 HDi 16v Automatic Estate

...every 50,000 miles or so. Citroen recommend using synthetic engine oil. I recently did an oil change using Mobil 1 which cost nearly 50 quid for a 5 litre cannister at Halfords. I also recently had to replace a tyre. It has alloy wheels and the low profile tyre cost an eye watering £130. Fuel economy can be good if you are good as well. I'm not and get the mid thirties. This is a mixture of London traffic jams and wellying it up the M40. It certainly ...
...Just getting behind the wheel causes you to forget all this and to forgive it. It is engaging, comfortable, welcoming and simply gorgeous to drive and to travel in. It is like floating on silk. It has the ride quality and refinment of cars which are four times the price. It pleases me and I forgive it.

You can get them for a song, especially the 3 litre v6 petrol versions. The diesels don't depreciate quite so badly although residual ... more

I have always had a preference for French cars, particularly Citroens. I have had three BXs and I thought my last BX was the best car I have ever owned until I bought this C5.

I have a 2002 2.2 HDi Auto C5 estate with all the bells and whistles, the Exclusive SE trim level.

It is the first time in very many years that I actually look forward to driving my car. It is just so restful and calming to drive. You can travel a couple of hundred miles and still arrive feeling fresh. The car has loads of gadgets and if I get bored in traffic jams, I can just play with all the toys. The dual zone air con works a treat and the sun roof is the biggest I have seen on any car, ever.

It is an ideal car for a booze cruise and recently with about three quarters of a ton of French beer in the back, it still romped up the M20 with the self-levelling suspension taking care of all the treasury under funded undulations in our roads. Praps if we all bought our beer in the UK, the treasury might be able to afford some better road maintenance!

Sure, the car has its foibles. The 19 on board computers will prove to be a nightmare to fix. The car has an OBD socket but uses Citroen's proprietary software. There isn't a Haynes manual yet although I bought the Frence equivalent - Revue Technique. The rear brake calipers tend to corrode and sieze - I understand that Xantias had the same problems. Some of the the heated rear window elements had burnt out. I fixed them with metallic paint. The air con fan controller unit failed. Took me four weeks to fix. As another reviewer has said, the rear window gets covered in spray, the second it starts to drizzle. Replacement xenon headlights cost a fortune and it cost me over £100 for 4.5 litres the anti-pollution fluid, which you have to change every 50,000 miles or so. Citroen recommend using synthetic engine oil. I recently did an oil change using Mobil 1 which cost nearly 50 quid for a 5 litre cannister at Halfords. I also recently had to replace a tyre. It has alloy wheels and the low profile tyre cost an eye watering £130. Fuel economy can be good if you are good as well. I'm not and get the mid thirties. This is a mixture of London traffic jams and wellying it up the M40. It certainly aint a particularly cheap car to run.

Just getting behind the wheel causes you to forget all this and to forgive it. It is engaging, comfortable, welcoming and simply gorgeous to drive and to travel in. It is like floating on silk. It has the ride quality and refinment of cars which are four times the price. It pleases me and I forgive it.

You can get them for a song, especially the 3 litre v6 petrol versions. The diesels don't depreciate quite so badly although residual values seem much lower than for other cars in this class. This is bad news for me, but I as I have no intention of selling it for a long, long time, I will minimise my losses.

I would advise you to buy one. If you get the high end estate, you get a helluva car for your money. I've had mine for a year now and I do not regret one second so far 

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