C5X7 or C6 or DS4/5? Which to buy?

c5 x7 - just magnificent, and reliable
ds5 - terrible, unbearable ride. otherwise nice, well equiped, reliable, sharp drive - woeful ride
 
CC1701 said:
c5 x7 - just magnificent, and reliable
ds5 - terrible, unbearable ride. otherwise nice, well equiped, reliable, sharp drive - woeful ride
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I have 3 Xantias on the road (2 x V6s, 1 Aussie spec, the other a UK spec private import, and a Turbo CT), a series II C5 HDi sedan and a 3.0l V6 HDi X7 Tourer, all of which I use as daily drivers, although the C5 series II not so much as my wife uses it. They're all approaching 200K klms except the V6 Tourer which has a mere 143K klms on it. As the previous writer said, C5 X7 'just magnificent, and reliable'. And the twin-turbo V6 grunt is simply awesome!! So is the economy. I've seen as low as 5.3l/100 klm on a 300+ km run at an average speed of 87 km/h. Overall average is ca 6.5-7.0 l/100 klm, very similar to my wife's RHR C5 HDi. The Xantia V6s both have excellent performance, and very close behind is the CT Turbo and all three of these average ca 8.5 l/100 km.
The only 'complaint' with the Xantias is they are now 23 years old (V6s) and 26 years old (CT) and annoying niggles are showing their heads every now and then. But none of them have been insurmountable. What I can't do myself is done by my Peugeot/Citroen factory trained mechanic in Toowoomba or Steeley at Maleny.
My suggestion to you Bruce is hang onto your low km Xantia as long as you can. You have access to good mechanics not too far from you. Xanitas IMHO are VERY underrated. They are great cars. Personally, I wouldn't go near a DS5 as they don't ride like a 'proper' Citroen. I have no experience with them otherwise apart from having driven a new one and ridden in one a few years old. If you must have a newer vehicle, a C5 is the way to go.

Cheers, Robin in Crows Nest QLD
 
David S said:
one of a small number of EW10 4 cylinders with an AL4
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What I assume could be one of these has come up in a car yard locally, a 2013 Seduction with relatively low k’s, but described as an EP6CDT and 6 speed. No under bonnet pics in the ads, but a pic of the service book suggests a new engine at about 50000k’s / 6 year old, and a pic of the gear selector pattern looks like what I had in the DS3 DStyle. It wasn’t in their main yard when I looked the other day, so I haven’t seen it yet. Are these engines so problematic that I shouldn’t bother looking?
 
EP6 means the 1.6lt petrol turbo, same as DS3 Sport and potentially has some issues that need managing. They were 6 speed autos and the VIN will start with VF7RD5FV.... the new engine was probably due to a broken piston or high oil use. An EW10 is a 2.0lt petrol 4 cyl. and while it is generally an OK engine, in the C5 it will be a bit busy and maybe a bit slow off the mark due to the overall weight.
 
OR, for real adventuring try this :

Ohttps://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3647634542179388/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Aad2ca1d1-b194-46bb-a467-791320d5e316R ......
 
fritzelhund said:
There is a dark blue C6 offered on Brisbane Marketplace.
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Which sold at a damaged vehicle auction (described as malicious / vandalised entire; impact light - front - no WOVR listing due to age) for about a third of what they are asking for it. (Check out that seller’s other vehicles and quite a few are declared as WOVR listed.) I’d need to be more adventurous than I am, given advice here, and I’d be concerned whether the probable thief still had a set of keys to the car and was local.
I think this was probably the blue C6 I saw around Hervey Bay a couple of times but haven’t seen lately. It always looked immaculate. I often wondered if it replaced the dark blue XM that I occasionally saw when visiting Hervey Bay in years earlier.
 
David S said:
EP6 means the 1.6lt petrol turbo, same as DS3 Sport and potentially has some issues that need managing. They were 6 speed autos and the VIN will start with VF7RD5FV
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Ok, that’s the VIN, so not an EW10, so I don’t think I’ll bother making the trip into town to look. Thanks.
 
Bruce H said:
Which sold at a damaged vehicle auction (described as malicious / vandalised entire; impact light - front - no WOVR listing due to age) for about a third of what they are asking for it. (Check out that seller’s other vehicles and quite a few are declared as WOVR listed.) I’d need to be more adventurous than I am, given advice here, and I’d be concerned whether the probable thief still had a set of keys to the car and was local.
I think this was probably the blue C6 I saw around Hervey Bay a couple of times but haven’t seen lately. It always looked immaculate. I often wondered if it replaced the dark blue XM that I occasionally saw when visiting Hervey Bay in years earlier.
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Yes Bruce, I recall seeing the delicious blue XM around Maleny a few years ago. It was kept in showroom condition at the time.
 
