Faults:

Like several other people putting in reviews, and I have had and am still having problems of noise from the rear suspension, despite two attempts by the dealer to rectify this. The latest attempt was last week and they now have parts on order, to hopefully finally sort this out. Not only is the noise annoying, but it also makes the back-end feel very skittish when on bumpy roads.

Also, I do find the car is not very stable in cross winds on motorways, but my dealer assures me this is normal for this car. Having read another review I shall try putting it into sports mode suspension next time it is windy.

The only other fault I have found it is that, despite having Xenon headlights, the illumination on dipped beam is poor, whilst on main beam I'm lighting up the treetops. Again, two attempts by the dealer to rectify this have failed, but I intend to stand over them while they check the alignment of the headlights when I take the car in.

Overall however a good reliable car, which has covered 13,000 miles in just over six months, the majority of which is a long commute on very busy motorways.

General Comments:

Overall I found the car to be a superb motorway cruiser, and the diesel automatic is brilliant for that, being very responsive yet economical, giving well over 40 mpg despite the automatic box. The acceleration from standing start is very good, and the kick down likewise gives you good acceleration when overtaking.

The car is very comfortable and is quite a bit bigger inside than my previous Xantia, although with the latter being the Activa I do notice the much softer suspension, and the vagueness of the steering. The boot/trunk is simply huge, and the car takes five adult passengers quite easily. I particularly like the steering adjustment, which makes it very easy to get comfortable in the armchair like front seats.

My car has both air-conditioning and a sunroof, although the latter is really too noisy to use on motorways. The air-conditioning however is very good although like another reviewer I find the automatic setting is too noisy and unresponsive. I agree that the button controls leave something to be desired, and also find an annoying fault that when one or what is one side of the car temperature setting, the other side resets itself that setting when ignition is turned off.

Overall I am very pleased with the car, and would certainly consider buying another one. I just wonder why there is no more sporty version, like the Activa for the Xantia?

Faults:

The wheels needed balancing, shudder felt at 120-130 km/h.

General Comments:

The C5 is a comfortable highway cruiser and comes with roomy cabin and a huge trunk, able to swallow 5 full size wheels without any problems.

I like the way it handles on the road, cruising fast on country roads with lots of bends is simply sinfully fun.

As most modern cars with low air resistance, the C5 is somewhat sensitive to side wind, but I did discover that enabling the 'sport' state of the suspension (H3+), reduces this sensitivity.

In cities it is a large car, no doubt about that, but for road trips of hundreds of kilometers, it is one of the best cars around currently in my opinion.

My specimen was manufactured in April 2002. Apparently Citroen has managed to fix the problems affecting the earliest series, since I haven't run into anything major. The only problem was that the wheels needed balancing, slight shudder was felt between 120- 130 km/h, but that was easily fixed by balancing the wheels.

Faults:

In over 11000 km since new, I took it only once to the dealer for a faulty alternator and the right rear door to be re-adjusted, as it did not close properly. It was fixed in about 2 hours.

I leased another C5 2.2 HDI SE in 2001 in Europe, drove it hard for 21000 km, and except for servicing at 1500 km and at 15000 km, it needed no repair whatsoever.

It's true that rear suspension rattles sometimes over dirt roads, but you hardly hear it.

My radar detector did not work properly, because of the metal insert in the windscreen.

Rear seats, if you put radio down on a dirt road, you hear them squeaking.

General Comments:

C5 2.2 HDI SE; it's quick off the mark, and overtaking is easy.

The GPS navigation and information system is impressive.

Has plenty of space, and it's comfortable.