Citroën: moving out of the bargain basement?

In the ongoing saga of the hydraulic pipe I ventured bravely to the parts desk of my local Citroën dealer. I am told that owners of old BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes can order parts from the dealer as though they were ordering parts for current models. Of course you need to pay Mercedes-sized prices for that facility. Citroën offer no such assurance but I went armed with a part number and a mental picture of what it should look like. All credit to Murley Citroën of Leamington Spa, they found the part was available and have promised to order it. Maybe one day I’ll be able to drive my car without fearing the sudden loss of hydraulic fluid.

I also noticed that the showroom had a new C5 on display and I couldn’t resist going in for a closer look. It is an impressive looking car; it does have a German look and feel. The doors close with an impressive thunk and the interior is full of handy cubby holes with damped lids. I’m not sure how much praise I want to lavish on the C5 as I still feel betrayed by the absence of self-levelling, oleo-pneumatic suspension across the range (just as I was irritated by the elimination of the Citroën short-travel brake pedal on the old C5). Final judgement depends on actually driving a C5 or two.

Behind the C5 was a silver C6, looking as impressive as ever and unmistakably French. Next to the C6 was a C-Crosser, another model I’ve not had the chance to study at close quarters. It looked like another quality product, with nice plastics and high quality switches. Contrast this with Citroën’s recent efforts to sell cars based on low prices and generous discounts. Somehow the cars looked like bargain basement products, more like the stuff the Malaysians and Koreans used to make.

Of Citroëns and Auto Express

Auto Express is one of those magazines that I stopped reading a long time ago. Something about the way the features were written sucked all the joy from the subject. The feature that brought me to that point was a supposed celebration of a Ferrari anniversary (probably the 50th) which failed to convey any magic of the cars the magazine gathered to mark the occasion.

If the issue I borrowed from a work colleague today was anything to go by things have improved as Auto Express. AE does seem a little more serious than its main (only?) rival, Autocar. With my mind in an analytical frame it seems that Autocar’s writers put more of themselves into their features than the Auto Express team. I still prefer Autocar as it seems to carry a greater variety of interesting features.



One of the features in Auto Express was a first drive of the new Citroën C5. It was the second review I had read and I am worried that the C5 will be a disappointing car. At the behest of fleet managers Citroën have restricted hydro-pneumatic suspension to the top models. Fleet managers are unable to appreciate the virtues of hydro-pneumatic suspension and are not prepared to pay for it on the mainstream C5s. It does rather beg the question; what are the people who do appreciate the self-levelling, smooth-riding virtues of hydro-pneumatic suspension supposed to buy?