Citroen C6 Better Than A Ls430

[runbly]

So this weeks Autocar tests a used Range Rover, Citroen C6 and a LS430. Plenty of good things said about the LS but ultimately the C6 is chosen. Each to their own....I wonder how long the C6 would last compared to the LS430 though!

[david_hornet27]

Must admit I have always hankered after a big citroen and if I could afford 2 large cars I would have my Lexus and the C6. However I can't afford both and would never ever choose a citroen over the LS400 let alone an LS430!

Can see the citroen costing a fortune in repairs and getting very annoying as things start to break inside and out.

[bazgtr]

It's french it will break down in two months of ownership.

The amount of warrenty work I do and see on new french cars is behond believe.

It's got to the stage that my garage mates have stopped selling any french cars as the problems they bring after is too much head work, time and cost. E.M. light is the curse of the french car.

And before anybody states I've got one that doesn't break down then count yourself very lucky.

MY TOP TIP.

Next time you're on a motorway note down the cars you see on the hard shoulder with it's hazards on and keep a record and you'll soon see a pattern over time.

[SteveLS400]

It's french it will break down in two months of ownership.

The amount of warrenty work I do and see on new french cars is behond believe.

It's got to the stage that my garage mates have stopped selling any french cars as the problems they bring after is too much head work, time and cost. E.M. light is the curse of the french car.

And before anybody states I've got one that doesn't break down then count yourself very lucky.

MY TOP TIP.

Next time you're on a motorway note down the cars you see on the hard shoulder with it's hazards on and keep a record and you'll soon see a pattern over time.

They are usually BMW's,Volvo's, Mercs and all French cars. My AA patrolman mate says he gets called out to the 1st three more often than any other makes.

[steveskeggy]

The C6 is a really nice car, I looked around it at the last motor show and was really impressed with the inside, in fact I prefered sitting in it to sitting in the LS600, but that may have been down to the Lexus man being a ******.

However something lets the C6 down.

The C6 is only available new with a diesel engine

Now having an oil burner as an option, is ok, we know that a proper luxury vehicle is not going to be taken seriously unless it has a big V8 under the bonnet.

I know that the range used to include a petrol V6, but it only produced 215 BHP, and in a 2 ton car this gave a 0-60 time of 9.4 seconds.

The new V6 Diesel puts out 240 BHP which translates to 8.9 seconds to 60, this is not enough when you consider that the LS430 does the same in 6.5.

Top speed of the C6 is 143.

The citroen is nice, but if you have a luxury car, then you cant be seen filling up at the diesel pump in the fuel station.

[david_hornet27]

I got Autocar just to see the how they ended up choosing the Citroen. They judged the LS as having 'probably the best resolved handling of all three cars' and being 'impressive on B roads'. They also mention that the interior is 'remarkably contemporary' for an 8 year old car, and that 'the engine is very very quiet and slick and the driving experience is refined and smooth'.

The stats show that the Lexus is lighter, has more power, better 0-60, higher top speed and less depreciation than the Citroen. Also the LS430 is a 2002 model, whereas the Citroen is a 2006.

Bad point for the Citroen was that the dash looked 'cheap enough to come from a C4'. The LS gearstick was 'too upright', although it seemed to be in the same position as the other two cars in the photos!. The words 'clutching at straws' spring to mind...

However despite all this the Citroen was their choice because it had 'character'. In my experience character can be translated as poor reliability and things breaking on a regular basis.

It seems to me that the majority of the car press just don't want to let themselves like the Lexus brand.

[steveskeggy]

However despite all this the Citroen was their choice because it had 'character'.

Character?

Gary Glitter has got character, but I would rather have Kimi Raikkonen looking after kids (At least they would get an ice cream).

Mind you it doesnt surprise me from Autocar, the only time I ever read that rag was on the way to picking up the Ls430. I tore it up when I read that they wanted all of their readers to do 40 mph in the 60 limits.

I thought of bringing it home and using it as bog roll, but I wouldnt wipe my Ar$e with it.

