The more things change, the more they stay the same. Since the early 1970s, when my father bought his first Citroen - a well-used ID 19 - I've known and loved this highly eccentric and often brilliant French brand.
The ID 19 looked the same as the DS cars but it was a 1961 model and the chaps at Citroen only settled on the DS moniker after that.
My father began servicing his Citroen at home after getting it back from the service agents with new problems for the umpteenth time. The apparently complicated hydraulic suspension turned out not to be that complicated after all.
Today things are somewhat different. If you want to service your own Citroen, you'll have to have hands as slender as the paws of a mouse, as strong as those of Bakkies Botha and arms as thin and long and flexible as a hosepipe. And don't forget the electronic gadgets and the doctorate in mechatronic engineering.
Today's Citroens have gone way beyond where the old DS cars ended. A drive in the new top-of-the-range C5 diesel will make you understand that much better than I can with mere words.
When the C5 3.0 HDi V6 auto arrived at the Du Plessis residence, I fell in love with the brand all over again. I liked the "different" look, yes, and the mere fact that it was a Citroen with "real" Citroen suspension (the hydraulics).
But to drive it is to love it... and I did.
The fascia and interior don't make you think you're in a space ship. Except maybe for that unique steering wheel, with a rim turning around its own hub.
The seats? Well, even with my hyper-sensitive spine, I couldn't find fault with them. Some may say there's not enough lateral support but I say nonsense, this is not a sports car, it is a luxury sedan. You don't want to sit in a bucket.
While tidy and uncluttered, the fascia still offers all the goodies one would expect of such a car and it is not too difficult to learn how to use everything.
What I found most amazing was how that extremely comfortable car would go around corners like something a lot smaller and tighter, despite the comfort of the suspension. Of course you have a few different settings. Comfort, Normal, Sport - any one can be selected but even in comfort mode I never felt things were on edge in a turn.
Take note, this is the most powerful Citroen yet, unless you count the Maserati-powered SM of the 1970's. And the new car is not far behind that.
FUEL-EFFICIENT BUT POTENT V6
The C5 shares its diesel engine with the Jaguar XF and the Land Rover Discovery 4 TDV6. Citroen's been doing good business with the competition lately, having also done a deal with BMW to use the Mini engine in its new DS3 range.
In both cases, they chose well. The C5 benefits from that fuel-efficient but potent V6 and the car is a pleasure to drive as a result. It is extremely quiet on the road and at the traffic lights. Only in the morning, when everything under the bonnet is still on the cold side and the neighbourhood is quiet, might you discern the sound of a diesel mill, but you'd have to focus.
Accelerator response is immediate but smooth. The automatic gearshift is nice, too, especially in comfort mode. The gearbox kicks down automatically and if there is any delay in the downshift under acceleration I didn't pick it up.
Using only 9.8 litres of diesel over 100km of city and country roads, it's not too hard on the pocket either.
I would love to try it when next I need to drive to Gauteng.
NOTHING FRIGHTENS THIS CAR
I couldn't fault the build quality. Panels appeared to be well-fitted with gaps that were straight and even. Never did I hear a squeak or a rattle anywhere in the car, despite often driving along some rather bumpy and pot-holed roads.
On gravel, nothing seems able to frighten this confident, controlled car and its lovely suspension.
In the end the C5 emerged as one of the nicest cars I've driven and I would be happy to suggest it to anybody hunting around for that class of car.
But there is a proviso... Once again, it seems, not so hot after-sales service seems to bedevil the Citroen name in this country. A colleague who has a little C2 has told me of her woes with the local service agent.
Being told her front tyres were too soft when the power steering had broken, and inflating said tyres with plain air after being warned they had been filled with nitrogen, were just two of the issues.
She had taken the car in with a list of complaints over things that needed to be fixed, only to get it back with the same faults and a stiff bill. It was almost as if the car had been parked for a few days then handed back without any work done.
PUT PRESSURE ON THE TECHIES
Now, it's a general consensus that after-sales service in this country is poor, regardless of brand, but that is inexcusable, especially these days when new cars are just not simple enough to be serviced at home, especially not by a hard-working person who depends on a car for being on time for a deadline-driven job, and for safety in a country where stopping next to a road can be a life-threatening experience.
For less than half a million - R465 000 - this is a fine automobile, given the price of cars in the good old RSA.
I've no doubt there'll be some of us who will buy it because it is nice and then put the necessary pressure on the service people but some of us just cannot. - Argus Motoring