Citroen C5 Saloon 2008-

The new C5 is a much more stylish car than the older model it replaces with Citroen saying its looks and build quality are a good contender against BMW and Audi. For once it appears that Citroen could be right. The interior is of a much higher standard than we have come to associate with them and the C5 has proven to be remarkably reliable. They don't quite match up with BMW and Audi, but they certainly keep up with the impressive Ford Mondeo and the Mazda 6. The ride in the C5 is extremely refined and quiet with the suspension ironing out the bumps perfectly and a wide range of powerful engines to choose from. It is the perfect family or business car coming in the form of an estate or saloon and has ample space inside for 5 adults to sit comfortably with room to spare.

Pros and Cons:

• Good handling
  Wide range of engines
  Exceptionally quiet

• Boot is not as big as some rivals
  Reliability is a bit of concern for the users

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Exterior and Interior

The C5 has been given a new style, and with the interior also being revamped it looks extremely smart and stylish, which will appeal to both the family and business market. The build quality inside and out is excellent with very few problems occurring which doesn't sound like Citroen at all. There is enough room in both models for 5 adults to sit comfortably with room to spare. The boot is also big with the rear seats being able to fold flat in both the estate and saloon models increasing the boot size by almost as much again. There are several trim levels to choose from with the entry level SX trim coming with lots of kit including climate and cruise control, as well as electric windows all round. For a little more you could get the VTR+ which gives you little luxuries such as alloys, automatic lights and wipers as well as dual zone climate control. The top of the range Exclusive trim comes with parking sensors and gas suspension which helps to increase the smoothness of the ride even more.

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Engines

There are a wide range of engines to choose from including four petrol and five diesels. The diesels are the better engines to opt for as they are more powerful, have better fuel efficiency, and are a lot easier to find on the second hand market as the C5 was mainly purchased as a company car when first released, making the diesel options the obvious choice. The petrol engines include a 1.6-litre 120bhp, a 1.8-litre 125bhp, a 2.0-litre 140bhp, and 3.0-litre 211bhp. The range of diesel engines includes a 1.6-litre 108bhp, a 2.0-litre 136bhp, a 2.2-litre 171bhp, a 2.7-litre 205bhp and 3.0-litre 237bhp. All of the engines come with a manual gearbox as standard with only a couple of petrol engines having an automatic gearbox as an option.

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Performance and Economy

Performance wise the diesel engines are by far the better engines to go for with their incredible pulling power, excellent fuel economy, smoothness and in the larger engines, loads of power to excite the power hungry of drivers. The fuel efficiency is impressive with the 1.6-litre proving the best managing 50.4mpg followed by the 2.0-litre with 47.1 then the 2.2-litre, 3.0-litre and 2.7-litre engines with 43.5, 38.2 and 33.6mpg respectively. It's not really worth opting for the petrol's as they are a lot less impressive and hard to come by on the second hand market with the 1.6-litre providing the best fuel efficiency at 38mpg, which is less than the 3.0-litre diesel. When it comes to insurance it's not going to cost you an arm and a leg. The C5 falls into groups 8 through to 14 for the more powerful models. The 1.6-litre diesel may feel slightly underpowered at times so it would be advised to look for the 2.0-litre as it offers the best all round package.

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What it's like to Drive

The handling of the C5 is remarkable with the ride being sophisticated and quiet, with sharp handling and limited body roll only likely to be seen on fast corners. The driver also has an all round clear view of the road through the large windscreen and side windows. The outside world is blocked out with the wind road and engine noise being almost none existent making for a wonderfully quiet drive.

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Faults and Repairs

As of yet there have been very few faults that have come to light, which for a vehicle from Citroen is a massive boost and a very nice surprise. The only advice is to check the electrics and trim when looking to buy a C5 as this is where the majority of faults were in the previous C5.

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