Citroen C5 SX HDi 2005 Review

Citroen's hallmark air suspension is everything it's hyped up to be ... a few notches below bouncing on a blow-up castle.

You may sniff that this car is simply the French Falcon, mais oui, but your average frog is tres chic, demanding rear cup holders that cater for stemmed glasses.

Of course, there is the old-school de rigueur front ashtray for those Gitanes as well – not so elegant. Driving needn't be a chore when you've got windscreen wipers which wave at the first sight of rain and headlights which sense when it's the darker side of twilight.

I'd recommend upgrading your handbag to a tote, however, to cater for the enormous Citroen key. While it looks like a tennis racquet, it has an extra handy feature which turns the headlights on or off at a distance.

Crash test dummies love Citroen C5, too, with its safety record a cut above the rest. In February, it was voted safest car ever by Euro NCAP – an independent testing agency – with almost full protection for drivers, and dummies, on front and side collisions.

There are airbags aplenty – six in total on front, side and rear, plus front and rear curtain airbags – a fuel line that cuts out on impact, remote central locking that kicks in when the car takes off and an overspeed warning alarm.

Safe as houses.

Speaking of houses, I would gladly rip out Citroen's seats and cosy armrests and place them in my lounge room. Barring that, it is one of the more comfortable choices for the drive-in, if you are keen for a cruise to Gepps Cross.

There's plenty of room in the boot for stowaways, too.

Having had the fortune to do a "vertical tasting" of Citroen's C3, C4 and C5 in the past few months, I would place the family-car diesel at the top of the tree for comfort and practicality.

But for those pleasure seekers without human or fur families, the C4 is a slicker, sexier option.

Either way, the French Falcon is a classy car, even with the ashtray.

LOVE IT LEAVE IT

Citroen C5 HDi SX

Four-cylinder, 2.2-litre automatic diesel

Price: $51,990

LOVE IT

Dreamy suspension.

Surprisingly quick acceleration.

Leather trim.

Pram-friendly boot.

LEAVE IT

Sounds like a tractor at idle.

Confusing stereo controls.

Seat belt alarm.

Tennis-racquet-look key.