Citroen specs the C6
Jaguar contender looks to luxury market
  Is Jaguar doomed? |
Citroën’s new flagship C6 model, a pretender to the Jaguar market, will glide onto UK roads early next year, and the company has now announced prices for the range as well as revealing specifications.
The French company sees the C6 as a successor to the CX and DS models. As you'd expect, it's stuffed with kit to offset the natural disadvantage of not having a premium badge on the nose. It includes modern features such as head-up display, active bonnet, hydropneumatic suspension with electronically-controlled springing and damping, speed-sensitive air deflector and laminated side windows as standard on most models.
There will be three trim levels – C6, C6 Lignage and C6 Exclusive – available with a choice of two Euro IV engines: a 215bhp 3-litre V6 petrol powerplant or a new Twin Turbo 2.7-litre V6 HDi diesel unit. Both will be mated to automatic six-speed gearboxes. Naturally, in the interests of finding another excuse to bung out a press release, Citroën was saying nothing about the kinds of performance that said engines might generate. That comes later.
Entry-level prices start at £29,500, with prices for the C6 Lignage, named after the original concept car, starting at around £31,500. The range-topping C6 Exclusive is expected to cost up to £38,000 for the diesel.
Safety and comfort
The body shape consists of a long bonnet, extended front overhang and short rear overhang, with a large windscreen and frameless doors. At the front, the large, chrome-plated chevrons are flanked by clear-lens headlamps. Alloy wheels are standard, as is the automatic, speed-sensitive air deflector.
Citroën said that, by pushing the wheels 2.9 metres apart and building the car on one of the longest wheelbases in the sector, its designers have provided one of the roomiest cabins in the class. For a glide-like ride, the C6 range gets the Hydractive 3+ suspension with electronically-controlled springing and damping along with laminated side windows to help filter out wind and exterior noise.
The C6 Lignage models will feature front and rear parking sensors that alert the driver, both audibly and visually, to the proximity of obstacles. Safety will be enhanced by the dual-function, directional xenon headlamps, which make for better night-time visibility around corners.
The C6 will pioneer safety features such as an active bonnet, said Citroën. In the event of a pedestrian impact, the bonnet automatically pops up to create a cushioning effect between the engine and the bonnet itself.
Interior
All models get nine airbags, electrically-operated front seats, an MP3-compatible audio system with colour screen, alloy wheels and automatic operation of the headlamps and wipers.
All models will come with automatic, dual-zone air-conditioning, equipped with "a unique soft diffusion system that favours a uniform blanket of temperature-controlled air over cold blasts". An electric push button parking brake replaces a conventional handbrake, freeing up space between the driver and front passenger.
The head-up display projects key driving information, such as speed and navigation details, directly onto the windscreen, reducing the need for drivers to look down and take their eyes off the road ahead.
Buyers of the top-of-the-range C6 Exclusive get luxury fittings in the form of wood and chrome around the cabin along with heated front and rear leather seats.
A new generation NaviDrive system, with voice recognition, provides access to a hands-free telephone, colour satellite navigation and 6-CD autochanger, while the specially designed JBL hi-fi system, with 10 speakers and an amplifier, should provide top sound quality. A departure warning system, which alerts the driver to unintentional lane changes, will also be standard on the C6 Exclusive.
I don't think Jaguar will be quaking in their boots just yet...the XJ is a fabulous car in whatever guise and with their shortly to be released twin turbo Diesel (out of the S Type) they have that ommission plugged too.
Verdict: Nice, but would you pay £38k for a Citroen?
But lacks the well-entrenched prestige of those four, which surely counts for a lot? Also, is it any good to drive? The XJ I drove (with the petrol V6) was not as interesting inside as the C6, but for a big car it was well up for a spanking, and very comfy when it needed to be. Somehow I don't think the big Citroen is going to trouble XJ sales that much. It's an avant-garde approach to Jag's very traditional style.
Seems like a car that might tempt a few more Audi or Merc (E-Class) buyers, though.
Whatever, for what it is, I think it's a very good effort from a company known for innovation (not to mention cheap cars with big discounts).
I reckon the top-spec V6 could get the prestigous honour of most depreciating car in Blighty.
Just think (according Autocars admittedly flawed ratings), a Renault Vel Satis V6 top-spec costs £26k, and retains the same in % after 3 yrs.
Just taking that same %, that means that after the 3yrs the C6 will have dropped from £38k to less than £10k.
Ouch.
And i reckon the C6 will drop more than that.
As i said, a bargain in 3yrs...
PH said:
It includes modern features such as head-up display
This one had that already in 1990!
