FirstDrive/Citroen C5:Citroën's new C5 builds on its heritage of comfort and is a serious improvement on the lacklustre version on sale at present, writes Michael McAleer, Motoring editor
Citroën could have found a better time to launch its C5 family saloon. With several dealers in court on foot of an investigation by the Competition Authority in relation to an alleged price-fixing cartel, the brand has seen better days on the Irish market.
Alongside this, Citroën has suffered several years of poor sales that can partly be attributed to a rather self-defeating discounting policy imposed across Europe. The end result was poor residual values which led to less than stellar sales.
The most annoying point of all this is that when you look at the product portfolio of the French marque in the past few years, the metal itself has been quite impressive. Its C4 family hatchback is a very smart looking rival to the likes of the Ford Focus and its ilk, and comes with several innovative gadgets and features. The new C4 Picasso is one of the few people carriers that could carry a premium badge and comes loaded with useful practical features. The C6 may not offer the sort of sharp handling we would seek in a car of its size, but it gets top marks for head-turning appeal and comfort at the right price.
After a decade of dull cars - like the previous C5 and the Xsara - Citroën has truly found its feet in terms of design. It's the brand that car designers want to work for.
Admittedly, in comparison to some of the stunning concept cars that have been shown of late, the new C5 is a relatively conservative offering, but in comparison to some of its rivals it's positively avant garde. The Mondeo and Passat are regarded as benchmark models, but neither could be described as being radically different from what went before. In that regard the new C5 has taken some significant design cues from the likes of the C6.
Citroën's legacy is largely based on offering owners a cloud-like ride quality - albeit with equally spongy cornering.
The new C5 will feature Citroën's "springless" suspension system, but only as an option and at least half the sales are likely to be for the conventional steel-sprung version. That means the underpinnings of this car are shared with its sibling, the Peugeot 407.
In terms of size, the new car is slightly bigger than its predecessor, measuring up at 40mm longer and 30mm higher. The new car also features a conventional boot format rather than the hatchback version of old.
The engine range for Ireland is features two petrols (1.8-litre/127bhp, 2-litre/143bhp) and four diesels (1.6/110bhp, 2-litre/138bhp, 2.2-litre/173bhp and 2.7-litre/208bhp). The petrol engines and 1.6-litre diesel come with five-speed manual transmission, while the 2-litre and 2.2-litre diesels get six-speed manuals. The new car will arrive in Irish showrooms - in both estate and saloon format - from May this year. Big sellers will be the 1.6-litre HDI diesel and the 1.8-litre.
Inside the Citroën multifunction - and frequently confusing - fixed steering wheel is carried forward from the rest of the range. Citroën fans continue to tell us that you get used to the controls within hours, but we still get confused by all the buttons that line each side of the centre of the wheel. Add on paddle shifts for an auto transmission and you start to feel a bit like an overburdened F1 driver.
The good news is that the feel, fit and finish is a world apart from the outgoing model. Citroën sets a good benchmark for itself in the C4 Picasso and it's carried that forward here. Certainly the current C5 owners will be very impressed.
We tested several variants of the new C5 at the firm's test track at Mulhouse in France and the overall impression was of a car that fits the Citroën ethos. The diesels are far and away the best buys, with plenty of low-end torque, though the pre-production versions we tested were a little noisy.
The good news for owners - though frustrating for the firm's suspension engineers - is that the regular suspension has been adapted to reflect the comfort principles of the brand. The differences between the spring version and the fancy hydraulic system only came to the fore when we tried riding roughshod over the worst surfaces - surfaces akin to Irish non-national roads.
The C5's suppleness is a credit to Citroën, but you do sacrifice handling quality and steering feel, though the latter is improved if you opt for the regular steel springs.
That said, even then it's not going to compete with the likes of the Ford Mondeo in terms of sharp cornering or sporting drive.
Citroën has a heritage for comfort and cruising that the new C5 continues to build upon. And there are plenty of buyers out there for whom soft, supple ride is far more important than responsive steering.
The good news is that the discounting policy is now at an end, hopefully shoring up resale prices for this new Citroën. It's still unlikely to knock the likes of Mondeo, Passat or Toyota Avensis off top spot, but it's a far more enticing package than what went ahead.
FACTFILE
ENGINES:Petrol - 1.8-litre 127bhp with 170Nm of torque, 5-speed manual transmission; 2-litre 143bhp with 200Nm of torque, 5-speed manual or 4-speed auto transmission.Diesel - 1.6-litre 110bhp with 240Nm of torque, 5-speed manual tranmsission; 2-litre 138bhp with 320Nm of torque, 6-speed manual or auto transmission; 2.2-litre 173bhp with 370Nm of torque, 6-speed manual transmission; 2.7-litre 208bhp 404Nm of torque, 6-speed auto transmission
DUE ON SALE:May
PRICES:Est. €26,000 for 1.8 petrol and €28,000 for 1.6 HDI