CITROEN C5 Why didn't the X7 sell?

[Berridale]

If you want the cup holder to better all, Alfa 147.
Told to me by my young daughter.
Probably the most critical part of the Alfa interior design "mission".
Perfect.

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[tasie C5]

As a C5 replacement I wonder if anyone has seen the reviews on the DS7. This car seems to fill all the attributes of the C5 (comfort, quietness etc.) and some more. Not coming here though?

[JBN]

As a C5 replacement I wonder if anyone has seen the reviews on the DS7. This car seems to fill all the attributes of the C5 (comfort, quietness etc.) and some more. Not coming here though?

I don't think anyone likes their comfort to the extent that they will change countries for it.

John

[David Cavanagh]

From our view about the X7, I was helping a friend buy a new car when they came out. She had a S1 C5 since nearly new and it was up to 270,000 and she'd had a good run but things were starting to play up.

We looked and drove them all, even the German stuff. The C5 was her car of choice because she had one thought the new one without hydraulics drove like a Peugeot. Why not buy the Pug and have the luxury of more service dealers and (slighty) better resale was her thoughts. Anyway she ended up with a Renault Lattitude because she thought it felt nicer than all of them and Renault gave her a better deal.

But in her mind the new C5 didn't drive as nice as her old one, nice compared to anything German but not for a big Citroen, I'm sure that if it did she wouldn't have looked at the others.

[JBN]

Every time I pull the bathplug and hear the water gurgling out, I think of Citroen. What an amazing car company it was until Peugeot tried to run (ruin) it. At least I still have a 2CV to remind myself of how lateral Citroen was, as I guess some Pug fanatics will still have a Peugeot bicycle for the same reason.

John

[David Cavanagh]

Every time I pull the bathplug and hear the water gurgling out, I think of Citroen. What an amazing car company it was until Peugeot tried to run (ruin) it. At least I still have a 2CV to remind myself of how lateral Citroen was, as I guess some Pug fanatics will still have a Peugeot bicycle for the same reason.

John

I know people who still have Peugeot salt n pepper shakers.

[shanadoo]

The answer is easy ... They produced the wrong car in the wrong time (just like falcon and commonbore). They are now a fashion symbol.... pretty shithouse as a family car. Take my wifes 407. The car itself is fine. The 6spd manual is great, the suspension is good for a "normal" car. that old 2litre diesel though laggy is great for it's time..... But gee's .... the car is shithouse.

Lets look at a DS and CX for example. The wagons are vast ... absolutely enormous. They are true 7 seaters. The seating position is excellent. The seats are brilliant. The dyanmics of the cars are world beating. Now lets move onto to the 407 ... It suffers the same issues as most modern cars.

The boot .... it's shithouse, it's not very big, the opening is weirdly shaped and small.... The inside, it's shithouse.... the seats are rock hard.... there is bugger all leg room in the back ... I'm only a little guy, I don't fit in the back unless I sit with my head on an angle. The front seats ... there shit, there rock hard... For an hour or so I find them quite good ... then they get REALLY uncomforable really fast. I'm a tiny guy, but I don't fit in the front ... my head is against the roof unless I have the seat layed back ( sadly I'm not a moron that drives along with the seat laying down and a cap on arse about to "look cool").

You see, "fashion" says it must be "sleek and layed back"... so even though the car is very big on the outside, it is very small on the inside, and there is no head room. It must also sit "low" as that is the fashion. Which means we are forever smashing it's belly, nose and tail itno the ground.... There is no plastic left under it to smash off (for a long time) so you just let it crash into the ground. If you think I'm exagerting .... My shitty old 25+ year old 4wd has become the car we go everywhere in ... the 407 is just to small and squeezy and uncomfortable. A few days back we drove from Coffs Harbour over to byron bay .... The roads are so bad my wife actually said at one point "gee's we couldn't drive my car down these roads"). Just like a proper car (eg: CX or DS) The shitty old 4wd just ploughs over anything though, so not such a problem.

When the 407 is replaced .... we are going to have to replace it with a pretend wank tank ... ie: a crappy pretend 4wd like every other middle aged women drives. The reason is .. the modern sedans are crap. The pretend 4wds are still "box shaped" so are usable. (ignoring the hairdesser cars like range rover evogues obviously). An X7 wouldn't even be considered. Why buy a large car that is tiny on the inside just so it "looks fashionable"

seeya,
Shane L.

Geez Shane I wish you wouldn't hold back just tell us like it is, we won't be offended. Seriously though I wholeheartedly agree. Modern junk made for the lipstick and latte set.
My daughter just bought a new Honda HRV. The leg room inside is unbelievable [in that I mean heaps of], as is all the new range of Hondas including the small Civic, don't know how they achieve it. However with seats like blocks of concrete, fold down rear ones which sit absolutely flat if you need to carry big sheets of glass or that Xmas footy club booze supply. That's a plus. However it's got rear belts which constantly try to cut your throat along with a noisy rough ride in the rear. Sort of reminds me of my old C5.
So nothing better achieved from Honda.
Now while its got a small boot for its size, it's considered adequate in the trade where a pram wheel spare is the norm. Which is better than having to rely on a sole tin of Finileak in case of a blowout I suppose. But those pockets and compartments for putting compartment type stuff in are everywhere. The main one on the rear of the console has in my opinion been especially designed in diam and height to snugly fit round a XXXX stubbie, so at least the rear passenger has some medication handy to sooth his battered bones and ease the irritating rash on his neck.
Now I hope she doesn't read this but after a couple of trips up and down the coast, my assessment of the machine boils down to the rear stubbie holder. This works fine and the huge leg room is nice for those with a huge leg, the rear camera is good and the stubbie holder works fine. I'll have to take it for a drive one day, maybe, might do. But in the meantime I prefer the middle back seat with a towel around my neck. Cheers Tony.

