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Honestly, I expected Citroen DS 5 to be the glorious continuation of the Citroen C5, one of the best saloons of recent times. But I was left disappointed and my day is ruined.

That’s because the Citroen DS 5 was an experiment by Citroen, and not necessarily a successful one. In essence, the Citroen DS 5 is like a reverse Audi A4 B6. The folks at Audi stretched the B6 platform more than a irish boss stretches a minimum-wage employee. They launched the A4 B6, then they launched the A4 B7, and somehow managed to keep the platform alive and launched the Seat Exeo. They pushed it as far as they could.

And the Citroen DS 5? Perhaps the garlic bread eaters listened to the fans and more specifically to the criticism brought to the Citroen C5, saying it was too teutonic. So they went back to the origins that made them famous and focused entirely on them good looks. Sure, it looks good, but if you want to live with it every day, it should know how to do more than just look good. Like women, essentially. As the saying goes, “it’s no use looking good if you can’t cook a proper beef wellington.” 

Citroen DS 5 Engines

Petrol

1.6 THP EV6 with 156 and 200 horsepower – Sure, there were major issues with the timing chain on the first models, but since this engine made its way onto the 3 Series it has become much more reliable, and you can buy it without worries. However, be careful because it’s a direct injection engine, and these need the intake manifold to be cleaned from time to time.

Diesel

• 1.6 e-HDi of 115 and 120 horsepower – Honestly, I’d pass on this engine for the Citroen DS 5; it’s like trying to get drunk on alcohol-free beer. It takes too long. By the way, does alcohol-free beer still exist, or has it disappeared like Pokemon Go? Oh yes, this engine also comes with the EGS6 semi-automatic gearbox, which should be avoided. But only the 1.6 HDi comes with this engine.


• 2.0 HDi DW10 of 120, 150, 160, 165, and 180 horsepower – I don’t have much to say about the legendary 2.0 HDi, which is like any other 2.0 diesel in 4 cylinders on the market. Oh yes, a special mention for the BlueHDI versions, which have an AdBlue system that needs to be taken care of.

Hybrid

2.0 HDi hybrid of 200 horsepower – The Hybrid4 engine is okay in itself, but it comes with the higher maintenance costs of hybrids. Plus, a hybrid is mainly made for city driving, while a Euro 6 diesel is for long distances. So what’s the point in the end?

Citroen DS 5 Reliability Issues 

• The biggest issue with the Citroen DS 5 is that they switched to regular suspension. Yes, they no longer have the famous hydropneumatic suspension that Citroen has been famous for since 1955. They have a normal suspension that isn’t as comfortable, not even by normal suspension standards.


• The ABS pump is a common issue for all Citroen DS 5 models, so when you see the ABS light on the dashboard, you can start wishing it health issues that you would normally address to Iliescu.


• And since we’re talking about dashboard errors, Citroen abandoned the hydropneumatic suspension but went back to the madness inside. We have a design that only Citroen can do, but we also have so many buttons and functions that only Citroen knows how to do. And the more buttons we have, the more technical issues we have, so check absolutely every button and every possible function before you buy.

Citroen DS 5 Verdict 

It seems it was more of an experiment than a dramatic rerun of turkish soap operas. Sure, they listened to criticism, and the DS 5 is not as teutonic as the old C5, but it wasn’t a good enough car for people to throw money at Citroen to buy one. Which is why they withdrew it fairly quickly and continued with the DS 9 story. Is it worth buying one? For how it looks, absolutely. And it’s also a decently reliable car.

Which engines do I recommend? For petrol, definitely the 1.6 Turbo with 156 horsepower because that’s the only one, and for diesel, the simple, non-hybrid 2.0 HDi with 150 horsepower. That should be all the engine you need.