what is the most comfortable Citroen?

[DickieG]

I think the decision will be a personal thing dependant upon what you prefer, I run both my Hydractive Xantia's with softer non Hydractive sphere's which gives a very smooth ride, my DS has much longer travel on its suspension so its better at dealing with speed humps and large undulations, in fact its disconcerting at first as your eyes see a large bump but your body doesn't feel it, weird however when it comes to small ripples the Xantia copes with those a little better due to the soft sphere's I've fitted.

The DS does roll when I push on around corners which can cause passengers to reach out to brace themselves but it does hold the road very well all things considered.

As Malcolm mentioned the seats in the DS are extremely soft, last week I used it to pick up my daughter and a couple of her friends from school and as they sat on the rear seat they both exclaimed "Its like sitting on a sofa" plus under the rear carpet is soft underlay a couple of inches thick so both your body and feet drop much lower than you expect as you get in, no other car I've come across is anything like a DS when it comes to sitting on a back seat .

[davoxx]

i love the cx ... for a long straight road, the cx prestige wins hands down.
add a corner and it all falls apart

a dealer was telling me that the xantia hydractive is the second most advanced suspension for comfort, and has a better chassis than the xm.

the new c6 is meant to be best, with 2 spheres per corner (hydractive 3+), but i don't think they'll be easy to buy for a while (if ever )

[Spaces]

Plenty of Citroens arrived in the UK which were never going to be 'right'. Peugeot Citroens have generally improved on this Gallic export approach. Additionally, slap-dash workshops and inferior replacement parts have a greater than usual effect on a Citroen.

So, assuming the car is 'right', then the DS is the most comfortable if driven reasonably leisurely round tighter corners, but as fast as you like elsewhere.

The CX Series 1 lwb cars are probably the most comfortable of the lot overall - I don't quite get the 'useless in corners' comments unless you're driving in Austin-Rover style or comparing a CX with a Xantia through a roundabout or on a racetrack. Anyone with any engineering understanding can look at the design and see why this is the case.

The 2cv and Dyane (remember, when 'right' - Citroen chassis, right tyres and dampers, pre-'85 etc) is very comfortable indeed.

A good Xantia can be almost as good as a good BX, but never as good as an XM. But all these cars are Peugeots in effect, with MacP strut front suspension, Peugeot subframes, bodies (structurally) and all the rubber bushes which go with it. But with a driver used to other modern stuff and a pie of roundabouts, anything Peugeot can feel to be very comfy. Add leather and it could almost feel like a real Citroen, on a smooth road...

A (good) GS, driven properly on the right roads can make any of the above seem a little lumpy. It's the only Citroen ever made with all the important aspects of engineering which the company would have liked to have introduced across the range, had money been no object - lightweight boxer engine in the nose, gas over fluid suspension (with perfect geomoetries) and aerostable, slippery body shape.

[Citroenmad]

I would say a very very well fettled XM is the best riding Citroen I have been in, and the only big Cit I have not been in is an SM. Possibly not the out and out softest but the most comfortable given the ability to control its suspension. I like the ride in a car to be controlled.

DSs are very good, quite a sensation and I can only think what that must of been like in its day. A real ground breaking car. Our 6H traction is excellent too, despite it only having hydropneumatic rear suspension it has longer front torsion bars which compliment the rear very nicely. Due to the nature of it its actually softer than a DS at the rear, im sure it has more travel too. Its amazing through bends for such an old car, has extremely direct steering (no twitching at the wheel like most old cars and indeed a lot of new ones) and its a sensation sitting in the outside lane doing 80-85 and seeing the looks on peoples faces. Citroen could learn a thing or two about suspension from that now ...

The C6 and C5III really fall down on their very limited suspension travel, they run out of movement fairly early and so could never be any softer than they are. Though they do give a decent ride on the right type of road ...

The C5s previous to the new one do have more travel, though it is a bit less than the previous big Citroens. The ride is good and since non of ours are hydractive+ cars I like the comprmise between comfort, suspension control and handling. The earlier C5s did tend to be softer than the later ones, though many I see are firm now, but the later ones are tighter to drive. Certainly better than most conventionally sprung cars, you still get that floating feeling on the motorway and undulating roads, the self leveling is also a real bonus. I like the C5s seats and never get uncomfortable in them, some have arm rests on the front seats which is a very nice feature. I also find the driving position to be excellent, it suits me perfectly and has a huge range of adjustment that should see it suit anyone.

Xantias can be very good too, not quite as good as the ride a good XM gives but they are good. However XMs seats are far superior and the driving position is so much better in the XM to the Xantia in my opinion. The Xantia got a lot of reports about its driving position and uncomfortable front seats (mainly basic specs) when it was still current. In fact I knew someone who continually sent his Xantia SX back to Citroen to have the seat foams replaced etc as he didn't get on with the seat. He sold it shortly after.

