Guess my new daily driver

[markc]

After 2 and bit years of sterling service my old daily bus (Merc E430 Tourer) has been replaced by something more modern. I promise that those of you who've followed my occasional rants regarding modern car design will be genuinely shocked at my choice as it has many features I openly dislike and yet I do like it... at least its not predictable. Some clues...

Largish 5 door, 5 seater
Automatic (sort of)
4wd (sort of)

Cheers

Mark

[nobby]

If sticking in the Honda camp would go with a CRV or some other form of SUV

if sticking with that german muck can be anything from an X3, Q or however merc badge this type of stuff :)

[b1gbrad]

As it's "sort of" 4wd I guess is 2wd that electronically swtiches to 4wd - so it could be a CRV. But as it's also "sort of" automatic I'm guessing it's a semi-auto/tiptronic box, so probably something German....!?

[NSXGB]

SQ5? lalalalalalala

[markc]

You're both on the right lines but it's not Japanese or German or indeed an SUV, at least not in my eyes.

It does indeed switch to 4wd and has a semi-auto 'box but there is a further twist...

[goldtop]

Vulva XC70?

[scottg]

11821
Surely Not?

[b1gbrad]

It was "designed" by a WAG was it?!

[Senninha]

http://img.pistonheads.com.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Thumbnail/skoda/yeti/2-0cr-se-plus-dsg-4x4-140bhp/skoda-yeti-2-0cr-se-plus-dsg-4x4-140bhp-16398853-1.jpg (http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/classifieds/advertgallery/1179601/0?link=false)

Because you you just dont care anymore ... LoL

[markc]

All wrong so far but Kare has 2 correct characters in his guess. More clues...

The manufacturer is (or was) renown doing things differently.
It probably has more in common with the new NSX than my own NSX!

[nobby]

a lexus?

as they are big into the hybrid tech etc


All wrong so far but Kare has 2 correct characters in his guess. More clues...

The manufacturer is (or was) renown doing things differently.
It probably has more in common with the new NSX than my own NSX!

[NZNick]

Subaru Tribeca or XV ??

[markc]

Nope, not Japanese remember. Hybrid tech is spot on tho'.

[NZNick]

Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 Active? or 508 RXH?

[TheSebringOne]

Korean made?

[gumball]

Citroen C5?

[NZNick]

Citroen DS5 Hybrid4 - looks like an interesting car.

[NSX 2000]

Mark you gave to many clues away!

As you and I seem to have very similar taste in cars I would say you bought a Citroen DS5 Hybrid4, SWMBO has the 508 RXH.

I would be very intrested in what you think of the gear box.

Paul

[markc]

Well done Nick and Paul, Citroen DS5 Hybrid4 it is :)

It has LOADS of features I dislike...
Diesel, check
Non plug in hybrid, check
Automated manual g'box, check
Lots of chrome bling, check
Privacy glass for the rear half, check

... and yet somehow I really like it!?! It looks like nothing else on the road and the interior is beautifully done with lovely materials. Seems well screwed together as well.

I went for the no cost option smaller 17" wheels (18's standard) which smooths the ride and brings the emissions down to 92kg/km thus qualifying for zero road tax under the current rules.

Re the gearbox, I think it works well. The hybrid integration means you move away on pure leccy power which smooths the take up, and similarly fills and smooths the relatively slow up-changes once the mechanical engine and transmission have kicked in. I understand there have been a couple of software upgrades to enhance this integration but my car (brand new delivered last Friday) seems very good. Sport mode speeds-up and smooth the changes further but to be honest you don't buy a car like this to charge around in so my sub 200 miles so far have be covered in Auto mode at a sedate pace.

So far I'm a happy Citroeniste (I now have 2 of them) :)

Cheers

Mark

[b1gbrad]

Congrats on your purchase - it sounds very interesting. But the trouble is that things may start falling off it in a few years time. :-( We used to have a Citroen dealership in our group and the build quality really hasn't improved as much as other manufacturers' have, and some of the finishing could be a lot better.

In more instances than not, for example, the top of the roof line when the boot lid is open seems to be missing paint and lacquer in places. This just wouldn't be acceptable for many manfuacturers. It makes you wonder...

[goldtop]

What he said. I love the idea of Citroens, I've always liked driving them (though nothing recent except the C Zero), I appreciate their odd-ball thinking, that GT supercar concept they have in the Champs Elysee showroom is mind-boggling ... but ... I'd never - ever - buy one with my own money!

YMMV as they say. :)

[markc]

In more instances than not, for example, the top of the roof line when the boot lid is open seems to be missing paint and lacquer in places. This just wouldn't be acceptable for many manfuacturers. It makes you wonder...

Well you got me to check inside my boot lid, plenty of nicely finished paint :)

I suspect Citroen are making a special effort on the DS brand as they are positioning it as a prestige sub brand in a similar vein to Acura, Lexus, Infinity etc. It'll take a while to convince us conservative Brit's who are still hooked on German quality, both real and perceived, but it really is nicely done. The finish is as good as our Audi TT Cab (2007) which we have also had from new and has suffered a few quality issues (sagging seats bases, broken window lifters, DSG issues etc) but longer term we'll see.

I do feel a bit on the bleeding edge and wouldn't be surprised if the hybrid system or EGS gearbox (automated manual) gave some issues but the funky design and desire to be different won me over.

Paul, I drove the proper torque converter auto, pure diesel DS5 back to back with the hybrid. The proper auto is smoother under harder acceleration but in normal driving I could detect very little difference, save for the spooky silence in slow moving traffic when the hybrid uses leccy only.

Cheers

Mark

[Nick Graves]

I'd never heard of it!

The dash reminds me of proper wacky Citroëns of yore.

The tech (bit like the new Leg End) gives it a real raison d'étre.

Best of luck with it. Have you got a fire extinguisher...

[gumball]

The DS range is damn nice actually.

[NSX 2000]

Paul, I drove the proper torque converter auto, pure diesel DS5 back to back with the hybrid. The proper auto is smoother under harder acceleration but in normal driving I could detect very little difference, save for the spooky silence in slow moving traffic when the hybrid uses leccy only.

Cheers

Mark

We love the pure electric mode, going around supermarket carparks scaring the "old people" who can't hear it!

With regards to quality I can only say that it has been just as good as the CRV and BMW E91. With 2 little ones who climb all over it, slam doors etc not one thing has broken. Done 45k miles in 14 months. (Just off to touch some wood). Peugeot and Citreon have really upped their game.

Mark if you have the same sat nav system did you know you can download speed cameras to it.

[Diesse 19]

Congratulations Mark,

Accueil au cote de noir mon brave!!!!