Citroen C5 1.6 diesel - experiences/advice.

orlao

Hi,

I've decided that it is finally time to replace my 03 C5 estate as it's now hit 170k and is no longer as reliable as it was.....

I was bored yesterday so had a look online to see what is available (I do want another C5, I'm odd I know ) and there and there are loads of 1.6l diesel and autos for sale but none close enough to home to just pop down for a quick test drive to see what they're like.

So, anybody who's driven either a 1.6 C5 or an auto (or both ) what are they like compared to the 2l? In regards to fuel economy, power etc.

I drive about 80 miles a day, a mixture of motorway, city and suburban traffic and at least one 200 mile motorway trip a month.

TIA

harveybobbles

The 1.6 is pretty nice as it's 110bhp and probably just as fast and more economical as the old 2.0hdi lump. Not sure what the auto is like, but I imagine it's very waft-a-matic!

gilbert_and_sullivan

New model C5 you are looking at now presumably?

Certainly a good enough engine, might not have quite the stall speed lugging ability of the 2.0 litre but certainly well up to the task.

Check it's big enough for you regarding interior space.

orlao

I'm looking at 2006/7 cars - sadly funds don't stretch to anything newer!

bigjl

The only issue I would have with the 1.6HDi rather than the 2.0HDi would be the relative lack of torque, it may have 110 bhp, but would almost certainly have less torque, would this mean you would have to drive it that bit harder which may affect fuel consumption.

I think that any diesel that needs to be revved like a petrol engine misses the point of driving a diesel, I can drive my Mondeo for days without going over 2000rpm more than once when a quick overtake was needed, my wife has a 1.5 DCi Clio, which in 68bhp form needs to be revved a bit to make progress, though it will happily cruise along at a whisker over 1000rpm, it is however a year older than my Mondeo but over 100k miles younger.

The French always seem very good at diesels, always have been since the days of the XUD engine and the old Renault 1.9 diesel, especially in nippy turbo intercooled form in the 19 RTDT from 93/94. So with this in mind I would think that even though it might not be as "meaty" as a 2.0HDi it will probably be more than up to the job, but I can't recommend an Automatic Citroen, possibly unfairly, but I can't forget the Xantia Auto, and any other car with that gearbox, what a pig, though it would be a nice drive and at the roght price I would buy one, but recommend one, nope, my conscience prevents me from doing so incase it ends in tears. French and Auto, not meant to be in the same sentence, I used to run a Garage and we where always changing gearboxes in Renault 25's.

Flying-High_2

bigjl wrote: »

The only issue I would have with the 1.6HDi rather than the 2.0HDi would be the relative lack of torque, it may have 110 bhp, but would almost certainly have less torque, would this mean you would have to drive it that bit harder which may affect fuel consumption.

I think that any diesel that needs to be revved like a petrol engine misses the point of driving a diesel, I can drive my Mondeo for days without going over 2000rpm more than once when a quick overtake was needed, my wife has a 1.5 DCi Clio, which in 68bhp form needs to be revved a bit to make progress, though it will happily cruise along at a whisker over 1000rpm, it is however a year older than my Mondeo but over 100k miles younger.

The French always seem very good at diesels, always have been since the days of the XUD engine and the old Renault 1.9 diesel, especially in nippy turbo intercooled form in the 19 RTDT from 93/94. So with this in mind I would think that even though it might not be as "meaty" as a 2.0HDi it will probably be more than up to the job, but I can't recommend an Automatic Citroen, possibly unfairly, but I can't forget the Xantia Auto, and any other car with that gearbox, what a pig, though it would be a nice drive and at the roght price I would buy one, but recommend one, nope, my conscience prevents me from doing so incase it ends in tears. French and Auto, not meant to be in the same sentence, I used to run a Garage and we where always changing gearboxes in Renault 25's.

Peak torque used to be around 1800RPM with the 110bhp 2.0HDIs.. Lot further up just passed 3000RPM I believe now with the 1.6HDI and as you've said lower torque aswell...

Not had the pleasure of the 1.6HDIs......

smjxm09

My C5 was the most unreliable car I ever owned. Bought new it had 17 warranty claims in 3 years and kept going wrong after the warranty run out. When sold at 3 years and 3 months old it had only done 22,000 miles. Including the fitting of parts that had to be ordered the car was visiting the garage on average every 6 weeks and I ended up on first name terms with everyone in the service department.

orlao

bigjl wrote: »

The only issue I would have with the 1.6HDi rather than the 2.0HDi would be the relative lack of torque, it may have 110 bhp, but would almost certainly have less torque, would this mean you would have to drive it that bit harder which may affect fuel consumption.

So with this in mind I would think that even though it might not be as "meaty" as a 2.0HDi it will probably be more than up to the job, but I can't recommend an Automatic Citroen, possibly unfairly, but I can't forget the Xantia Auto, and any other car with that gearbox, what a pig, though it would be a nice drive and at the roght price I would buy one, but recommend one, nope, my conscience prevents me from doing so incase it ends in tears. French and Auto, not meant to be in the same sentence, I used to run a Garage and we where always changing gearboxes in Renault 25's.

Both of the above concerned me as it's years since I've driven a car with a small(er) engine or an auto!

Flying-High wrote: »

Peak torque used to be around 1800RPM with the 110bhp 2.0HDIs.. Lot further up just passed 3000RPM I believe now with the 1.6HDI and as you've said lower torque aswell...

Not had the pleasure of the 1.6HDIs......

Thanks for that - I've struggled understanding the technical bits:o

smjxm09 wrote: »

My C5 was the most unreliable car I ever owned. Bought new it had 17 warranty claims in 3 years and kept going wrong after the warranty run out. When sold at 3 years and 3 months old it had only done 22,000 miles. Including the fitting of parts that had to be ordered the car was visiting the garage on average every 6 weeks and I ended up on first name terms with everyone in the service department.

I can understand that, I feel the same about Fiats....but I've had mainly 'ex rep' high mileage diesel xantias and c5s for the past 10 years and have not had any major problems but tbh I don't pay top dollar for them and once they look like they are going to get expensive to run, they go! No room for sentiment if they cost me!:D