2004 Citroen C5 Reviews

Side mirrors fold out and the car's self-levelling suspension system takes over, lowering the car for faster highway driving or raising it for rougher roads.Open the boot and the rear end lifts up – ready for all that shopping.This is an intelligent car. And what manners!When it gets dark or you drive into a car park or tunnel, the lights come on automatically.If it rains, the windscreen wipers start swishing – automatically.And when the wipers start, the windows go up – automatically.So...when turning into a dark car park, if you flick the windscreen wipers on instead of the indicator (because they're on the opposite side of the wheel to what you're used to) and the lights turn on and windows go up, don't panic (like I did). It's just doing what it does – automatically.A smooth operator is the C5.Handsome, trim body (not too long or bulky), smartly dressed in soft leather, well appointed and easy to manipulate, er, manoeuvre. Tactful too – no bells and whistles when you do something wrong. Just a gentle reminder on the dash when you forget to buckle up.You'll come face to face with some stunning French features, such as the good-looking dash, nifty compartments that fold away into the dash and door trims, armrests that stop where you want them to and even cup holders that double as gadget gatherers.But when will designers get the hint that the plastic fake wood trim they insist on using to mark a top-of-the-range model looks just like, well, plastic fake wood trim? Ugh.The C5 wagon is family oriented. Lots of room in the back for children, and the rear seats split 60/40 or fold down completely to fit longer, larger loads.A cargo net stops anything stored in the back from ending up in the front, and another net stops items from rolling around the huge space. There's even a pull-out cover to make whatever you do have in the back look neat.The back armrest folds down and opens to a peep hole – perfect size for a petite pooch to fit through.As far as the ride goes, it's a little "clunky" and indecisive at low speeds. . But put your foot down and the C5's turbo kicks in and really performs . . . and it doesn't drink too much (half a tank will cover about 700km).A tip: make sure to read up on the manual for this model. There are more buttons than you can poke your finger at and more features than you can possibly hope to fumble your way through in a week of test driving.LOVE IT, LEAVE ITCitroen C5 HDiPrice: $47,490Love it:It does a lot of the thinking for you. Perfect armrest positioning.Leave it:The diesel chatter. An English friend thought a London taxi had pulled up in his drive.Too many levers on the steering wheel.

Take, for example, the car we've just finished driving – Citroen's C5 HDi Estate.To be frank, our first impressions were not too complimentary. I found it noisy, desperately slow and, if that wasn't enough, it didn't even strike me as being all that pretty to look at.But I guess that's why we test cars over a few days, rather than just a quick spin around the block.Because, ever so slowly, this car began to win me over. Slowly being the operative word. It took a while to warm to a car that takes forever to get itself up and running, but the Citroen earned our affection in other ways.In part, it's because I became used to its rather unique style and its "relaxed" pace.Mainly, though, we loved the fact that even after driving it for more than a week, the fuel gauge was still showing almost half full.So every time we'd spot a fuel station with prices reading well over $1 a litre, our Citroen C5 HDi Estate just kept on chugging happily past.There's a reason for that, which I should explain. The HDi bit means this car is powered by a diesel engine; the Estate part is Euro-talk for station wagon; and the Citroen bit, well, that means it's French. And, if you know anything about French cars, that also means it's a bit quirky.The Citroen name always reminds me of those exotic cars they built during the '60s and '70s; big, sleek-backed things with pneumatic suspension which, when stationary, would drop the rear-end almost to the ground.They looked like a cross between a giant cockroach and something from another world which, in those days, they were.Although Citroens don't look quite as "alien" these days, they still have a unique style and that pneumatic suspension remains, even if it's a bit more sophisticated.And then there's the diesel engine, the likes of which have become hugely popular in Europe.Unfortunately for Citroen, the C5's diesel is probably a generation behind some of the latest oil-burners, like those in the Audi A3/VW Golf, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW's X5.By comparison, the Citroen diesel is a bit sluggish. At best. This was never more evident than when I pulled alongside an old truck, loaded up with boxes of fruit, at the traffic lights...and struggled to get ahead of it once the lights changed.Changing the automatic transmission into "sport" mode helped a bit, but not much. We're talking about 15 seconds for the 0-100km/h "sprint".At least the C5 has nice, plush leather seats, complete with arm rests in the front, so you can be comfortable while waiting for it to get motoring. And once it does, the big wagon isn't a bad thing at all. It handles well, even though that pneumatic suspension makes the ride feel a little soft and vague.It's nicely fitted out and smartly finished. You get dual-zone climate control air; top-notch CD-stereo with wheel-mounted controls; automatic lights and rain-sensing wipers, electric everything (including mirrors that fold themselves in when you turn the engine off) plus lashings of leather. All pretty good buying for well under $50-grand.Over a few weeks, we tested both the petrol-engined C5 sedan and diesel-engined Estate. Interestingly, it's the smartly-performed petrol version which Citroen is finding hardest to sell, even offering free trips to Paris for new buyers. Strange, really, because we thought it was a lovely thing.So why would you opt for the diesel variant? Well it makes enormous sense if you're travelling regular long distances.A work colleague recently began commuting from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane every day and reported that the C5 diesel made the journey, a daily round trip of about 180km, almost five times on one tank of fuel. That's fabulous going for a car so big, comfortable and so able to swallow a huge load.Even around town, we were astonished to see the digital trip computer showing the C5 sipping just 7l/100km in heavy traffic. On the open road it will manage closer to five.At highway speeds (once you get there) it's competent if not inspiring. It will happily sit on the speed limit but it's not exactly dynamic when you need to overtake.I was a bit surprised to find my wife, who's never been a fan of noisy diesel engines, defending the Citroen."I think it's very nice. I don't know what you're complaining about," she said.It's too slow, I protested. "You drive too fast," came the reply. "Nothing wrong with it."So the Citroen, it seems, has even won over a committed diesel-hater.And, I'd have to admit, by the end of the week it had won me over too.Ever so slowly.

