Citroen C6 test drive since 2006 hatchback
Avangardist
The very first and most strong impression on me made it, however, not the brainchild of French designers, but the number of Russian journalists, whom the company landed in the Portuguese capital. 37 representatives of specialized and business media in Russia took part in the test drive of the novelty on the eve of its official premiere in Geneva. Which indicates that Citroen is seriously treated by our market, and does not intend to continue to lose a share on it, as happened last year. In addition, the plant near Kaluga will soon work, and although C5 is unlikely to be produced there, this model is the flagship of the company and largely forms the image of the brand. Until recently, the French brand was associated in the minds of most Russians with more compact machines. Whether these ideas will change with the advent of the new chain in the fact of the question. Unique. Nearly
In recent years, Citroen has been creating cars whose appearance is delighted with some, others are perplexed, but everyone converges in the same car with a double chevron on the hood is very unusual. Avangardism, as a style, overshadows everything else in their appearance and interior decoration, including generic features. As a matter of fact, the avant -garde decisions are the new design tradition of Citroen. It is enough to look at C4 to find this confirmation. And this approach undoubtedly finds his admirers. Surely they will have a new C5.
The French themselves call C5 a work monumental. The point here, of course, is not only in size, but they are also important. In terms of dimensions, this car is inferior to only 45 mm to the new Ford Mondeo sedan. Compared to his predecessor, he added 34 mm in length, the width increased by 80 mm, but the height decreased by 17 mm. Which, undoubtedly, added speakers to the silhouette, without depriving it of solidity. Large air intakes in front, expressive headlights of irregular shape, wide wheel arches and, finally, a 2815 mm wheelbase, which implies the scope inside everything really monumental. And everything is not at all like embodied in Peugeot 407, although they are built on the same platform.
But for all its uniqueness, I personally discouraged me somewhat discouraged by the stern. I saw very similar lanterns and trunk lid, sorry, on BMW cars. I find fault? Maybe, but I do not impose my opinion, notice.
Hello, future!
The shock is what you feel when you first get inside the new Citroen C5. Everything is so unusual here that I, accustomed to novelty and very welcomed various kinds of innovations, took a few minutes to just get used to this interior. Having spent some time as if in prostration, unknowingly absorbing sensations, I began to understand the wisdom of the interior of C5.
The instrument shield, as if encircling the driver, is striking in the eye. The main place in it is a speedometer, in the center of which a color monitor is located. You can bring anything from the picture of the navigation system to it, to the numbers reflecting the condition of individual car units. On the sides of the tachometer and another well with indicators of the fuel level and the temperature of the power unit. Moreover, all the arrows go along the upper rim with a scale, and not pinned to the center of the device. Along the edges of this very unusual shield, two ventilation deflectors and several buttons responsible for additional functions, such as a stabilization system or parking sensors. But the crown of creation is, of course, a steering wheel with a motionless central hub. It has a whole package of buttons, keys and rotating levers. With their help, you can manage, it seems, by all on -board systems with the exception of the climatic installation. I note that it seems not difficult to understand the purpose of each key until you go into specifics, such as the introduction of an appointment point into the navigation system. Fortunately, this can also be done with the help of buttons on the radio that I was in a fairly familiar place in the central console.
In other words, in order to master all the wisdom of electronic systems, it will not be worthwhile to study the time to operate time. My colleague and I, for example, could not understand how to make the navigation system speak, duplicating visual readings on the screen with the corresponding sound teams. Yes, and the system is knocked down quite often, now and then offering, instead of a banal turn, to drive extra five kilometers to the next circular interchange. In addition, the color monitor, in the center of the torpedo, for some reason, is slightly deployed from the driver, as if he did not need to look there.