Honestly, as nice as a C5X7 is ... perhaps the verb should be WAS .. they are now getting to the age of requiring some refreshing, specifically the front suspension bushes, leaking and non capturing suspension units and the occasional leaking pipe... to say nothing about buried spheres.
Whoever entertains a C5 in its not yet twilight years needs to have (a) deep pockets and perhaps more importantly (b) access to someone with the appropriate skills to maintain it. A genuine case of "horses for courses" and "let the buyer beware" regarding the ownership hurdles .. and it must be remembered that online questioners are frequently in the dark about the uniqueness of hydropneumatic requirements.
Any Citroen in OZ requires some degree of involvement, that modern consumer culture has destroyed.
They are entering the age where Citroen foibles of design are becoming uncomfortably expensive........ Just as Xantia front strut mounts did, and the XM similarly. C5s are getting to the age where ACCESS to end of lifetime components has to be considered.
A recent Queensland AF correspondent has spent $3500 on a "bargain" C5X7 just for regular maintenance items ( luckily we have Euroserve to rely on ) and has more $$$ to come.

Either purchase needs to be a well researched decision.
 
Why buy another Citroen if your local mechanics won't touch them? You stated you want a petrol station wagon. With all the short trips you do, I would consider at a Peugeot 4008. Euro touches with Japanese mechanicals. Can be had for very reasonable money and from what I have read, very reliable. Probably wouldn't need to visit those mechanics very much in the future anyway.
 
You could also consider a C5X7 with steel springs. Around 2012 will have the RHH engine and 6 speed auto. Normal shocks so no spheres to worry about , less daunting for your local mechanic. They still ride and handle very well ( I think it is basically a Peugeot suspension setup). Depending on the specs you can get most of extras that come with the fluid version, my 2012 C5X7 also has a normal handbrake, so you can avoid the troubles with the electric park brake. If you can find one with lower milage and a good service record they can be a good buy
 
dunky said:
Why buy another Citroen if your local mechanics won't touch them
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The nearest one won’t touch Citroens, and he told me he wouldn’t touch Peugeot either (and I imagine any Stellantis product as he had negative views of Citroen’s online support platform.) He has a reputation as the person locally to go to for Mercedes, so as a one man business probably doesn’t need to expand his horizons.
The other wouldn’t touch old Citroens, but sounded happy enough to work on anything that had good, quick parts supply.
If I’m going away from hydraulic suspension and the suppliers I know, I may as well just go mainstream and buy something that has dealer support in town (which precludes Peugeot; Renault moved in when/ where the Holden franchise went).
 
Plus one for Antoine's post for the steel sprung C5.

Mechanical and suspension parts supply for Cits and Pugs isn't usually a problem. There are so many non-Inchcape outlets. Perhaps your mechanic should get a list of them.
 
Don't forget the 2.0HDi C5's mechanicals are essentially common to some Fords such as Mondeo. You find 'FoMoCo' all over the engine bits.
 
Bruce did state he preferred petrol so a C5 wouldn't suffice seeing they are diesel.
 
jackpos said:
And the reliable and popular Aisin (Toyota) automatic
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I don't know if this post was tongue in cheek, but the 6 speed Aisin gearboxes are not without their "foibles" too. Replacement of the valve bodies is a common event. The typical scenario is slurred 2nd to 3rd changes and abrupt down changes from 4 to 3rd. Whether that is a less common replacement in C5X7s I do not know. Either way fluid replacement is not easy as there is no dipstick or filler tube, the access plugs are plain stupidly awkward being buried under the air cleaner etc, and the correct level of fluid is at a specified temperature and the drain plug is a 2 piece affair that uses the "waterfall" process for correct fill level.
IIRC there may be some drama attached to the transmission cooler design too, it is not a separate coil in the radiator or a separate small dedicated radiator. The AM6 gearboxes failed in all the vehicles they were fitted to. Fords, Alfas and Volvos spring to mind.
The transmission specialist who replaced the valve body for me was not fazed by the process and commented there was more room in the C5's under bonnet space than the Volvo he'd tackled days earlier.
 
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