ABOVE ALL
Citroen C5
Engine - 2.0 L
Max power -
143 hp/6000 rpm
Max torque - 200 Nm/4000 rpm
Max speed (km/h) - 205
Acceleration 0-100 km/h - 11.7
Fuel consumption (L/100 km):
city - 12.7
highway - 6.7
combined - 8.9
Automatic transmission - 4-speed
Length - 4779 mm
Width - 1860 mm
Height - 1451 mm
Gross weight - 2090 kg
Tires 245/45R18 with pressure sensors
Hydractive 3+ suspension. Ground clearance independent of load, height automatically changes with speed and road conditions, manual mode available, ABS+EBD+ESP+traction control, power steering with variable assist, cruise control, dual-zone climate control, 6 airbags + driver's knee airbag, alarm, electric automatic parking brake, fog lights, headlight washers, swiveling bi-xenon headlights (angle 1050), rain sensor, light sensor, electric seat package, driver's seat lumbar massage, front parking sensors, auto-adjusting side mirrors when reversing, electrochromic rearview mirror, anti-pinch windows, sunshades
Price $34,358 (274,860 UAH), base trim price $23,254 (186,030 UAH)
Maintenance cost:
Service interval:
15,000 km
TO0 1500-2500 km - free
TO1 15,000 km ~$220 (1,756 UAH)
TO2 30,000 km ~$338 (2,700 UAH)
TO3 45,000 km ~$372 (2,970 UAH)
TO4 60,000 km ~$338 (2,700 UAH)
Standard hour - $33 (257 UAH)
Warranty 2 years without mileage limit
Competitors:
Ford Mondeo
Volkswagen Passat B6
Peugeot 407
Audi 4
Toyota Avensis
Marat Makhmutov, Deputy Director of the Kazan School of Higher Driving Skills
The Citroen C5 appeared in 2008, and TV advertising presented it almost as a "Frenchman with a German character." But what kind of beast is it really? In person, the car looks very attractive: at the front, there are cheerfully raised headlights, between which the double chevron familiar to modern models of the brand is displayed, the windshield is strongly inclined for aerodynamics, and the profile pleases the eye. The original stamping along the beltline is especially successful - it visually lightens the body. The rear also looks harmonious and elegant.
I recall the previous generation of the "C-five" - it was a real fish with surprised eyes. The new model beats its predecessor on all fronts! Let's look inside. Everywhere there are pleasant-to-touch soft plastics, excellent leather combined with fabric inserts - practical: it doesn't heat in summer, doesn't chill in winter, and looks decent. The steering wheel hub is stationary, with a scattering of keys on it - music, cruise control, onboard computer; only the ring itself rotates. The climate control unit strongly resembles the one in the Audi A4. The instruments, as is customary for the French, have non-standard calibration, but they are stylish and perfectly readable. The driver's seat has a mass of electric adjustments and memory for two. The automatic transmission selector switches cunningly: to move from "park" to "drive," you need to move it right and down, not just down. There's plenty of space for small items: a bunch of glove boxes, open and with lids on microlift. At the rear, there are retractable shades on the doors and rear window. Overall, the interior is assembled solidly and looks respectable. But there are also nitpicks: the fabric on the door cards will likely get dirty quickly, and it's not easy to clean. Although that's already a question of the owner's neatness.
Ground clearance is adjustable from 90 to 200 mm
Now about the main thing - how it drives. Under the hood of the test car is a two-liter engine with 143 horsepower and a four-speed automatic with manual mode. Plus the proprietary hydropneumatics, which changes ground clearance from 90 to 200 mm. The suspension provides amazing smoothness and decent off-road capability. But there is also a downside: the car is so soft that on our roads it literally lulls everyone in the cabin to sleep, and good sound insulation only exacerbates the effect. It immediately became clear: such an engine and such a gearbox are designed for calm driving at cruising speed. To test the character, we set up a "slalom" with cones and... from the first meters it became clear - the C5 cannot be called a sprinter. Acceleration is long and not at all "cannon-like," sport mode doesn't save it, manual shifting also doesn't change things. Only by the end of the two-hundred-meter distance does the car reach an acceptable speed for maneuvering, and then it's time to brake.