Well, and the stationary hub of the steering wheel itself, in my opinion, the solution is quite controversial. Not only is it difficult to understand what corner the steering wheel is turned on, but even with active steering, her hub, now and then you touch. In a word, in pursuit of unusual decisions, the creators clearly forgot about such a thing as friendliness in relation to the future owner. This is expressed in some purely ergonomic miscalculations. For example, an attempt to reach the glove compartment from the driver’s place resembles an acrobatic study, a pen is so far and low. And with the placement of small luggles, certain difficulties arise. The pockets in the doorway are not large, the glove compartment is very small. There is also a department under the central armrest in which we did not immediately find a cup holder. Only now, if you insert a half -liter bottle of water into it, the armrest will no longer close. And the front seats? Representatives of the company unanimously claimed that they made them as comfortable and comfortable as possible, and in the top versions were endowed with all possible electrical adjustments, including the one that allows you to change the bend of the back in the shoulder zone and the degree, as well as the height of the lumbar backup. Moreover, the seat has very good lateral support and pleases with softness. As an option, even massage is offered. But I spent a lot of time to search for convenient landing, despite the fact that the steering column is adjusted both in height and in departure. And it’s funny: sitting behind the wheel of a simpler modification, without a leather salon, with standard chairs and mechanical adjustments, I did not note any problems with shrinkage. True, another difficulty arose too great the blockage of the seat pillows, although the profile of the back was really very successful.
But I would be unfair if I had not noted the style of the interior as a whole. The dark top, light bottom, finishing materials of very good quality and the exact fitting of all parts all indicates the sophistication of the interior. It's nice that there is enough space behind. The luggage compartment of the sedan is 439 liters. In addition, the opening is large, and the ability to fold the backs of the seats, both entirely and in parts, solves the problem of transporting large luggage. However, the station wagon is even more suitable for this. Not only is it 50 mm longer in overall sizes, but also the trunk is one of the largest in the classroom. Its volume changes from 505 to 1462 liters. In addition, the baggage compartment door is equipped with an electric drive, and the height that it will open can be limited by simply stopping the process at the right time. The computer will remember this position, and henceforth will not raise the lid to a larger height. Only now, to check the running qualities of the station wagons, we were not offered, which, however, allowed us to thoroughly test the sedan. With hydraulics and without
A distinctive feature of the Citroen brand has always been the active use of hydraulic suspension. The company's experience has a rather great application, it has more than a dozen years, but for the first time for a car of this class, the French company offered a regular spring system. This was done in order to attract new customers whom the lack of familiar springs and shock absorbers simply scares. I happened to try both versions, and I can say that the differences are evident.
Let's start with the most powerful gasoline 3.0-liter C5 modification, equipped with hydraulics. Let me remind you that in this car, instead of the usual springs and shock absorbers, hydropneumatic elements are installed. What gives him an indisputable advantage with the opportunity to change the clearance. Unfortunately, the company does not give accurate data on the value of the adjustable road clearance, but some of the colleagues were not too lazy to take the ruler with them, after which it was established that in the lowest position the road clearance is about 10 cm, and in the highest almost 22 cm. Of course, this does not make the front -wheel drive car an SUV, but in Russian conditions the ability to raise a body above the ground, for example, to move across the curb stone, does not seem superfluous. But how does the system affect the running qualities?
Alas, but without flaws were not. Firstly, it is worth moving off the asphalt, as the pits respond with rather booby knocks, which does not please. Secondly, longitudinal buildup is noticeable, and the feeling of the machine is somewhat lubricated, not too transparent. In addition, the steering is not particularly burdened with feedback and has a very weak reactive effort. Therefore, with an active assault on the bends, you do not always clearly understand the limit of the adhesive properties of tires and suspensions. But with a straightforward movement, especially at high speeds, the car conquers the smoothness of the stroke and, most importantly, stability. In addition, you can activate the sports regime with simple pressing the corresponding button on the central tunnel. In this case, the body rolls will almost completely disappear, although the pits and bumps of the canvas will become more tangible. But what about the usual scheme? C5 with conventional springs and shock absorbers introduced himself as a machine more understandable and predicted. In such versions, the front wheel track is wider per 1 mm, and the rear is 2 mm. There is also the reverse side of the medal of large rolls of the body in virabs and for some reason less stability, especially at high speed.
