Sadly I must leave the Citroen brotherhood.

[Peter.N.]

Nice to drive but not so nice to repair, parts are scarce and expensive and it generally seems to be less reliable than the 2.1

[h2ocooler]

Well I have had the S Class since friday and all I can say is WOW what a car, the power is unbelievable, I think this would pull my caravan, the C5 AND the Santa Fe at the same time.
On the way back from Reading it was averaging 50.9 mpg, yesterday on a Gatwick run for friend it did 48 mpg on the motorway there and dropped to 44 mpg on the way back through the country lanes.

The air suspension ride I would say is on par with the C5 if not better and it has adaptive damping, couple that with the 245 45 18 tyres and it really sticks to the road.

I wont even mention the toys it has.

Will report back on the spannering aspect but looking at the MB forum it seems pretty straight forward.

Rob

[h2ocooler]

Well we may be keeping the C5 in the family after all, My GF is driving it for a week then she will decide if she wants it to replace her Santa Fe.

[frenchcarnut]

I don't think I'll be too far behind you. My next new car will probably be Japanese (or German): far less stylish IMHO and generally more boring but after years (25) of French car ownership, I've finally had enough of the unreliability and cost of spares. My mobile skip (C15 van) I use to move crap to the tip is a case in point; £50+ for a clutch cable that isn't readily available from motor factors and other alternatives is just too much. To be fair, the C5 hasn't been that bad, but it's starting to do some weird things: tx has had to be reset once in recent months, anti-pollution fault has never been resolved, breaking interior door handles (simply unacceptable for a car of this initial cost), quirky wiper operation and window winding operation leaves me all a bit uncertain of what is still a fairly young car having completed less than 45k miles.

[messerschmitt owner]

I don't think I'll be too far behind you. My next new car will probably be Japanese (or German): far less stylish IMHO and generally more boring but after years (25) of French car ownership, I've finally had enough of the unreliability and cost of spares. My mobile skip (C15 van) I use to move crap to the tip is a case in point; £50+ for a clutch cable that isn't readily available from motor factors and other alternatives is just too much. To be fair, the C5 hasn't been that bad, but it's starting to do some weird things: tx has had to be reset once in recent months, anti-pollution fault has never been resolved, breaking interior door handles (simply unacceptable for a car of this initial cost), quirky wiper operation and window winding operation leaves me all a bit uncertain of what is still a fairly young car having completed less than 45k miles.

you should buy a smart roadster

alternator - only available from smart - £180
clutch disintegrates at 42k, despite being electronic operation under control of a computer not the driver
springs fail regularly (first at 15k, the next at 70k)
dodgy electronics and electrics
leaks onto main fuse box due to lack of sealing and bad design - cost £500+ each time - some people on four now
keys going out sync
leaks from roof
etc.

Oh, they were made in France though ...

[frenchcarnut]

I don't think I'll be too far behind you. My next new car will probably be Japanese (or German): far less stylish IMHO and generally more boring but after years (25) of French car ownership, I've finally had enough of the unreliability and cost of spares. My mobile skip (C15 van) I use to move crap to the tip is a case in point; £50+ for a clutch cable that isn't readily available from motor factors and other alternatives is just too much. To be fair, the C5 hasn't been that bad, but it's starting to do some weird things: tx has had to be reset once in recent months, anti-pollution fault has never been resolved, breaking interior door handles (simply unacceptable for a car of this initial cost), quirky wiper operation and window winding operation leaves me all a bit uncertain of what is still a fairly young car having completed less than 45k miles.

you should buy a smart roadster

alternator - only available from smart - £180
clutch disintegrates at 42k, despite being electronic operation under control of a computer not the driver
springs fail regularly (first at 15k, the next at 70k)
dodgy electronics and electrics
leaks onto main fuse box due to lack of sealing and bad design - cost £500+ each time - some people on four now
keys going out sync
leaks from roof
etc.

Oh, they were made in France though ...

Yes I agree it's all relative, but as I get older, my quirkiness tolerance ratio (reliability versus unique design) is moving in favour of reliability.

[KP]

IIRC is the 2.5 unit not the same as then one used in the relay vans??

[frenchcarnut]

It's difficult this Citroen thing