Two months of ownership. DS5

[qprdude]

OK, two months come and gone.
Firstly, for Citroens so called "Premium brand" the DS5 is not really on the same planet as the C5.
Huge mistakes have been made by trying to muscle in on a different market, instead of concentrating on what they are good at.
I'm comparing it with my 2008 C5 Exclusive 2.2l

Lost?
Decent suspension
Soft leather
Spare wheel
Good all round vision
Power
Sat Nav still no postcode search, and not even street names now!
Door bins even smaller
Door mounted switches/mirrors/child locks
Engine bay space to work
Front passenger lumbar support (Premium my arris)
Dual trip recorders
2 year 20,000 mile service intervals
4 way puddle lights and 4 way foot-well lights.


Gained?
Auto gearbox
Reverse camera
Front park sensors
Fairly useless panoramic glass roof.
Head up display with speed and sat nav directions.
Led DRL.
Thats about it, for stuff I used every day.

Why did I buy it?
Looks probably, and the fact that the C5 was coming up for test and I had suspicions about rusty pipes to the suspension, iffy brake discs, increasing engine noise and a couple of other things.

On and On we seem to go, but you don't know what you've got til it's gone.

Future DS5's may improve but in reality, I might as well be driving a well scuplted , good looking Ford Focus.

[Stickyfinger]

All in all a rather disappointing review for a large Citroen from a Citroen owner

[white exec]

That makes sorry reading indeed.
Can Peugeot offer better?

[Paul-R]

To be honest the items on your gained list don't seem that strong either.

Auto gearbox - personal choice anyway and available on the C5
Reverse camera - on my C5
Front park sensors - on my C5
Fairly useless panoramic glass roof - um definitely a personal choice
Head up display with speed and sat nav directions - head-up display I'm not sure about and sat-nav I just use as an atlas anyway
Led DRL - on my C5

So, not so much on the plus side at all.

[EDC5]

This is very disappointing to hear to be honest. I would have hoped the most premium Citroen would be a worthy replacement for the C5 .Although I believe that the DS5 is based on the C4 platform not the C5 platform so maybe the expectations were a little high?

[qprdude]

Paul, I was comparing it to MY C5, not yours. I know all those things are available on the C5 . They just weren't on my C5.
The head up display pops up at the touch of one of the overhead switches but to be honest, it's not a lot of use in town. The glass roof would be great if any part of it opened. I've been after an auto box since I sold my S type jag, but it never came with the right price or the right car.

EDC5. Yes, it is disappointing, but the DS5 is a disappointing car after the C5. I had an hour test drive and thought I could live with most of the shortcomings, and although I am disappointed, the DS5 is NOT a bad car, it just has a little too much to live up to! The gearbox is fairly smooth but is sometimes reluctant to get into 6th. Not really a problem as I can just shove the stick over and flick it forward. It doesn't seem to have the power delivery that the C52-2l had, especially from 60mph+. The auto box is certainly the dogs B at junctions , roundabouts and heavy traffic though. I had forgotten how much easier it is, until I hit a 6 mile jam at Salisbury last week, on the way home from Cornwall. I must say, although the "boot" looks smaller than the C5, it swallowed everything we packed without the usual extras chucked onto the back seat. I suppose everyone moving from a top spec. C5 will eventually have trouble finding a replacement.

[EDC5]

EDC5. Yes, it is disappointing, but the DS5 is a disappointing car after the C5. I had an hour test drive and thought I could live with most of the shortcomings, and although I am disappointed, the DS5 is NOT a bad car, it just has a little too much to live up to! The gearbox is fairly smooth but is sometimes reluctant to get into 6th. Not really a problem as I can just shove the stick over and flick it forward. It doesn't seem to have the power delivery that the C52-2l had, especially from 60mph+. The auto box is certainly the dogs B at junctions , roundabouts and heavy traffic though. I had forgotten how much easier it is, until I hit a 6 mile jam at Salisbury last week, on the way home from Cornwall. I must say, although the "boot" looks smaller than the C5, it swallowed everything we packed without the usual extras chucked onto the back seat. I suppose everyone moving from a top spec. C5 will eventually have trouble finding a replacement.

Dont get me wrong, I think the DS5 looks amazing, it's a really handsome car, It just surprised me that one would miss a C5. My previous car was a Mk1.5 focus so for me the C5 is a big step up in every way

What engine and gearbox do you have? I have the auto C5 and have to say it's great, a good match for the C5, and yes, the performance does seem surprisingly good after 60 given it's weight.

[qprdude]

Just a 2 litre 163 BHP (C5 was 173) I think the box is an Aisin Warner 6 speed but not positive on that. No paddle change but the sequential stick shift is no problem. Whichever box it is, it works well, even though there have been reports of clunky changes. (not on mine).
Since I bought the DS5 in June, I have seen only two others, one on the M25 just after I bought mine and one at the top of my road in Horsell Surrey yesterday! Couldn't believe my eyes (Neither could the other guy. .) I know it's not a great way to decide what car to buy, but the DS5 does undoubtedly stand out from the crowd. Maybe it's vanity, but when people start looking over your car at the lights, it gives a warm glow. That said, the C5 also has a certain "presence" on the road, compared to the plethora of Fords, Hyundai's and Kia's. !
My advice? Stick to the C5 until they get the DS5 right. When the new, promised "air suspension" arrives, then you can start saving the dosh and invest in one.

[GiveMeABreak]

No air suspension Rick, just hydraulic progressive cushions:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=57791&hilit=Cushions
They are out now on the Cactus and will be on the C5 Aircross, but no more self-levelling!