[seasink]

Have you blokes ever driven a C5 X7? I own one, my family own others and I can't recognise it from some of these comments.

Ride is excellent, silence is delightful and headroom is adequate. Unlike Shane I am a big [email protected]#$ and I fit. So does my son who is an exceedingly big [email protected]#. Nobody I have driven who has a Holden or German car has ever not commented favourably. They practically drive themselves on the open road.

Its sales at the time reflected the disinterest of the distributor. Nothing has changed.

[David Cavanagh]

Have you blokes ever driven a C5 X7? I own one, my family own others and I can't recognise it from some of these comments.

Ride is excellent, silence is delightful and headroom is adequate. Unlike Shane I am a big [email protected]#$ and I fit. So does my son who is an exceedingly big [email protected]#. Nobody I have driven who has a Holden or German car has ever not commented favourably. They practically drive themselves on the open road.

Its sales at the time reflected the disinterest of the distributor. Nothing has changed.

I've driven an X7. I ask you. Have you driven it's French rivals.

Big Cits use to be something special, compare a CX to a 505 or R25. Even a Xantia to 406. But an X7 to a 407 there isn't much in it.

I remember when the C5 came out, a customer of mine bought a V6 exclusive for his wife and a big Merc for himself. The MB was $250,000 and the C5 $80,000 and he said that if it was possible to blind fold someone and drive both cars and guess which was worth 1/4 million dollars they wouldn't pick the Mercedes.

These days, do the same test between a X7, 407 and Lattitude and see if you can tell the difference.

[harrisson_citroen]

You must mean an XM which was $80K, but the C5 never sold for $80K

[David Cavanagh]

You must mean an XM which was $80K, but the C5 never sold for $80K

I can't remember exactly but it was up there, definately C5 about 2002, I'm sure it was in the 70's. Maybe they saw him coming I don't know but I remember him telling me it was 70 something

[seasink]

I haven't driven the big Renault, though I have driven the Nissan. The steel sprung C5 rides much like the 407 and 508, unsurprisingly, but the hydraulic C5 is a step up from that. The C5 seats are better too.

The Mercs on the other hand leave me wondering why people pay so much extra.

[robmac]

The Mercs on the other hand leave me wondering why people pay so much extra.

Because of the status of driving a Mercedes Benz I would imagine.

[JBN]

Most Merc drivers provide their own padding. Skinny bastards like French seating and comfort better.

John

[JohnW]

I know people who still have Peugeot salt n pepper shakers.

Grinders actually. They are still in the shops.

[seasink]

Around my neck of the woods a Merc signifies a recent immigrant from east Asia, without reference to body padding. Probably a form of Robmac's theory.

[robmac]

Gee I'm glad I don't live where you do.

I would be most upset pretending to be able to predict ethnicity by the vehicle a person drives.

[turnbull151]

Some prefer the sportier set ups of the German cars https://www.caradvice.com.au/owner-r...di-l-e-review/ An aversion to speeding fines makes me opt for comfort these days

[tasie C5]

I agree with turnbul151. Most testers I believe go to the test with a negative outlook.

[driven]

Suppose I just have to wait for the BMW X7

https://www.carsguide.com.au/car-new...spy-pics-54793

[seasink]

Most testers I believe go to the test with a negative outlook.

Indeed. "French electrics" gets to me. If these blokes ever opened bonnets they'd see very familiar German stuff.

[dayofthejackal]

Living in Sydney you are surrounded by a large number of very expensive German cars : Audis, BMWs and Mercedes. There is a lot of money but little imagination. People really aren't interested in ( interesting ) cars. some say that modern cars are designed by accountants not engineers. The priorities are comfort , status , brand image and "factory " servicing at what ever price. The C5 ( of which I drive one ) is realistically a watered down version of Citroen's historic hydro-pneumatic set-up that probably reached its peak with the DS BVH where everything was hydraulic ( c/w C5 separate brake fluid reservoir) . However it still retains enough individuality to be interesting. Its just that the market doesn't contain enough interested buyers.

[robmac]

Living in Sydney you are surrounded by a large number of very expensive German cars : Audis, BMWs and Mercedes. There is a lot of money but little imagination. People really aren't interested in ( interesting ) cars. some say that modern cars are designed by accountants not engineers. The priorities are comfort , status , brand image and "factory " servicing at what ever price. The C5 ( of which I drive one ) is realistically a watered down version of Citroen's historic hydro-pneumatic set-up that probably reached its peak with the DS BVH where everything was hydraulic ( c/w C5 separate brake fluid reservoir) . However it still retains enough individuality to be interesting. Its just that the market doesn't contain enough interested buyers.

So true, modern car owners are too busy earning the money to pay for their "executive car".

The decision is often made based on resale value, likely maintenance costs and ease of service. And the all important aspect of what others think.

Modern executive car owners don't have imagination, nor are they enthusiasts of any single brand. They choose a vehicle based on the accepted norm of their peer group.

EDIT: If Citroen, had followed path that Lexus pursued, they might now be successful in the luxury car market.

Marketing and brand loyalty is everything in the luxury car market.

[driven]

Indeed. "French electrics" gets to me. If these blokes ever opened bonnets they'd see very familiar German stuff.

Those German electrics probably come from China or Korea as Renault Clio stuff does

[Dijon16]

After more than 2 years with my C5 X7 I think it's great - esp on the highway where it returns under 5 with sensible driving.

But that does not stop it from being a luxobarge, and don't get me started on the steering. To illustrate the point, I put a 13yo behind the wheel (on private property) with no previous driving experience, hence nothing to compare it to. First words were - the steering feels funny!

Would I get another? Probably not. Trouble is, the choice of Peugeots is even worse.