Citroen C5

mranderson

mranderson

mranderson

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29 Jul 2008
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1,416
Been out for a couple of years so probably not much room for depreciation if bought second hand. Mainly interested in the models with the non-conventional suspension. Any owners opinions? Thinking of hiring one for a weekend to get a better idea.
 
I'm sure things haved moved on with Citroen in recent years but I used to have a Xantia with tue funky hydraulic suspension and it was extremely fault prone. Very comfy when it worked, massive PITA the rest of the time.

Maybe you've already read around about the suspension and possible issues, but if you haven't I would recommend you do before buying.
 
The new-ish C5 is a very nice car tbh. Where it falls down is that there are equivalents (i.e mondeo/mazda 6) that are a bit better for the same or less money but if you want one then they're a good all rounder
 
Don't think any other family car has a hydraulic suspension to compare. The C5 certainly looks more conventional but it is the technology underneath that interests me.
 
The tech underneath is fantastic. I had a Xantia as well and it was actually no trouble, but the Xantia was entirely mechanical-hydraulic with no electrical part at all whereas the C5 is computer controlled.
 
The latest C5 is very heavy and consequently rather slow and heavy on fuel.

With conventional suspension it offers nothing that isn't available better elsewhere. With hydropneumatic suspension you get something that rides better than anything else in the class.

The hydraulics on the C5's are a lot less complex than the Xantia than it's predecessors - the brakes and steering are conventional, and the suspension is just an electric pump, control unit, electrical ride height sensors and some pipes. The pumps and control units are reliable, the ride height sensors can go because they have moving parts but they're easy to change and not very expensive.

The other reasons people used to by Citroen's was the diesel engines has gone by the wayside too - you can get them in Ford's now, and many other manufacturers have caught up now.

They make a good cruiser for high mileage motorway work, but the steering and brakes have almost no feel whatsoever so they're no drivers car.
 
[TW]Fox;22496941 said:
The tech underneath is fantastic. I had a Xantia as well and it was actually no trouble, but the Xantia was entirely mechanical-hydraulic with no electrical part at all whereas the C5 is computer controlled.
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I had 3 Citroens with Hydraulic suspension, a GS a GSA and a Xantia. all three of those were mechanical, and the only problem I ever has was on the GSA when the spheres needed recharging after 70,000 miles, akin to replacing the springs, but lower cost. The brakes on them were phenomenal.

The thing that always amazed me was that the GS and GSA wouldn't even flinch if you drove through a puddle of deep water, must have been the geometry design, but unlike other cars that almost grab the steering from you, the GS ploughed straight through in the same way they did if you had a blow out.

Like Fox says the C5 is electronically controlled hydraulics, I have no experience of the reliability of those, but cannot imagine they will be any less reliable than any other electronic ECU/sensors, which means you should expect some occasional issues if a sensor packs up, or has a dodgy connection.
 
Did a long test drive (hired one for a week) and I have to say the suspension is all the money. So much different than any other car I've ever driven. New car this September from the looks of it after I've checked running costs/services etc.
 
K.C. Leblanc said:
Well then, get one of these instead.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3999595.htm

As an investment it'll comfortably out perform the Zimbabwean dollar.
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Hi, I had a C5 Exclusive about a year and a half ago had it for nearly 3 years. I choose it as my company car.
It was the top of the range hydraulic version and i loved every minute of it. only problem i had with it was the tyre pressure monitors valves all 4 of mine blow out one after the other. It was like they were made of "pot metal"
 
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