The Citroen C5 is a large family SUV with a reputation for being cheap to run. Considering the price tag for a new Citroen C5 can be a bit pricy, you might be wondering why some would call the C5 a cheap car. While the price of the lot certainly factors into whether or not a car is considered to be inexpensive, there are also many other factors that contribute to the C5 being an overall good economic decision to purchase. The C5 is certainly an impressive car, and many people dream of driving one of these sporty and adventurous vehicles. If you’ve had your eye on the Citroen C5 and were wondering about whether it’s worth it, stay tuned! In this article, we’ll be talking about why the Citroen C5 is so cheap, including maintenance costs, fuel economy, and the new hybrid models.
Citroen C5 Overview
Before we get into why the Citroen C5 is so cheap, let’s take a closer look at the vehicle. The C5 is made by the French auto manufacturer Citroen and has been in production since 2001. Its layout features a front engine and a four wheel drive, and overall the vehicle is considered to be a large family car, a similar size to a Tesla Model 3 or a BMW 3 series.
`When talking about the C5, the Citroen website says that “comfort and adventure have never gone so well together.” The current model of the C5 features both an engine and electric motor option, depending on how you prefer to fuel up. The vehicle has an eight-speed automatic transmission and has a couple different choices for engines so every driver can customize the C5 to their needs, including:
- 1.2L EB2DTS turbo l3 engine
- 1.6L PureTech turbo l4 engine
- 1.6L PureTech turbo l4 plug-in hybrid engine
- A Synchronous Electric Motor
When you combine all of the great engine options with the top-notch engineering and expressive design features in the C5, it’s easy to see why this SUV is a dream car for many! The C5 is a unique car with European style and great care taken into its fuel economy and the way its powered.
Citroen C5 Cheap for these reasons
Citroen C5 Pricing
While other SUVs with as high of a level of quality and customization as the C5 tend to be quite expensive, you might be surprised to hear about the price range of this Citroen vehicle. While the Citroen price off the lot isn’t really what people are talking about when they call the car cheap, it’s really good in comparison to other vehicles on the market.
The French manufacturer tends to keep the prices of its vehicles relatively under wraps, but the starting price of the 2019 Citroen C5 Aircross SUV was approximately $31,000. Of course, if you select all of the optional features and get a fully decked out C5, it could end up setting you back up to $54,450. While this isn’t an amount of money that everyone can afford to spend on a car, it’s a very decent price range for the type and size of vehicle it is. The similarly sized BMW 3 series starts at $40,750, which is significantly higher when you take into account all the other factors associated with maintaining these vehicles.
Maintenance and Fuel Economy
The Citroen C5 might have a decent starting price when buying new off the lot, but the real reason so many auto enthusiasts consider it to be cheap is maintenance costs and fuel economy. Every car is going to cost some amount of money to maintain on a yearly basis, and that’s important to take into consideration when purchasing a new vehicle and getting your finances in order. While ownership costs for the Citroen C5 will vary, a well-performing C5 will only need to be serviced about once every 12 months (approximately 10,000 miles). Servicing costs are estimated to be anywhere from $245 to $407 per year, which is much lower than the average car on the road!
In terms of fuel economy, the C5 also performs really well. Looking at the figures for the 1.2L EB2DTS turbo l3 engine, the average mpg for the Citroen C5 is 44.2 mpg. Large family SUVs are notorious for having terrible fuel economy, but the C5 does refreshingly well. This means that if you purchase one of these cars, you’ll spend less time at the gas station and less money on gas! All of these factors make for a good economic decision, which is backed up by auto experts who describe SUVs like the Citroen C5 Aircross as a ‘good pick.’
Plug-In Hybrid and Electric Motor Option
Another thing about the C5 that has been introduced recently is the plug-in hybrid and electric motor options. As we listed earlier when talking about the engine options, there are two ways you can get a greener ride when purchasing a new C5 these days. One can select either a 1.6L PureTech turbo l4 plug-in hybrid engine or a synchronous electric motor which makes for a fully electric car. Both versions of the vehicle are impressive and provide the owner with an opportunity to skip out on some of those hefty fuel costs.
While electricity still costs money, it is a much cheaper way to fuel your car than traditional gas. Depending on where you get that electricity, there are even more ways to save money on day-to-day ‘fuel’ purchases after you own a C5 or similar electric car. Depending on which state you live in, there might be solar rebates and incentives to encourage you to install solar panels on top of your house or garage. Once you have a solar panel on top of your house, you can essentially charge your electric vehicle or hybrid for free!
Common Issues with the Citroen C5
Of course, while the Citroen C5 has a lot of impressive features, no vehicle is perfect. Another reason some people might call the C5 ‘cheap’ is because there are some common issues that might suggest not every part of this car is top quality. Some of these problems actually seem pretty serious and expensive to fix, including:
- The engine overheating due to electronic software problems, which left unchecked can lead to engine failure.
- Incorrect power terminal positioning, which can increase short circuit risk.
- The airbag failing to deploy in case of an accident, which increases the safety risks of driving.
- The fuel lines having faulty connection, resulting in leakage of fuel into the cylinder head and increasing fire risk.
Thankfully, all of these problems have already been identified by Citroen and the cars they affect have been recalled. Even still, some of these issues suggest that the craftsmanship on these C5 vehicles might not always be up to speed. Even though these problems were fixed by Citroen for free, it’s still a huge inconvenience to have your car recalled and kind of scary to know the problems that could have occurred.
Wrapping it Up
To wrap things up, while it might not be obvious at first, there is a real reason that the Citroen C5 is considered to be a cheap vehicle by some. The C5 is a high-quality SUV with many customization options, and most comparable cars with similar features start at a much higher price point.
Besides the reasonable starting price point of this vehicle from the French automaker Citroen, low maintenance costs and great fuel economy make this cool European car a cheap pick. Though you might have to spend more money on a Citroen upfront than a Toyota, the day to day costs of running a C5 are low. This is especially true if you decide to go for a plug-in hybrid or electric option for the engine, which can push fuel costs even lower.
If you’ve been wondering about the Citroen C5 and whether it’s really as good as it seems, you should check it out! It’s part of a class of well-designed luxury cars that can turn out to be pretty cheap in the long run.
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