PH said:
active bonnet
BLMC tried something comparable in 1974 (wouldn't like to be the pedestrian though):
PH said:
hydropneumatic suspension with electronically-controlled springing and damping
Errr, yeah well, that sounds very Citroën-ish...
PH said:
speed-sensitive air deflector
The Alfa Romeo 90 had that already, but then to aid engine cooling.
PH said:
and laminated side windows as standard on most models
Didn't Mercedes use that on the S-class a few years ago?
But all in all: a very nice looking car. Not as nice as a Jag though... All the toys in the world can't camouflage that.
Beefmeister said:
I think its a stunning looking car, and will make a fantastic sencond-hand buy in 3yrs time.
I reckon the top-spec V6 could get the prestigous honour of most depreciating car in Blighty.
Just think (according Autocars admittedly flawed ratings), a Renault Vel Satis V6 top-spec costs £26k, and retains the same in % after 3 yrs.
Just taking that same %, that means that after the 3yrs the C6 will have dropped from £38k to less than £10k.
Ouch.
And i reckon the C6 will drop more than that.
As i said, a bargain in 3yrs...
I reckon in 3 years it should be possible to pick up a nearly new car for 10-15K. So I may well get one.
I don't like the idea of laminated side glass - it could get in the way of a rescue in the event of an emergency.
I'm sure it'll attract others than the Jag-badge crowd . . . This looks like the alternative car for all who don't care about fast driving (BMW, Jaguar, Merc . . .) or flashing about.
Mine in dark blue svp.
LexSport said:Thanks Lex, I now have visions of a pedestrian crossing with a C6 either side, and a poor pedestrian pretending to be a tennis ball in-between them...another coffee-meets-keyboard moment!!!
Does anyone else envisage an "active bonnet" catapulting the pedestrian into the next street on impact?
dinkel said:
The French do make good big luxo cars.
I'm sure it'll attract others than the Jag-badge crowd . . . This looks like the alternative car for all who don't care about fast driving (BMW, Jaguar, Merc . . .) or flashing about.
Mine in dark blue svp.
Got to say, my 'week day' drive is a Renault Vel Satis 3.5 V6 Initiale which I bought from a Renault dealer at 2 yrs old (ex Renault company car).
Top spec, ALL toys, very comfortable, very quiet, 12k miles, Price new as spec'd: £32k - I paid £14k for it!
Give it a couple of years and a top spec C6 will be a superb bargain luxo barge!
As for my 1 yr old 6k miles fully loaded Jaguar XJ8 Sovereign (gorgeous car!) that I brought from a Jaguar dealer off the forecourt for £32k a few years back... had been practically written off 3 months previously in a major motorway crash! They forgot to mention that when I purchased the car! So when you buy that bargain luxury car from a reputable dealership - always check with the manufacturers UK warranty dept what spares have been supplied for the car BEFORE you buy it! I only found out when I went to trade it in with another Jag dealer and they refused to buy it after making a good offer and then checking the computer system!
To be fair though, 2 lawyers letters and a threat to involve head office and the original dealer took the car back for the purchase price minus a small mileage depreciation!
Would have another Jag though - in fact the S-Type R is particularly appealing with 1yr depreciation...
cdp said:
The French will have the most comfortable taxis in the world.
Just came back from Nice yesterday, Taxi's MPV's or people carriers, so no market for the C6 there. I did see more Val Setis parked in one road than ever in the UK.
Old story French big cars do not sell in UK market, how many peugeot 607's do you see on the road, renault with the Val Setis and Avantine. A lot of car second hand but only if you can find people to buy them first hand
Personally, I quite like the C6 but a DS it isn't and I'd never put money into a new one. The CX, the DS and especially the SM had an aerodynamic beauty that this doesn't even get close to.
fq330 said:
Give it a couple of years and a top spec C6 will be a superb bargain luxo barge!
It's just that if almost *anything* goes wrong with it, then it would have to be thrown away.
I recently had a Peugeot 607 Exec, 2.2L Diesel Auto, for a month as a courtesy car, and it was a great 'wafting' car, although it was still rather crap (rattles, wind noise etc).
I'd heard that people look at you when you drive one, and it's true - they do. Trouble is they're thinking the same as I do - why did that idiot buy a 607?
LuS1fer said:
I love the idea that no matter how commercially unsuccessful French luxury cars are, they still keep banging away. Their catalogue of bad cars knows no end but includes the Vel Satis, Avantime, 604/605, XM, Talbot etc. Even though they know the saloon is the preferred format, they keep banging out hatchbacks.
Personally, I quite like the C6 but a DS it isn't and I'd never put money into a new one. The CX, the DS and especially the SM had an aerodynamic beauty that this doesn't even get close to.
I haven't seen a Talbot Tagora for at least 10 years (and I do look out for them), has anybody seen one recently?
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