C4 EGS ??

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fastred
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C4 EGS ??

Post by fastred »

I am considering an EGS C4 as a replacement for my Xantia V6 (am I mad?) and have booked an extended test drive in one for next week. The dealer assures me that early bugs in the gearbox have been ironed out and that the face-lifted post 2010 versions are fine (but then he would say that). Has anyone got an experience of these cars they would care to share?

My brain tells me that it would be better to spend several hundred pounds on the Xantia, which has only done 60k miles, bringing it back to a1 condition mechanically, but, after 13 years there is a hankering for a change.

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Re: C4 EGS ??

Post by RichardW »

Some people get on with them, others hate them with a passion! Drive it and see what you think - include several parking tries, both up and down hill, backwards and forwards, as this is where it's most likely to catch you out. My Dad's got one, and doesn't seem to have any problems with it - you do need a gentle right foot for manouvering so that you can feel/hear when the clutch comes in.
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Re: C4 EGS ??

Post by isisalar »

If you've got a 60k V6 Xantia that needs a few hundred spending on it with a proper automatic gearbox I'd stick with it rather than buying something with a computer controlled manual gearbox which is what I guess is in the C4.
I heard of a C4 recently and the dashboard started displaying upside down, £1200 to fix.
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fastred
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Re: C4 EGS ??

Post by fastred »

Thanks for the replies, guys, particularly the advice as to trying hill starts both ways round.
I will go for the test drive, as it is all arranged, but am pretty sure that I will conclude that it will be much better to spend £x on the V6 than £10x or more on a newish C4

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Re: C4 EGS ??

Post by CitroJim »

fastred wrote:I am considering an EGS C4 as a replacement for my Xantia V6 (am I mad?)
Yes, completely bonkers...

Far better to spend what's needed to make the V6 all pristine again. I fear you may be disappointed with anything less and a C4 is less by a long way...
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Post by addo »

I think someone got a V6 into one, though. Nikica would know; he's been eyeing up transplant options for his 307 estate.
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Re: C4 EGS ??

Post by isisalar »

For 10k you could get your V6 well sorted and buy and do the same thing to several others.
Go on holiday, buy a boat, get a sports car, or buy a late used Citroen with springs, which will be worth very little very soon and has the potential for many complex and expensive electrical faults. No brainer.
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Re: C4 EGS ??

Post by Lighty »

My vote is for the Xantia, try parking in a supermarket with the EGS box
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Re: C4 EGS ??

Post by CitroJim »

Lighty wrote:try parking in a supermarket with the EGS box
What's the big issue with the EGS 'box then? I've heard they're rubbish but not seen an explanation as to why...
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Re: C4 EGS ??

Post by Lighty »

They roll when in gear, so if you are not on the flat they take a lot of patience to master, plus the change from 1st to reverse takes a little while, so make she whole manoeuvring process a real pita. I guess you would get used to it, but I have read that PSA have dropped the whole idea , so must be reasonably unpopular.
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Re: C4 EGS ??

Post by CitroJim »

Ahh, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the explanation Lighty :-D
Lighty wrote:They roll when in gear
Unlike the creep of a conventional automatic then, which I find is a distinct bonus when doing low-speed manoeuvres...

I'd find rolling rather than creeping a bit unnerving I think...
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Re: C4 EGS ??

Post by RichardW »

The EGS uses the normal box with a clutch and gear change actuator - and a 'brain' :lol: So it only engages the clutch when you give it a bit of gas - and on a C4 Pic at least there's no handbrake to work against (although there is hill hold, but I'm not sure how steep it has to be before it engages - and you have to press the brake before it works). I guess 2 feet are required to manouver one really. They also do some slightly odd things - my Parents' drive is pretty long and steep, and you have to make a sharp right (downhill) turn at the bottom. In a manual you just control the speed in 1st with a bit of brakes, but Dad says in the EGS C4 pic you have to be careful, as the 'brain' decides speed is too low just as you are making the turn, and it drops the clutch out - just when you are relying on the engine braking!
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