Test drive Citroen C5 Estate 2001 - 2004 station wagon

All photos of Citroen C5 Estate 2001 - 2004

Princess Frog

Now, having received a sufficient idea of \u200b\u200bC5, I began to look at the owners of these cars in a completely different way. With surprise, respect and understanding. It seems to me that just recently these people have made the path of the fairy-tale Ivan Tsarevich, unless everyone was looking for himself not a bride, but something simpler. Automobile. Once they took a chance, and their risk was justified.

Probably, anyone who is involved in the process of finding a car for twenty to twenty -five thousand dollars, one fine day faces that this pretty frog holds the brilliant arrow. Then everyone reacts differently: someone immediately turns away, someone falls into thought. But only to those who will not be confused by the unusual appearance of the car, she will reveal her secrets. And the secrets of the chain is enough for five. To begin with, under the respectable appearance of the sedan, a full -fledged hatchback is hidden. Moreover, the C5 can take the form of an uncontrollably swift sports car, then a clumsy SUV. Such metamorphoses occur with him thanks to the famous hydropneumatic suspension, capable of changing the size of the road clearance. The car body can be in several positions: standard (clearance - 150 mm), increased (190 mm, for speeds up to 40 km/h), high (230 mm, for speeds up to 10 km/h) and lowered (90 mm, for loading and unloading). In addition, upon reaching a speed of more than 110 km/h, the machine drops at 15 mm in front and 11 mm behind, and returns to the standard position as soon as the speed drops below 90 km/h.

The third -generation Hydractive suspension is a complex and perfect organism. Instead of conventional shock absorbers, hydraulic cylinders are used in it, and gas -filled spheres are played the role of springs. There are six such areas - one for each wheel plus two additional, providing comfortable mode. The electronic suspension control unit constantly receives readings from sensors that monitor the acceleration of the body in three dimensions, the position of the steering, gas pedals and the brake. Empathically analyzing the driving style and the condition of the coating, the electronics regulates the road clearance and switches the suspension between the comfortable and sports modes of work. However, the sports regime can be enabled from the driver's seat. In addition, the suspension supports constant road clearance, regardless of the load of the machine.

In his class, Citroeon C5 sets fundamentally new equipping standards. In any case, by the number of all kinds of sensors and auxiliary devices, he does not know equal. Here, the parking sensor, and the rain sensors, outdoor lighting and even air pressure in the tires of the climate control allows you to not only set the separate temperature for the left and right parts of the cabin, but also supply, for example, the air from the air conditioner, and to the left - from the stove. Moreover, the inclined air conditioner cools not only the salon, but also the glove box. The machine is equipped with eight pillows and curtains of safety. The degree of disclosure of the front pillows depends on the severity of the collision, and the right is turned off if it is necessary to install the children's chair. The audio system, which is duplicated by the steering wheel switch, heads the CD changer for six discs. The electrical package includes servo drives of all adjustments of the front seats, including the adjustment of the lumbar support, as well as the mirror automatically folding in the parking lot. True, all this applies to the machine that you see in the photographs, but even in the basic configuration of C5 it is difficult to reproach with the scarcity of equipment.

The aesthetic interior C5 is a worthy response of the French to their oriental neighbors. There is no hint of rigid straightforwardness cultivated by the Germans. Designers obviously expected to influence not so much on reason as on emotions, and they succeeded. Once in the car’s interior, you find yourself in the power of the game of receipts and bizarre weaves of smooth lines. The dominant element of this bewitching pattern resembling an occult symbol is the tip of the branded Citroen emblem. It seems that magic is acting - after sitting in the cabin for half an hour, I no longer want to leave it. However, inside the car is not only mannered, but also very cozy. The front seats are a real masterpiece of engineering art: the load distribution is so calculated that sometimes there is a feeling of weightlessness. Until the first turn, in which lateral support is immediately manifested, you simply do not feel the chair! And the armrest, useless in the city, is great to come in handy on a long trip. Nothing bad can say about the ergonomics of governing bodies. An excellent steering wheel is adjustable in length and height, and even the on -board computer display is located in the optimal zone, not forcing to take his eyes off the road for a long time.

With minivans, the car is related by many places for small objects. There are sliding boxes in the doorway and under the front seats, there are a small container and a folding cup holder to the left of the steering wheel. A double cup holder between the front seats can be transformed into an eyelet by drowning a jumper. It is impossible not to praise the paired sun visors. However, in addition to successful solutions, there are also miscalculations. The dashboard is openly overloaded with signs, and from the six shooters ripples in the eyes; At the same time, the indicators of the operating modes of the machine gun are small and difficult to read. There is no constant information about the body position - the messages are displayed on the computer’s display only at the time of changing road clearance. And to find out whether the sports regime of the suspension is turned on or not, you can only find your eyes dull the luminous button between the front seats. The functionality of the inner door handles is sacrificed to a spectacular form. Finally, heating chairs are controlled by wheels somewhere below and from the side, so you will have to learn to work with them to the touch.

Sitting from behind do not experience any problems. Two here is expanse: a huge supply of space, soft seats, a wide armrest. And almost even floor. And an extensive air duct system will not allow to freeze in winter. Having played enough with hydropneumatics, I must admit that its help is valuable not only in improving the running qualities of the car, but also from a purely everyday point of view. Indeed, it can facilitate weight loading into the trunk, rescue the car out of the deep rut or help to move out of a high border. In the movement, C5 turned out to be two -faced: on good roads, the smoothness of the course is wonderful, small coating defects are invisible, but the car reacts suddenly to the larger pits, shuddering the body. And it almost does not depend on whether Hydractive III is in comfort or sport mode. The design features of the suspension are also manifested in the other - with intense acceleration, the car is allegedly squatted on the rear wheels, but when braking does not peck with the nose.

The two -liter engine belongs to the category of steep ones - he loves momentum and copes well with his work. Brakes are equally effective. However, the machine is more affected by the transmission than the engine. The automatic box on C5 can operate in manual, winter or sports switching mode; In addition, it is adaptive (that is, self -adjusting). The automatic machine here is combat: even with measured driving, it actively helps to brake the engine, each time the gas deftly switching to a low gear. In sports mode, the machine is transformed: responses to the actions of the accelerator pedal are aggravated, switching upwards become sharp, and downwards are accompanied by unceremonious shocks. According to subjective sensations, a set of speed is now much more frolic.

In general, with such abilities of the machine gun to manual switching mode, almost does not have to go. The controllability of the machine is specific in its own way. The steering wheel is sharp, the reactions of the machine are accurate, but not as fast as we would like. With the speed of speed, the steering wheel is heavy - this is the merit of the pumping power pump of a variable performance. Cross rolls of the body are small even in comfortable suspension mode. I liked how C5 resists the loss of stability, with what reluctance it lends itself to provocation of skidding. Literally, to the last, the car in full leads sides from the turn, and if the skid occurs (or it was possible), then it develops smoothly, predictably and easily lends itself to correction. What to say in the end? Citroeon C5 is an ambiguous phenomenon: someone will call its shortcomings by advantages, someone on the contrary. But this is one of those cars with a soul that cannot be perceived indifferently, and therefore is already remembered for a long time.