French Car Forum

Hi all,

Thought I'd pop here and introduce myself as I'm fast becoming a bit of a frenchie lover.

For years I subscribed to the 'Once you go Jap you never go back' mantra but after a few cars I bought ended up with costly repairs I rethought things and started buying VAG vehicles cos obviously, you never buy french cars, they just break.

All that said I always had great faith in their engines, particularly the diesels right from the old 305 lumps through the 1.9s and HDi and DCi lumps of recent times.

Then I took the plunge and bought a few motors with various electrical issues and have learnt about window regulators and crank pulleys. So current french car history includes a 1.4 2007 Megane, a 2008 C4 VTR+, a 2006 C5 2.0HDi and the most recent 2001 2.2HDi C5 estate which I've been very impressed with. You just get so much car for the money these days and whilst bits of trim falling off in your hands is annoying they always look stylish and drive excellently. Although my estate is for sale at the mo, I know I will be buying french again in the future so thought this was the place to join.

Anyways, enough from me.....look forward to conversing with you all down the line.

Steve

Excellent Steve A very warm welcome

Hi Steve

Welcome to the forum. I have run hydropnumatic Citroens for about 30 years but they have gradually become less Citroen like, but I will say that the 2.0. 8 valve Hdi is probably the best engine they have ever made, or possibly anyone has. I have a C5 with one and also a 406 and I must admit I prefer driving the 406, the handling, visibility and serviceability are so much better, the ride is not as good as the C5 but certainly better than most modern cars.

Peter

Not been round long enough to fully see but early indication is that people prefer the 2.0 HDi lump to the 2.2? Is it just reliability?

Many reasons Steve... the 2.2 does have a few 'issues'... I'm sure others will explain!

I have a 2.0Hdi Xantia. It's only got 207k on it (just a baby), smooth, faultless, economical and a joy to drive. Of course you can't say any of that to the owner of a German car as they make the best engines in the whole wide universe , but having driven a few German cars I'll stick with the Froggy 8v Hdi - so much more smooth and refined.

Peter.N. wrote:but I will say that the 2.0. 8 valve Hdi is probably the best engine they have ever made, or possibly anyone has.

Although I don't necessarily disagree with you, the HDi engine was brought out when diesels were in vogue, whereas the 1.9td was brought out when diesels were dirty, filthy and agricultural in their nature, and imo therefore a bigger leap in diesel technology.

I had a c5 2.2 hdi, it was one of the best cars I have ever owned. I had no reliability issues at all, was commuting nearly 100 miles a day. I thought it was ok for economy for the size of the car, returned 40 to 42 mpg. I did list of miles in it, and also towed a caravan the length and breadth of Britain. I then had a later 2.0 16v 138 which I found much the same as the 2.2, and considering what others say about the economy of the 2.0 I was disappointed that I did not really get much more mpg than the 2.2. But then it got different usage, by that time I didn't have a long commute, and a lot of my mileage was short local stuff and it was never warmed up properly. I did not have it long, it unfortunately bounced off a crash barrier at 50 mph and was written off. It is now repaired but not mine now. So my verdict is c5 diesel, superb car whichever engine is in it, and it's quite likely that I will have another in the future.

Eddie Nuff wrote:

Peter.N. wrote:but I will say that the 2.0. 8 valve Hdi is probably the best engine they have ever made, or possibly anyone has.

Although I don't necessarily disagree with you, the HDi engine was brought out when diesels were in vogue, whereas the 1.9td was brought out when diesels were dirty, filthy and agricultural in their nature, and imo therefore a bigger leap in diesel technology.

I would agree entirely, in fact the 2.1 IDI was smoother than the Hdi and almost as economical but the Hdi wins on durability, although the XUD was capable of high mileages, I had two with nearly 300k on them but the head gaskets only usually lasted for about 150k. My 406 has done 243k on the original gasket, clutch and DMF and I have seen a number for sale with well over 300k, in fact one or two with over 400k, and of course its quieter.

Peter