Interesting update though Rick and it was as I thought to be honest. One has to wonder whether these Hydraulic cushions can be retrofitted to a DS5 as they don't look too different to standard struts.

[qprdude]

I hope so, because the current suspension is actually scary if you hit a bump on a bend. Don't know who decided it was OK, but I respectfully suggest they might want consider a change of career. I believe ASDA are looking for night staff.

[demag]

I saw one at the National and thought it looked cramped inside.

[EDC5]

Just a 2 litre 163 BHP (C5 was 173) I think the box is an Aisin Warner 6 speed but not positive on that. No paddle change but the sequential stick shift is no problem. Whichever box it is, it works well, even though there have been reports of clunky changes. (not on mine).
Since I bought the DS5 in June, I have seen only two others, one on the M25 just after I bought mine and one at the top of my road in Horsell Surrey yesterday! Couldn't believe my eyes (Neither could the other guy. .) I know it's not a great way to decide what car to buy, but the DS5 does undoubtedly stand out from the crowd. Maybe it's vanity, but when people start looking over your car at the lights, it gives a warm glow. That said, the C5 also has a certain "presence" on the road, compared to the plethora of Fords, Hyundai's and Kia's. !
My advice? Stick to the C5 until they get the DS5 right. When the new, promised "air suspension" arrives, then you can start saving the dosh and invest in one.

That's good that you have a proper automatic on the DS5, is it the EAT6 box or whatever Citroen call it now? I'm guessing it's a more modern version of the AM6 used in auto C5's

I know what you mean re the road presence, I've had a lot more people eyeing up te car and even had several people comment on how "nice" my car was.. which was nice.

I must admit to preferring the look of the pre-facelifted DS5 to the newer one, I'm not sure I approve of the spinning off of DS as the "premium" brand as it devalues normal Citroens.

[momag46]

Demag said he thought it looked cramped.

I want to look at one at the main dealer and as soon as 'her in doors' sat in the passenger seat that was the end of my hopes. I couldn't argue, on her side the dash cuts across to the central section giving very little floor space - what's a girl to do with her handbag?
Also, the interior was all black and that didn't help - I bought a C4 Picasso.

I liked the car but I had to agree with her, even the back seat legroom looked poor.

Maurice

[jgra1]

The glass roof would be great if any part of it opened

Hi Chris, I think we are all a bit disappointed to hear that what should be an upgrade in all respects to an X7 isn't..

I have been thinking about big sunroofs recently.. in theory, if they open, you almost (almost) have a convertible but without the downsides... this makes sense to me.. but if it doesn't open, as I suspect a few don't - then its just adding interior light.. which is handy but..


I have the same 163 engine in my X7, not sure the same box.. the Aisin seems a good box..mine is on 130K

With my current job I move every kind of car from the last 20 years (mainly the last 5) - a few miles a day.. it's an eye opener for sure..

the X7 feels as good as some other more modern cars when I get back into it, an accolade for sure.. I prefer it to some much more expensive stuff out there.. but the Audi's/Mercs and beemers among others are just so much more responsive! I doubt its just a power issue.. they are TD autos.. but if you want to go , they go!!, they make you want to go! the X7 never feels like that without adding a fair bit of peddle, which doesn't quite make it a drivers car.

Pick ups are huge and I have to say, not pleasant to drive.. Large 4x4s .. some are very ungainly ! some dont feel like a large car at all.. its a good job if I was in the market for an upgrade!
I could probably write a daily blog of cars that really caught my attention for good or bad reasons! today a Saab was a really nice car.. and annoyingly Ford do seem very good!
Jags are my favorites I think so far..

C4 picassos with that odd gearbox are .. well .. odd..

[qprdude]

Just back from a 1200 mile round trip to Aberdeen and beyond. To be fair, the DS5 performed reasonably. The hard suspension was only noticeable on the twisty bits, but as the trip was mostly Motorway and Dual carriageway it wasn't a problem. Only once, when I hit a pothole on a corner, did the back end step out. A bit scary .
I found the steering wheel with its flat bottom and two aluminium "hand hold " areas to be very uncomfortable on a long journey. Your hands tend to get squashed into the recess corners and get stiff after a while. Constant changes of hand position were required.
Engine and gearbox were very comfortable, although I didn't really push the speed too much. Gearbox was good in traffic jams (of which there were many many miles). MPG was slightly better than the C5 on the same journey, but not enough to make a huge difference to the bank balance. About the same wind and road noise, slightly less if anything.
No double trip and MPG recorder that I can find and I liked that on the C5
Points that I did like, is firstly, the lights are in a different league to the C5, being more akin to a nuclear explosion. Really bright, even in the gloom as well as total darkness. The "bendy lights" are also a revelation during night time driving. I had "cornering lights on the C5 but these bendy things are the dogs B. Secondly, the puddle lights. The C5 had 4 but the DS5 has only 2. The 2 are much better though, being operated by the remote unlocking and directed from the underside of the external mirrors rather than under the doors. Basically, both sides of the car are bathed in light before a door is touched, making for a nice bright entry. The rear park camera and front sensors make for easy parking in tight bays. As yet, I haven't found if the tyre sensors are wheel specific as on the C5 ,as I cant find a "test" button. Rear vision is still awful, but I have always used mirrors so not a big problem. More to the point, there is no lumbar support for the passenger, so I provided an office lumbar cushion for the boss, who has always suffered back pain on long journeys. She managed the whole 1200 miles without a whimper. The seats are quite comfortable and supportive, although they don't look it compared to the C5.
The boot swallowed all our luggage and even though the C5 has a reportedly larger boot area, we always ended up with stuff on the back seat. Not this time. I'm still not convinced that I made the right choice, but it's not quite so painful now.