C5 Estate or Laguna Estate?

This is the Forum for all your Citroen Technical Questions, Problems or Advice.

Moderator: RichardW

Post Reply
short_frank
Posts: 12
Joined: 13 Feb 2004, 09:20
Location: Ireland
My Cars:

C5 Estate or Laguna Estate?

Post by short_frank »

I am a Xantia owner but after a new baby need more room and I am torn between investing in a couple of years old C5 estate or Laguna Estate. They both seem to have all I need but I would like help from owners of these cars as to the good and bad points. All opinions would be most welcome.
406 V6
Posts: 593
Joined: 02 Sep 2004, 01:52
Location: Lisboa, Portugal
My Cars:

Post by 406 V6 »

Having a C5, all i can say is good things. Very spacious, one can fit practically 2 washing machines in the trunk without leaning the seats, superb ride comfort superior to the Laguna, bigger room inside, and so on...
The only thing wrong i find in my C5 is for some airbag and immobilizer problems, but i think that happens when i turn on the radio/subwoofer before turning over the key[:D)
Also, i don't like the new fascia of the radio/air con. squares don't match with circles...
My 2 euro cents[:)]
Thunderbird

Post by Thunderbird »

<b>C5 Advantages</b>
- More space.
- Self-leveling suspension, which is wonderful on a break. I believe besides Citroen (with the C5), only expensive brands (like Mercedes) use self-levelling in their breaks.
- Ride comfort.
<b>Laguna Advantages</b>
- Classic and concensual style.
- Superb braking.
- Better handling.
- Passive security.
hswift
Posts: 51
Joined: 17 Jul 2002, 17:31
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by hswift »

Don't know anything about the Laguna, but I bought my 0252 2.2 HDI SX estate in September 03 with 10K miles on the clock.
It's:
huge
comfortable
powerful
reasonably economical at 42-46 mpg
never let me down in the further 40K miles I've put on it
capable of cruising all day
But....
the tailgate window has been replaced twice to my knowledge
the trafficmaster has failed
the rear axle has been rebuilt
it has a leaky rear suspension strut
idles lumpily just after startup
it's not as smooth a ride as you might expect
replacing the particle filter in the next couple of weeks will be expensive
the dealers / authorised repairers don't impress
The warranty runs out in September and I'm not sure how much this vehicle lends itself to DIY. The fact that so much warranty work has been done worries me about what will go wrong when all the cost of putting it right is down to me. OK, it's never let me down, but I do wonder if it's going to be reliable for another 50K and two years, which is how far/long I'd like to keeep it. I'm currently mulling over trading it in for something else - but what? - while it's still got some residual value.
H
jono
Posts: 32
Joined: 17 Jan 2004, 04:44
Location:
My Cars:

Post by jono »

check out Parkers guide road tests and Honest John of the Daily Smellygraph. I seem to recall more potential problems with the Laguna diesel than the C5, enough to put me off the renault.
dillosk8ter
Posts: 217
Joined: 28 Nov 2004, 23:17
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by dillosk8ter »

Looking at Owner Reviews of the C5, www.carsurvay.org, for example the C5 seems to have a pretty dire reliability record and judging from comments on these sites Citroen seem unable to fix things correctly first time, have poor customer care or can't fix some problems at all. If it were me and I decided on C5 I would most likely pay out for proffessional engineers report if I found one I was seriously interested in, check its history throughly and look into warranty (if there is one) and what it covers, duration etc.
tomsheppard
Posts: 1801
Joined: 19 Dec 2002, 14:46
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by tomsheppard »

On my third Citroen Estate. They're brilliant.
and If I could afford a C5,
I WOULD BUY THE LAGUNA. It is very much better made, their service department staff have seen a car before and it will probably work without spending most weeks back at the dealer's
Paulmi16
Posts: 167
Joined: 19 Dec 2002, 02:51
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:
x 3

Post by Paulmi16 »

I'd say neither, the Laguna can appallingly unreliable, and the C5 appears to be rather too complex which may be a problem when the car gets older.
Paul.
jeremy
Posts: 3959
Joined: 20 Oct 2002, 16:00
Location: Hampshire, UK
My Cars:
x 2

Post by jeremy »

Have a look at this thread - the Top Gear site will provide hours of fun and you will wonder how anyone ever sells a car!
http://www.andyspares.com/discussionfor ... IC_ID=8574
Jeremy
BX2XM4
Posts: 1
Joined: 10 May 2005, 19:35
Location:
My Cars:

Post by BX2XM4 »

Have run BX's and XM's since '87 and had all the regular repairs to do - some at the roadside - still love them and have just bought another XM for the wife - she wouldn't drive anything else now. But my daily drive for the last 4 years has been the Laguna Sport Hatch - first a petrol and, since June last year, a 2.2 diesel turbo. Don't believe all you hear about them being unreliable - mine has not missed a beat in 30k miles. Service is every 18k and costs £250 and it goes like a train on heat! It's not as big as a C5 and the ride is not so refined, but it got a 5 star crash rating and is littered with air bags. Dealers - that's another issue - find yourself a good mechanic and follow him until the warranty expires - then trust no-one!! Tough choice because they are so different but neither is a bad car.
adamskibx
Posts: 250
Joined: 29 Nov 2004, 01:46
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by adamskibx »

A friend of mines dad drives an old shape Laguna- He's had it a long time and its now done 175,000 miles (1.8 petrol) its on original engine and clutch an it looks mint. He hardly has to worry about it. The only thing that had to be replaced were the rear springs at 160,000 miles approx. As for the new Laguna's, there arent many cars that look that good these days- some of the recent Alfa's have been as good looking but I cant think of anything else that comes close (maybee the C4). Id get the Laguna unless your after a bit of Citroen madness!
jeremy
Posts: 3959
Joined: 20 Oct 2002, 16:00
Location: Hampshire, UK
My Cars:
x 2

Post by jeremy »

How big is the Laguna estate really - I say that because the old Renault 21 savanna was large (BX sized but much longer), and the first Laguna looked about the same size but the current Laguna may well have sacrificed size for style which will suit some people but does it suit you?
My own comment as a former renault 21 owner was that the thing did us well and provided reasonably comfortable transport for 6 years at minimal expense. The engine (1721 petrol) seemed happy to run without water or oil (just as well as I've never has a car that would drop its water as readily as it did) and wasn't very thirsty. However it suffered from one of my pet hates which is a broken legged feel to the front suspension which allows sharp bumps to transmit straight through to the shell. At the time (1996) I had a temporary job unloading new Lagunas from ships and they all felt the same so came off my list for future acqisiton.
My own comment is that my TD BX Estate (megamileage) feels much heavier and more solid that the 1986 Renault 21.
I don't know how much they have improved since then.
jeremy
Post Reply