My brother was a social worker in the 70s, and while he didn’t have long hair, a beard, or open toe sandals he did conform by driving a Citroen.
Not one of those weedy 2CV machines, though. He went for the maximum option and bought a DS Safari, the seven seat estate, so he could ferry about more problem children in one trip.
He later owned a second Safari, wisely keeping the first for spares, and then moved on through the CX (the GTI CX, which he had for a time, was amazing) before buying a month old BX estate and then a Xantia estate.
The BX racked up 300,000 miles in ten years and hardly missed a beat and now the Xantia is running up a fantastic total, too, with 230,000 miles behind it and still going strong. This proves to me that Citroens are not the fragile cars some people believe and their bargain prices only add to their appeal.
These days, the C5 is a great Citroen choice, not as big as the rare C6 but big enough to be roomy, comfortable, and, in the case of the estate, very practical. I reckon this will be my brother’s next choice when the Xantia expires, and a good buy it will be.
Citroen always offers spectacular deals on its new cars, such as paying the VAT. This can save thousands off the list price and make its bigger models in particular seem very tempting.
But as used buys they are even more spectacular. The C5, the big car it introduced back in April, 2001, must be very tempting to used car buyers. You get a lot of metal for your money - and it doesn’t have to be that much money, either.
Obviously, when you are considering buying one of these cars used you need to be aware of what sort of deals are being offered on the stuff in the showrooms, as heavy discounting off the new price affects used values. You then need to balance up very carefully whether saving on a used car outweighs the cachet of having a brand new motor for a bit more money.
Personally, I would take the used route but if the latest registration digits really appeal to you then you may well think differently.
The good thing about the C5 is that even if you buy the oldest you can find it will be wearing nothing less than a Y plate on its registration. Very little more will get you a 51 plate in the new format, so many people will hardly notice you haven’t got a brand new car.
The C5 comes in two forms, a five door hatch and a five door estate. I prefer the latter, but then I have always been an estate car fan. The range had a major facelift in 2005 which made the cars look very different.
In the past, a C5 1.6 HDI diesel estate gave me an amazing 50 mpg despite its size. The latest 2.2 diesel saloon and estate I have tried didn’t do so well, but even their 40 mpg plus consumption is a good result for a car of such generous size.
Service intervals are 20,000 miles, so there’s nothing onerous there, and other running costs are not too bad if regular servicing is kept up. I would not buy a C5 that didn’t come with a full history. Insurance starts at only Group 8, so even premiums can be cheap.
Citroen has managed to sell a good number of C5s so there’s a large choice about in the used sector. A Y plate 1.8 LX five door is a bargain at around £2,775 but the equivalent diesel will cost up to £550 more. A diesel estate with LX trim, ideal for a family, is £5,600 on an 04 plate, but move up to a 54 plate 1.6 HDI and you’ll pay £9,400. The same car from the early part of this year would only be £12,600 compared with its £17,200 plus list price. It’s a great saving.
Maurice Hardy
CITROEN’S BIG CAR BARGAIN
