Citroen C6 test drive since 2006 hatchback

All photos of Citroen C6 since 2006

"Citroen" goes to increase

The appeal to the roots that once created the glory of the brand, multiplied by advanced technical solutions, can be considered an ideal formula for success for the new model. Many people know about it, but not everyone manages to implement the formula. It is even more difficult to do this in the class of prestigious cars. Will Citroen-s6 become pleasant exception?

Mark Pinson.
Designer responsible for the promising projects of Citroen
The main thing in work on the C6 project was ultimately Sitroen, and not another car. Therefore, we carefully studied the legacy of the brand in this segment, the experience of other manufacturers. We especially highlighted large wheels and large base and engine volume. The most difficult thing was to reconcile the sedan and hatchback: after all, the luxury class is entirely sedans, but Citroen does not have three -bob bodies. This created the greatest difficulty for us. The decision arose by itself. We cut off the roof line a little earlier, simulating the lid of the trunk, and remained true to the best traditions of Citroen.
Multipliers and work

When the budget ceases to be decisive in choosing a car, other factors, for example, a noble origin, enter the game. Citroen is rich in traditions only to guess which of the past models inspired the designers more: CX or SM, born during the period when Citroen owned Italian Mazerati? The Citroenovites themselves claim the sixth to be redeaned from the legendary DS. But even without genealogical analogies of style and nobility, C6 is enough.
Technical components of success formulas improved the third -generation hydrocarbonate suspension, which has proven itself on the C5 model, plus the latest diesel engine. And of course, as Sitroen is in charge, a lot of pleasant and necessary little things.
More than six months have passed from the debut on the Geneva salon last spring before meeting with a living car. During this time, C6 liked France President Jacques Shirak, who ordered two cars in the garage at once and even before the start of official sales appeared in the six at solemn ceremonies. This resulted in a work.
In a place of honor

The gloomy December day, in the morning it is raining. The organizers of the test drive calm the previous group of journalists France met with snow.
But there is no thin one without good: bad weather outside the window only emphasizes the warmth and comfort of the salon. It is already in it (now I have every right to such an epithet) can be accommodated from behind, no less comfortable driving. Spatial adjustments of the seat and steering wheel allow you to find a convenient position for a person of any complexion. Electric seat, but manual adjustment of the steering wheel does not correspond to the car class.
A magnificent circular review opens from the driver's seat. It is especially pleasant to observe what is happening from behind, through the posterior concave jet glass. I remember that Citroen-CX was concaved in it. But a long hood is not visible: you can only guess where the front bumper line passes. Confidence for the driver is added to parking sensors: they are installed both in the front and backpers.
I got, one might say, a rare C6 with a three -liter gasoline engine of 215 hp. The proportion of such machines will be about 20% all the rest of the diesel engines, superpolar in Europe. For comparison: diesel engine C6 with a volume of 2.7 liters develops 208 hp. And with better accelerated dynamics, it provides the same maximum speed of 230 km/h, being a quarter more economically than the opponent.
Three -liter gasoline engines are also put on expensive versions of C5, Peugeot 407 and Peugeot 607. The engine is not new, but solid and painful. In combination with a six -speed automatic, a good working power unit turned out.
MAGIC CARPET

From the first kilometers you note the reference smoothness of the course. The suspension has always been one of the strongest sides of the brand. For his top model, Citroen was especially fraught with. In addition to the modes, comfort and sport, one of which can be selected by pressing the keys behind the gear selector, the on -board computer sets the suspension setting appropriate to the road situation.
According to an even, without steep turns of the motorway, the car seems to soar over the road. Skayhuk. The body took the sky as a reference point, and the suspension elements work as if the wheel point was not on the ground, but at some constant distance above it, maintaining the parallelity of the surface of the road. Hence the sensation of a carpet-emblem, but it comes at speeds close to a hundred.
On the road of a district scale, turning, circular movement. What a carpet there is! C6 descends from heaven to earth, and the suspension goes into the road mode (Roadhook literally tied to the road). The support point on the ground, the elastic elements monitor the irregularities and extinguish vibrations. The setting of each wheel is adjusted with a frequency of 2.5 milliseconds or 400 times per second.

Therefore, the descent and rise of the C6 aircraft occurs completely imperceptibly and naturally. In total, the suspension has 16 fixed settings in accordance with road conditions.
The working elements of the hydropneumatic suspension are seven spheres of one of the wheels. Plus additional: one for the front suspension and two for the rear. Having received the command, they reduce the clearance of the machine at speeds over 110 km/h, and also maintain the body parallel to the road at a given height, regardless of the number of passengers and baggage.
The S6 suspension also has extreme work algorithms, for example, when moving a lying policeman or potholes on the road. The computer manages to issue an impulse to the elastic elements in order to extinguish the energy of the blow as much as possible. Special suspension settings facilitate the paving stones and other coatings that provoke the bouncer of the wheel.
There were no lying policemen on my way. There were no road pits in France as one of the best in Europe. But on the paving stones in the Champs Elysees and in front of the palace of the disabled, it was possible to ride as a passenger. It is quite comfortable, although it was not possible to get rid of vibrations completely!
Flight safety

The Sitroen six entered the constellation of the safest cars: five stars at the EURONCAP Crash test say a lot.
C6 also demonstrates a careful attitude to pedestrians: he was the first in Europe for this the highest score. In case of contact of a pedestrian and bumper, the sensors give a signal to pyrotechnic cartridges that toss the hood of 65 mm to soften the head of the head against the most rigid part of the car engine.
The safety of the machine increases thanks to other devices. The indications of the speedometer and navigator projected onto the windshield do not distract the driver from the road. The signaling device of the involuntary shift of the lane gives a vibration signal to the driver’s chair, if the turnover was not turned on during the maneuver. Automatic anti -wing on the trunk lid improves aerodynamics and stability on the road. I myself saw how it advanced 70 km/h and leaned stronger at a speed of 130.
The manual brake at C6 received an electric drive. Pressing the button and the handbrake will be tightened exactly so that the car retains immobility on the slopes of different steepness.
Finally, controlled headlights: they control the light flow depending on the position of the body, and also shine towards the turn. This innovation first appeared on Citroen-DS in 1967. Then the headlights had a mechanical drive. Now xenon is managed by electronics.
It seems that on Citroen they prepared well for the transition to the class of prestigious cars. According to history, drawing and physics, I would put the sixth to the sixth, in physical education.