By the way, about the brakes: they are grippy, the ABS is configured competently, and during emergency braking the hazard lights automatically turn on - safety above all. Handling is excellent: the hydropneumatics instantly reacts to body roll and itself steers the body, so you can go through the "slalom" at a decent speed without fearing critical tilts. The "moose test" succeeded almost everyone at speeds around a hundred, though you had to accelerate in advance. The chassis is excellent, balanced, it would benefit from a more powerful engine and at least a five-speed gearbox! In the Russian lineup of the C5, there are also diesels and a six-cylinder gasoline unit - this suspension is "tuned" for them. And the two-liter engine with a four-speed automatic seems to have been added to the lineup "for assortment" or for completely unhurried drivers.
Honestly, I liked the car, despite the complaints about the powertrain. Will it be possible to try the "C-five" with a different engine? For now, one can only guess...
Vadim Sadykov, "Autoclub-Kazan"
The design of the C5 is successful! Although some details clearly resemble other brands. When I got behind the wheel, I hit my head on the door opening - low profile, the price for excellent aerodynamics (Cx=0.29). But the driver's seat is a song: everything is clear, everything is at hand. The seat has electric adjustments, including lumbar support, massage, and tilt of the upper part of the backrest. I settle in comfortably - and we drive unhurriedly. Exactly unhurriedly, because neither the engine nor the four-speed gearbox likes sharp presses on the gas. But there's a sea of comfort! Potholes, tram tracks, exhaust from Kamaz trucks, noise - all that remained outside. And inside, in a separate "sovereign" car, there is peace and quiet. For this very feeling of calm and solidity, you can forgive the car a lot.
I won't describe comfort in detail - Alfred will handle that much better than me. Let's better examine the engine, the four-speed automatic, and the chassis. There are only two gasoline engines offered: 2.0 with 143 hp and 3.0 with 215 hp - as they say, either too little or too much. For everyday city driving, the senior unit is most often excessive, and the tax on it at current rates will be prohibitively high. The test car had a two-liter engine, which is already not fresh - it doesn't even have a variable valve timing system! And the curb weight of the C5 is at least 1600 kg, plus options, plus three people in the cabin - what dynamics can we talk about here. Although if you drive very calmly, this drawback is almost unnoticeable: the gearbox shifts smoothly, the movement is smooth. But as soon as you press the gas harder, the C5 begins to actively express dissatisfaction: the engine roars, and the automatic transmission works jerkily.
The 4-speed automatic deserves a separate mention. I was quite surprised by such a choice of engineers. After all, at the end of 2007, we tested the C4 Picasso with the same two-liter engine and the same weight of 1600 kg (the report is on our portal). But there was a six-speed robot. And then neither I nor Alfred had any complaints about dynamics. A comparison of characteristics shows: the Picasso with the robot accelerates to a hundred almost a second faster than the C5 with the 4-speed automatic, and in the city it consumes one and a half liters less. Nothing surprising - any classic automatic has higher power losses than a robotic gearbox. And the four-speed also has its own specific ailments (details in the article "Gear Ratios" on our website). Honestly, I hoped that on the highway during overtaking, the C5 would show itself well. It didn't work out! I conducted my standard test several times: overtaking a truck at a speed of 80-90 km/h. The result, alas, is not impressive. Once it even ended in embarrassment: a "ten" that was visible as a dot in the mirror caught up with me (and it seems it even had to brake) before I completed the maneuver.
However, after all this criticism of the gasoline two-liter, it's worth admitting: the C5 also has truly worthy engines - diesel ones. Here they are: 2.0 with 138 hp and a variable geometry turbo, 2.2 with 173 hp and two parallel turbos, and 2.7 producing 208 hp and equipped with two variable geometry turbos.
Now about the suspension. In the slalom and moose test, the chassis performed exceptionally well. Moreover, in the city, on the highway, and on winding roads, it was also at its best. This is undoubtedly the merit of the air suspension. But it also hides the car's main drawback. Both Alfred and I—as soon as we moved to the rear row, we immediately started nodding off. Literally. And even behind the wheel, it's not easy to stay alert—this car's ride is just too smooth and lulling.
Conclusion: if you choose an adequate engine, the C5 can quite become a strong player in the D class.
