citroen c5/insignia/focus

thinking of buying one of the following c5, insignia or focus powershift, first two are 6 speed manual and all have 2.0 diesel engines. anyone have any experience of these cars or any advice as to which to go for. thanks

R.O.R

C5 - Hate the driving position and stupid steering wheel. Decent engine though. If it's top spec (possible in a 2.0) then it might have proper Citroen Suspension so would be the smoothest ride.

Insignia - Looks great but engines can be hit or miss depending on when they were made. Early (high emission - 154g or thereabouts) are nice to drive. ECOFLEX versions (139g or thereabouts) aren't great, power is only available in a really small band. Comes in 2 power outputs 130 & 160, both are very similar to drive and I wouldn't pay more than €250 for the 160 over the 130. Seats aren't the comfiest and depending on wheel size (a lot are on 18's) the tyres can be very expensive.

Focus is in a class below the other 2. Powershift is Ford's version of DSG and is pretty good. It's probably 110ps so will be down on power on the other 2, but being smaller should be nippy enough. If you don't need the extra size then it's a decent choice, but unless you really need an Auto I'd be searching out a nice manual in a decent specification (Ghia/Titanium depending on year).

thanks for great reply. buying in the uk so focus would be 140 bhp titanium or zetec. how are these cars for reliability anything to look out for i'm coming from three audis in a row so sick of fixing problems. had a look at a 2009 c5 today with 70,000 miles and clutch was slipping and front passenger window wouldnt go down

Leonard Hofstadter

C5 and Focus share the same engine, so they're both equally good for reliability. The HDi engine is fine so long as it's serviced exactly on schedule and with the correct grade of oil. It's not very tolerant of constant short distance/low speed driving, but then again, no modern diesel really is.

thanks. leaning towards c5 tourer now, think focus might be on the small side. something like this maybe

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201242489350528/sort/default/usedcars/maximum-age/up_to_4_years_old/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/body-type/estate/fuel-type/diesel/model/c5/make/citroen/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/page/1/postcode/ha03en/radius/1500?logcode=p

Mycroft H

That looks lovely!

Bearcat

We runs tourer c5 with the hydro pneumatic suspension...the one you are looking at is the standard set up which means less to go wrong.

If you buy the c5....just give it a good service as ours was stamped by main dealers and all the filters were mingin.

2.0hdi engine is an excellent engine with loads of mid range poke. Good mpg.

If you are into buttons and gadgets , the c5 won't let you down re its steering wheel...it's a bit of a novelty.

Seats are comfy, good room in back....boot good....

Best of luck op on your decision.