Citroen C5

In a saloon car market traditionally dominated by sleek, well engineered Germans, Citroen has found itself between a rock and a hard place. Their previous offering of soft and quirky vehicles quickly developed a “love/hate” relationship with, well, everyone.

Unfortunately for those who fell in love with the brand, a combination of poor build-quality and rubbish materials would inevitably result in your Citroen reducing itself to component parts within minutes of driving it off the showroom floor. Due to the seeming disinterest that followed from the Citroen after-sales team, the fleeting love affair of the poor owner rapidly turned sour.

The obvious choice for Citroen was to employ some Germans and try beat Audi, BMW and Merc at their own game. Which in some ways I admit is a shame. Their quirkiness was a breath of fresh air in the world of function-based German engineering. However as you can imagine, the novelty wore off quickly with the ensuing problems.

To the new C5 – a car I’m proud to announce remains a breath of fresh air, but for all the right reasons. Wafting along the N2 after picking up the big Citroen I forgave myself for being a little perplexed. This is a big Citroen right? Where were all the little oddments that characterise a typical French saloon?

The C5 is finished with exceptional care for finer detail in what can only be described as a forcefully German fashion. The interior is sleek and elegant, with unimposing linearity and a rich executive ambience. The static hub steering wheel lives on as the only remaining throw back to Citroen’s more vivid history of weird and whacky interior concepts.

On the down side it’s not the most visually stimulating place to sit for prolonged periods. The addition of satellite navigation on some form of LCD monitor would really add value to the otherwise electronically desolate console. I guess one can only expect baby steps from a nation as traditionally backward as France.

It is a comfortable place to sit however. At 4.8 metres the C5 is longer than its cross-border rivals leading to a more spacious cabin layout. Four adults would enjoy a comfortable journey no matter the distance. Up front the seats are without doubt the most comfortable and adaptive of all entry level saloons. The heated, fully electric chairs include independent adjustment of the upper backrest and lumbar support, with memory buttons and a massage function for the driver.

Comfort in the C5 doesn’t end there. Citroen’s world renowned hydro-pneumatic suspension, called Hydractive III+ is standard in the range topping 3.0 litre turbo diesel. This third generation technology does a mind-bogglingly large number of calculations every second based on height, steering angle, brake and engine sensors in order to keep the vehicle at a constant height.

Furthermore the constant height is based on a combination of speed and road surface, adapting to smooth surfaces by lowering the vehicle to improve aerodynamics and fuel efficiency, while raising the overall height on rough surfaces to improve ground clearance.

The result is astonishing – the C5 wafts over all road surfaces with the grace of a French ballet. Unfortunately they’ve added a “Sport” suspension setting that to my mind is a bit sordid and vulgar for a big Citroen – like wearing clear plastic heels to tea with the Queen.

However despite the Germanic influences, the C5 is a proper French saloon at heart. You never feel the car is urging you to drive aggressively, even if the 177kW, 450Nm V6 diesel has plenty to offer in the event your right foot meets the plush carpet. At the same time the C5 is particularly frugal with consumptions figures around 6.8l/100km – I have no doubt one could manage 1000km of gentle highway cruising on one tank.

On the styling front I believe Citroen have remained true to their roots. The C5’s long bonnet is sleek and elegant while the rear announces itself with a unique concave rear window and matching boot lid. The contrast is anything but subtle in true French tradition. The addition of chrome strips along the grille forming the double chevron badge are a neat feature that round off what is a different, but none-the-less good looking vehicle.

The blend Citroen have created with the C5 radiates a succinct understanding of the true definition of saloon car motoring. The styling and ride quality have remained distinctly French, distinctly Citroen-esque – while the engineering has taken on a more mature and refined mould, one that gives the impression it will be long lasting.

Price: R 471,413
Engine: 2993cc Hdi V6
Power: 177 kW
Torque: 450 Nm
Acceleration (0-100 km/h): 7.9
Top speed (km/h): 243
Fuel consumption (l/100km): 6.8 (claimed)

Miles Downard
Photo Credit: Quickpic