Alfred Mardanov, "Autoclub-Kazan"
The impressions from the C4 Picasso are still fresh in my memory; we really liked it and, frankly, it surprised us. It turned out to be an extremely comfortable and interesting car. Unfortunately, the Citroen brand in our country does not have the well-deserved popularity it has in Europe. It's good that the situation is gradually changing for the better—judging by the increasing number of these cars on our roads. I first saw the C5 itself long before the test. I remember how we sat in the showroom and kept exclaiming: "And here there's also this!!!" The car wins you over with its appearance from the first seconds. It is undeniably beautiful! Long front overhang, stamped sides, low roofline, attractive rear—it looks swift and at the same time somehow intelligent. Writing about the interior is a thankless task; I'll just say that the materials used here are very high quality, and the design—France, in a word. The seat with developed lateral support, a bunch of electric adjustments, and a massager!!! With these adjustments, finding one of the 150 thousand comfortable positions for my lean build was not difficult. Everything moves here! The steering wheel with a fixed central part—the same as on the C4.
The abundance of buttons on the steering wheel is frankly frightening at first. I tried to figure them out myself—useless. Only with the help of Ivan, the dealership manager, who is in love with both photography and Citroen, did I manage to get something done. To fully understand the functionality and logic of these buttons, you need to spend more than an hour with the manual behind the wheel. As usual, straight from the showroom we headed to the racetrack, and I was the first to take the wheel. Usually I yield the first drive to Vadim or the invited expert, but this time I couldn't resist and unequivocally took the driver's seat. I had become too enamored with the car while photographing it. And from the first meters of the road, the C5 justified my expectations. Geez, this is a small-class limousine! A swan, not a car. No, it doesn't fly like a bird, it glides. But not like a duck frantically paddling its feet, but majestically and measuredly, like a swan enjoying its beauty and exclusivity. Hmm, true, a swan with clipped wings—it accelerates heavily, the engine is a bit weak. In the city, especially at starts, this is felt acutely: it doesn't want to go, and that's it. But on the slalom and lane-change test, it performed very decently, in my opinion. No one expected such behavior from such a large car. My verdict: the car's capabilities more than cover the two-liter engine. The C5 is ready to shine at higher speeds but simply doesn't have time to accelerate. The lane change at the test site at 93 km/h went without tire squeal, strain, or even a hint of a skid. Oh, how it begs for 2.5 liters, how it begs!!! I don't understand how such a "barge" can handle like that. Apparently, Ivan is right when he said that the air suspension automatically tries to compensate for body roll. I remember how I chuckled to myself when Vadim drove through his favorite turns in a secret spot. Ha-ha-ha-ha! For the C5, they are limited in speed only by oncoming and passing traffic, and common sense. In a word, I would put the suspension behavior at the forefront for this car. Think that's all? No! Next, our route ran along such local roads that the Germans would simply choke with surprise and shaking. No, I've been to the south of France and driven on municipal roads. Yes, they are not ideal, but they can't compare to ours. What roads is this car made for? Why am I driving on a so-called road and feeling nothing?
The secret of this miracle technology was again revealed by Ivan. It turns out that the front suspension "scans" the road and transmits data to the computer, which processes speed information and gives a command to the rear suspension—it either dampens a pothole or smooths out a bump. Sitting in the back seat, you don't feel the speed at all: the car accelerates slowly and smoothly, and excellent sound insulation (worthy of the highest praise) masks the sensation of acceleration. Riding in the rear row is calming and lulling—everyone wants to sleep. Vadim openly yawned into the rearview mirror, Ivan held on—his position demanded it, and I fought sleep by entertaining the folks with conversation, but eventually I also started yawning. I'll separately note the braking system: it works very predictably, and the moment of ABS activation is intuitively clear. The steering is precisely tuned to the car's character: not too sharp, but not sluggish, with a well-weighted wheel. Everyone liked the approach to warning signals about an open door and so on. It's not an annoying buzzer, but a pleasant musical chime. The French decided not to spoil the comfortable and cozy picture that the C5 paints. The entire car invites a leisurely and measured trip, and all participants get special pleasure from it. It so happened that I was also the last to drive within the test. We slowly rolled back to the dealership, and it was a bit sad to part with this car—it turned out to be so interesting and unlike others. I involuntarily caught myself thinking that for this money, getting so much beauty, convenience, and comfort is very difficult. And I already forgave it for certain hesitations in acceleration and lack of power.
(C) "Autoclub-Kazan"
Photo - Mardanov A.V.