The Xantia Activa is amost a car without comprimise, a good ride (though a bit firmer than the normal Xants), the ability to effectively change the damping rates, self leveling and helight adjustable with virtually no body roll and handling which would shame a lot of modern hot hatches. Quite an acheievement to say the least. Oh, and the Activas seats are pretty great! Its something which really interests me about Citroens, the innovation.

We are all different and look for different things in ride quality, but Citroen are usually at the top of their game and any well fettled big Citroen is a good riding car.

[davoxx]

The CX Series 1 lwb cars are probably the most comfortable of the lot overall - I don't quite get the 'useless in corners' comments unless you're driving in Austin-Rover style or comparing a CX with a Xantia through a roundabout or on a racetrack. Anyone with any engineering understanding can look at the design and see why this is the case.

they roll so much is what i meant.
i know why it does it, but it does not stop the fact that it does it.

i did not think the c6 would be written off so easily ... but i've never driven one

so it comes down to xm vs xantia ...

will the xm seats fit an xantia?

[Citroenmad]

so it comes down to xm vs Xantia ...

will the xm seats fit an Xantia?

I doubt it, they are fairly large.

XM wins for me, no contest. I prefer XMs to Xantias, its just a shame there are not more around to choose from.

[Spaces]

OK, CXs roll - the suspension can cope with this, unlike a cheapo MacPh strut. Lack of too much roll stiffness can be a very good thing on anything other than a smooth road (of which there are few on the UK, and even fewer at Citroen speed) - it dissipates shocks which can destabilise a car through corners. We seem to be living in a Top Gear motoring mentality where it's track speed which counts - and testing road cars on tracks makes no sense at all.

I've yet to find a car which is as fast and stable as a good CX. I'm not talking about travelling at 60 or 70. If nothing else look at the track compared with body width of a CX, then do the same with a Xantia. A Xantia resembles every other car, a CX is like a real Citroen - the wheel are at the extremities. Ignore the sublime suspension design of a CX and on dimensions alone it's on a totally different plane if you compare it with anything Peugoet. The laws of Physics never change.

[DickieG]

Plenty of Citroëns arrived in the UK which were never going to be 'right'. Peugeot Citroëns have generally improved on this Gallic export approach. Additionally, slap-dash workshops and inferior replacement parts have a greater than usual effect on a Citroën.

A very valid point, for instance when I bought my DS (just like most DS's on the road today) it had CX sphere's fitted which are a fair bit firmer than the original split DS sphere's, I recall feeling a little disappointed with the ride on my DS on the journey home when I got onto familiar roads that I'd driven on many times in my Xantia's as the ride didn't feel any different. The ride improved significantly when I fitted the split sphere's and now feels like a different DS.

Another point not mentioned here is the effect of a strong bodyshell, older cars like a DS, CX, XM and even a Xantia are quite soft and wobbly when driven over rough ground, compare those to car's released in the past three or four years which are as solid as a rock and you lose rattles and shakes. The overall effect of a solid body is that it makes the suspension do the work rather than the bodyshell which in turn means the wheels are kept within a narrower tolerance in their alignment to the ground so more ride/handling improvements. I can't help thinking that getting hold of the latest C5 and fitting it with alternative/softer sphere's could offer the best ride of any Citroen.

[Spaces]

The flexing shell most affects those cars where subframes are minimal or non-existant. A CX front subframe is a cathedral of a structure, but its twisting shell will affect the relationship of the two axles.

Even the best spheres available new aren't a patch on what was once offered. There isn't the same fluid dynamics for the LHM as it moves in and out of the sphere - compare a really old one with a new and you'll see what I mean. This does affect the ride (and handling) much more than you would ever imagine possible - there is a wooden quality with new type spheres which is presumably turbulent LHM flow. A little bevelling with a suitably sized drill bit can make a surprising difference, although you'll never recreate the same smoothness of the older Citroen spheres. I altered the spheres for a friend with a GS and he couldn't believe the difference! More like Citroens used to be.

CX estates were specified with the 700cc sphere for the rear running pressured at 35 I think - few still have these, but when fitted they make a big difference. If anyone has any old split ones then never bin them!

[Citroening]

I've yet to find a car which is as fast and stable as a good CX. I'm not talking about travelling at 60 or 70. If nothing else look at the track compared with body width of a CX, then do the same with a Xantia. A Xantia resembles every other car, a CX is like a real Citroën - the wheel are at the extremities. Ignore the sublime suspension design of a CX and on dimensions alone it's on a totally different plane if you compare it with anything Peugoet. The laws of Physics never change.

Here here.

Dad was telling me just the other day about the GTi Turbos and why it was one reason why he fell in love with them back in the day - all of that power and still all of the comfort too.