In Europe they have known about the benefits of diesel power for years and here in Oz the 4WD fraternity seems to finally have the message, but diesel powered passenger vehicles are something of a rarity.That's a shame because there are some real beauties out there like the Citroen C5 Estate.I remember pulling up next to a bloke at the tip not long ago as he was emptying the rear of his C5 wagon. He loved the car but rued the fact he had not been able to get a diesel – it wasn't available at the time.Citroen has rectified this situation with the recent release of the Citroen C5 HDi Estate.The C5 has been one of the stars in Citroen's Aussie lineup, with diesel models now outselling petrol ones with rising fuel prices.The wagon is stylish, larger than you think and not as expensive as you might believe.The HDi is powered by a hi-tech, 2.0-litre turbo charged common rail, direct injection diesel engine that produces 82kW of power and 255Nm of torque.Don't be too concerned about the power because it is the torque figuure that we are concerned about here, produced from a low 1750rpm.Torque is the stuff that gets cars off the line in a hurry and makes short work of long hills – and the Citroen has plenty of it.Combine this with an overall fuel consumption figure of 6.7L/100km and that gives the wagon with a 68-litre tank a theoretical range of 1000km.In the real world this translates to between 800 and 900km – still pretty impressive.Many people mistakenly believe that diesels are slow, noisy and blow lots of smoke. That may have been the case at one time but the diesel engine has come on in leaps and bounds in the last couple of years.The C5 HDi lacks the punch and urgency of a petrol engine, but is certainly no slouch. However, it is on the freeway where the low revving engine really comes into its own.The wagon comes in one fully specified model with tipshift auto tranny, climate controlled air, stability control and many other luxury features.On the road it is a little quick to get into second gear, but there is a sport option that retards gear changes or it is possible to switch to full manual mode.Citroens are famous for their variable suspension and the C5 is no exception, rising automatically for rough roads and dropping down to reduce drag on the freeway.You can also raise and lower the car for loading.The wagon is is a big comfy user friendly car that tends to grow on you, with a large airy interior, plenty of rear legroom and stacks of load space.Thoughtful additions include a reversible rubber backed luggage mat and a cord cargo barrier that slides forward when the rear seats are dropped.The tailgate window can be opened separately for quick access.Handling is good without quite being sporty and brakes are also good, but have a tendency to grab.There is an annoying amount of momentum as the car comes to a stop and the transmission changes down.The Citroen C5 Hdi Estate is priced from $47,490 plus on road costs.