Citroen downsizing advice

Lucifer · Post by **Lucifer** » 07 May 2009, 10:40

Hi I need a little advice for downsizing our family car

I used to have a beautiful Xantia 2.0HDi 110BHPdid no less than 45mpg around town and short runs and 50mpg for the longer trips
Last year upgraded from the Xantia to a C5 2.0HDI 110BHP now being a bigger car didn’t expect any better but I never get any more or less than 39mpg wish I suppose isn’t bad but we need to downsize.

Now I’m looking at either a C3 or C4 as the replacement, I now it means leaving the fancy suspension which I will miss but needs as much, I think the C3 could be a little small so the C4 seems the best but which Diesel engine is best the 1.6HDI 110BHP that parkers claim should get a combined economy of 60mpg or should I go with the 2.0Hdi 135BHP which should get 51mpg.

So my question would be what sort of MPG is everyone getting with the C4’s as I’m not convinced that the parkers guides are that accurate considering they say My C5 should be getting 49mpg

Thanks in advance
J

steelcityuk · Post by **steelcityuk** » 07 May 2009, 11:38

Hi,

Before downsizing checkout the servicing costs. Anything with particulate filters will add to your costs. More so if it goes wrong.

My C5 has never been super economical but then I do very short journeys. That said compared to the 16 MPG (on LPG) that my XM did last week it's very good!

Steve.

Lucifer · Post by **Lucifer** » 07 May 2009, 12:44

Valid point regarding the servicing I hadn’t thought about that does anyone Know if the 1.6HDI and 2.0HDI used in the C4 & C3 have particulate filters or the use of Eolys fluid as this could bump the servicing costs up a fair bit.

Forgot to say 99% of my driving is in town so not expecting top MPG from any car but the C5 is hardly nimble in town traffic ( like sailing a cruise ship )

steelcityuk · Post by **steelcityuk** » 07 May 2009, 13:47

Hi,

Be especially careful of any particulate filtering setup if you only do town work, generally speaking this will clog up the filter faster and you may have to take it on longer faster trips just to get it to regenerate.

I think both the engines mentioned are DPF types. Maybe you'd struggle to buy any recent diesel that didn't use a DPF due to the emission requirements.

Steve.

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 07 May 2009, 16:35

All of the more modern bigger HDis have a particulate filter, your 2.0HDI 110 C5 is the only model not to have one. The best one to go for maybe?

The 1.6HDi does have a particulate filter, you get two power outputs 90 & 110, im sure they both have the particulate filter, i know the 110 does anyway.

However, the main problems with particulate filters were on the 2.2HDi in the C5, that is the model with the worst reputation for the filter causing problems. So it might seem that itroen has the filter a bit more sorted out on the newer models.

If you often do motorway driving, high speed and give the car a good work out, then this is when the filter is doing its business. Its when cars are used for sole town driving the filter does not get a chance to get up to temperature and work. This is where the problems start.

Also it needs filling with the fluid every so often, to keep it working.

All of this was something i could do without, so i went for the 2.0HDi 110 without the filter. Just for a bit of info, the newer 2.0HDi 136bhp also has a particulate filter.

I wouldnt be put off by this, especially on newer models, as they are better and more reliable than the old 2.2 was.

My choice would be a C4, as i prefer them to a C3. Although its really your decision. The 1.4HDi 90 in the C3 is problematic at times though, and can get costly should it go wrong. The 1.4 70 seems a more reliable bet.

In a C4 i would say the 1.6HDi 110 would be more than enough, even a 90 would be ok. They seem to return good economy, although i would expect to knock off atleast 5-10MPG from the stated 60MPG claimed combines figure - how often do cars actually reach the claimed figures with daily driving, we dont often drive around a laboratory!

Does the C4 qualify for the cheap, £35 a year, tax bracket?

A good website to look out for problems is the Honest John website, that tells you of possible problems. Lets face it, just about every new car on sales has its built in problems, you just have to look after it and hope you don’t experience them.

Re your C5s economy, that is very low for a 2.0HDI. If that’s solely around town then that might be expected, but on a longer run id expect, and get, much more that that. My C5 computer settles around the 42-44MPG figure, that is with mixed driving styles and use in town and motorway. In actual fact I know my cars computer under reads by about 6-7MPG, so im actually getting nearer 48-50MPG.

Do you check your C5s economy the manual way or rely on the cars computer, it might be doing more than you think?

Chris.

Lucifer · Post by **Lucifer** » 07 May 2009, 16:36

Just dome some number churching and I’m leaning toward the C4 2.0Hdi exclusive,

I know there will be more to go wrong and the fuel economy isn’t the best but it has what looks like the more powerful power plant which should make it a bit more fun on the country road and the 6 speed gearbox should help the economy on any longer trips, also looking at the spec it’s got more toys than a branch of toys us

wainy · Post by **wainy** » 11 May 2009, 20:28

Hi,

Don't know if its too late cos you may have already bought your C4. I have had both C3 1.4 HDi and C4 1.6 HDi (110 BHP), both from new.

The C3 was one of the first in the country back in 2002. I did 75,000 miles in it in less than 2.5 years and got an average of around 65 mpg, yes you read that right 65 mpg. This was mostly motorway stuff from West Yorks to Merseyside for work. My record for a tankfull was 75.6 mpg. It's really sad that I remember it to the decimal place

but there you go!

The C4 was a 2005 VTR+ Coupe and I got about 46mpg on average without really trying and over 50 on a long trip. Found the performance pretty good so would imagine that the 2.0 would be properly fast.

My last comment would be that I'm almost sure that my C4 didn't have the particulate filter. Think the early 1.6 HDi 110 did without? I may be wrong though!

Hope this helps,

WAINY.

mooseshaver · Post by **mooseshaver** » 12 May 2009, 12:17

The main problems with the old 2.2 particulate filters was the fluid needed topped up every 25,000 miles, and the filter itself needed changed (in theory it could be cleaned)every 50, 000.

If you do lots of town driving and the filter can't cope, you will get a message on the screen, you just have to drive about 30mph or more for a while for it to clean itself out.
The filters need replaced because the Eolys fluid that is added stays in the filter and eventualy builds up. I don't think the amoun will be different with a car that drives in towns or a car on motorways as the amount of fluid that is added is based on the amount of fuel you stick in the tank.

Later particulate filters only need changed at something like 200,000 KM, so its just the fluid that needs topped up.