[Chris Skelton]

As the resident long term Citroen owner/Car Club Member.......owned about 20 between 81 and 2004.......I chose LS400 after my lovely CX Turbo. I like the idea of the C6, but I still value the 'hewn from stone' feel of the LS...if you get my drift?

The only 2 things I'd have.....the LOOKS of a DS23 stuck on to the Lex! And the ineffable suspension too!

[runbly]

The guy who wrote the article voted the Range Rover as his car of the decade a few months ago on the Autocar website, so I was expecting him to go for the RR over the LS or C6.

[JellyBean]

I got Autocar just to see the how they ended up choosing the Citroen. They judged the LS as having 'probably the best resolved handling of all three cars' and being 'impressive on B roads'. They also mention that the interior is 'remarkably contemporary' for an 8 year old car, and that 'the engine is very very quiet and slick and the driving experience is refined and smooth'.

The stats show that the Lexus is lighter, has more power, better 0-60, higher top speed and less depreciation than the Citroen. Also the LS430 is a 2002 model, whereas the Citroen is a 2006.

Bad point for the Citroen was that the dash looked 'cheap enough to come from a C4'. The LS gearstick was 'too upright', although it seemed to be in the same position as the other two cars in the photos!. The words 'clutching at straws' spring to mind...

However despite all this the Citroen was their choice because it had 'character'. In my experience character can be translated as poor reliability and things breaking on a regular basis.

It seems to me that the majority of the car press just don't want to let themselves like the Lexus brand.

This is a typical Autocar conclusion. Were it a college essay, such a decision after the presentation of the facts would earn a D minus. Autocar is very anti-Lexus. How else could they rate a Maserati as a better LUXURY car than an LS460?

[steve2006]

They say water and electricity don't mix,going from experience they actually do in a Citroen as water in my Belingo entered the "control computer" via a dodgy windscreen seal and cost over 500 pounds to put right.

Add to the fact that they are renowned for poor electrics ( experience of an XM that always thought a rear light was out) and the indicator/wiper stalks go loose and floopy.

When it comes to reliability and build quality Citroen come bottom in my humble opinion.

[SteveLS400]

They say water and electricity don't mix,going from experience they actually do in a Citroen as water in my Belingo entered the "control computer" via a dodgy windscreen seal and cost over 500 pounds to put right.

Add to the fact that they are renowned for poor electrics ( experience of an XM that always thought a rear light was out) and the indicator/wiper stalks go loose and floopy.

When it comes to reliability and build quality Citroen come bottom in my humble opinion.

My son had a Citroen XM that wanted crushing at birth. It was nearly as bad as a Fiat he had.

I cannot believe that Citreon and Lexus are being discussed in the same article. Citreon are horrible and nasty. The only conclusion to draw is that the so-called journalist was bribed or not in control of his mental faculties at the time he reached the conclusion.

[John Lawley]

The citroen is nice, but if you have a luxury car, then you cant be seen filling up at the diesel pump in the fuel station.

2 months ago while i was filling up with LPG a woman parks up on the pump next to me and starts filling up her "S55 AMG" with diesel i thought thats going to be expensive as she'd been doing it for a while before i noticed i think realised the brake discs under her AMG alloys weren't as big as i expected and put 2 + 2 togther....all about looks nothing about substance, mind you i'm sure a 320CDi probably still burnsoff most cars that a S55 would (as in it's slower but then the S55 is very fast anyway), just the huge cloud fo black smoke would give it away...

[John Lawley]

it's always the same the better car in anytest in a rag like autocar is one paying most advertiseing this month/year ;) My wife read a review between a mondeo and a vectra once, they where equal in every area except handling which the mondeo won hands down, the winner overall? The vectra, because the mondeo is a rep mobile, I'm confused whats a vectra then a Lunar Rover? Had lots of mondeo's recently swapped my wifes volvo for a 2001 Vectra SRi such a wonderful car, it's on eBay after 2 weeks............