Get a good CX and it's as good as you'll get. The cloth seats are more comfortable the leather's too - get a Series 1 Prestige with the Chamoix (sp?) cloth seats and it's beautiful. Even the Series 1 GTi Turbo seats are very comfy too.

There is simply no competition between XM Seats and CX Seats IMO! The XM seats are no where near as comfortable as the CX ones. I prefer Xantia seats to XM ones....

Visa seats are very nice too if you get the right one's - take the one's in my 14TRS. LINK.

[THELABMAN]

I've had the pleasure now of owning 6 Citroen's.

The 1st was a BX 1.6TGS which was great on the motorway but going around corners etc the passengers all grabbed for something as they thought she was going to roll over even I got a bit fed up with it in the end.

I'd a 1.9D ZX which I suppose doesn't count then I'd three Xantia 1.9 TD SX hatchbcks the 1st an N reg series 1 and the others an S and T series 2 I'd say of those the series 2's handled better than the earlier mark

My current car a 52 plate C5 2 litre HDI hatchback which I'd have to say is the best handling one of the lot... maybe not as smooth as the Xantia but still comfier and more predictable in it's handling... never had the pleasure of being in an XM on the the go but thought of buying one once but a lot of the electrics etc weren't working so I gave i t a miss.

[Peter.N.]

To me its got to be the XM. That's the reason why I have run them almost exclusively for 15 years and covered over 300,000 miles. The CX is also very good, better in some ways than the XM but not very practical if you do a high mileage on account of its rarity.

Peter

[Spaces]

Comfort takes many forms - not having the acceleration to deal easily with modern traffic density and behaviour can be dis-comforting in itself. That's where more modern cars score - ideally a CX needs to be turbocharged to be able to surge effortlessly into temporary gaps which appear on motorways.

Old Citroens were engineered for sustained high speeds across variable roads for long periods without fatiguing the driver - not the cut and thrust cavalcade down three lanes of solid traffic, over roads which are predominantly smooth but with aggressive shallow damage. More recent Citroens with self-steering rear axles, rubber bushes everywhere and the modern computerised turbo-diesel is ideal for today's roads where maximum speed is rarely reached and roads with poor foundations are relatively rare - even if surface irregularities abound.

The front suspension and steering of a CX is on an altogether different plane than with normal motor cars, including with Xantias and XMs - you only have to look at the CX's beautiful front hubs to see the contrast of engineering approach. But such fineries do not sell cars in showrooms or make an impression on motoring journalists, which is why all the businesses making finely-engineered cars have been bought out by those who manufacture cars which are 'good enough'.

That the Peugeot cars go so well is the testimony to high production and material qualities as well at the Citroen team who make the subtle alterations to the Peugeot chassis.

[Peter.N.]

I would agree about the CX, the central steering knuckles and diravi system made it second to none and the stability and easy to drive stakes. The DTR turbo 2 was one of the fastest cars around in the '80s, 60 mph in around 10 seconds and 120 mph and well over 40 mpg all at a max 3600 rpm! Not only that it was relativly easy to work on.

I saw one for sale a few weeks ago and seriously thought about buying it but I came to my senses. The way they drive would suit me fine but I am well retired and don't have the necessity to 'keep up with the traffic' any more. I drive in an altogether more leisurly style now and get 50+ mpg

Peter

[Spaces]

It think the barrier stopping me using a CX for everyday is the difficulty finding a genuinely good one (and by that I don't mean some rivet-counter who has polished the bits you don't see, no matter how attractive that may be), avoiding the Series 2 cars (the 1980s Peugoet cost-accountants' standards were more suited to cars like 305s) and finding the money to buy such a car.

As an engineering sort, cars have always been a tool for me, hence I've never paid through the nose for 'neighbour appeal' or a badge - I've just bought the very best machine I could afford. I don't really enjoy working on motor cars unless they're simple, work well, are well-made and logical. Or a bit of genius.

Even today, almost 30 years after the CX's prow nosed across The Channel, I know there is nothing which comes close to the abilities of a turbo-diesel Safari. Spare parts would not be a problem, there are far too many enthusiasts out there and for those who are concerned by 'image', it is well-past the banger status.

The current crop of well-engineered large cars which I can afford is of much poorer quality than 10 years ago, with unnecessary added complexities which any practical person tries hard to avoid. Mercedes rot like 1970s Alfas, Audis require days to change a headlamp bulb or the coolant thermostat and I expect a large car to have more finesse than a small or medium-sized one, so no Peugeot for me. The electronically and electrically-controlled suspension of the C5, designed to keep some jobsworth in Brussels happy, is enough to send me elsewhere. Every manufacturer's cost accountants have done their jobs well, to the detriment of the person who isn't a salesman victim.

Maybe whilst searching for the right CX I should find a half-decent XM with left hand drive. It would be about the only other large car which comes close to meeting my criteria, if I ignore the Mercedes W124 class.