Invariably, one pronounced insufficient rotation, which manifests itself in the fact that in almost any critical situation C5 begins to turn his nose from a turn, a clearly expressed demolition of the front axis outside the turn of the turn is traced. Such settings make the car very safe, because they practically forgive mistakes to an inexperienced driver. After all, even with a sharp discharge of gas in the turn of the food, he is not going to go into skids. In addition, the C5 behavior is monitored by the stabilization system. Moreover, it works only in frankly dangerous situations.
Powerful brakes also bring a significant role in ensuring active safety. Let small difficulties arise with a clear dosing of the effort on the pedal, especially on versions with the automatic transmission, but this does not affect the effectiveness and power of slowdown. Moreover, this applies to all versions of C5.
I want a diesel
As already noted, we began with the most powerful gasoline modification, under the hood of which the PSA Peugeot Citroen 3.0-liter V-shaped 6-cylinder engine is installed well-known from various models of the concern. True, it was slightly modified, which made it possible to slightly increase the power to 215 hp. This engine is aggregated exclusively with a 6-speed automatic gearbox, which not only has a sports mode, but is also able to adapt to driving style. It is worth a couple of times to tap the accelerator pedal, how the electronics will understand the driver's desire and almost at every step will twist the engine to the limit revolutions. Only now a small downtime of gas pedal is upset. It seems very soft, and does not always clearly respond to the driver’s actions, in any case, it seems. However, this is a trifle that you quickly get used to. In addition, there are no complaints about the dynamics of the 3.0-liter version. The car accelerates, albeit without much aggression, but still very intensively. True, at high speeds, the sound of a power unit begins to penetrate the salon, but this is more likely a positive excellent sound insulation C5 and an aerodynamics almost brought to the ideal sometimes lead to the fact that a sense of speed simply disappears. Either you go 60 km/h, or 120 there is no particular difference. Moreover, excellent soundproofing is a characteristic feature of all modifications C5, including diesel.
It was she who liked it the most. It seems that the power is not so great only 138 hp, however, due to a large torque of 320 nm, which is 30 Nm more than that of gasoline V6, the dynamics pleases. Or maybe the whole point is that this version was aggregated with a 6-speed manual transmission? Perhaps, since the gear rates are selected very competently, and the clutch pedal is very informative. And the only complaint for her is that the μP lever is eliminated, which is why I got to the fourth a couple of times from the first gear. But soon you get used to it, and stop mistaken. Surprisingly, the diesel modification seemed even more quiet compared to gasoline versions. Apparently, the engineers carried out considerable work on sound insulation of the motor compartment and minimizing vibrations, which led to this result. And I mentioned such versions about a diesel engine will be available in Russia. Although it is not yet known for sure which of the four engines working on diesel fuel will reach Russia, I hope that everyone will reach.
And finally, the 2.0-liter gasoline version happened to try out. I remember that this engine, aggregated with a 4-speed automatic transmission, was the greatest demand in our country. Well, there are practically no changes. This version is suitable for drivers calmly, since the motor has a very flat thrust in the entire speed range, and since the model has become heavier than its predecessor, you should not expect special dynamics from it. Yes, and constructively, clearly outdated machine does not please. He is thoughtful, each switch, especially at high speeds, is well felt.
We are waiting for the summer
So will Citroen get a second generation of C5 to fix business in the Russian market? Personally, I can’t do an unambiguous forecast. Yes, the new Citroen C5 is well cut and very comfortable. And a wide selection of versions and configurations enhances its market position. But a lot, as we understand, will depend on the price that has not yet been determined. Only the initial cost of the model in France, where sales have already started from 21,500 euros, can serve as a certain landmark.
However, I am still sure that the new C5 will not go unnoticed in Russia.
Andrey Osipov
Lisbon Moscow
Photo Citroen
