USED Citroën C8 MPV (02 - 10)

My car

Excellent value for money full size MPV.

Unfortunatley Dealers Service Dept very poor. Had to fit a full new dashboard £3000 + due to technicials taking out welded insert with a sharp knife and screwdriver at only 3 weeks old!!!

Drives well and extremeley practical even after a Zafira.

My car

I was looking for the best-value people carrier on the road, and at the time (September 2004) this was it.

For just over £16,000 new, this car was a bargain.

Initially, I thought the outside styling was good. However, I wasn't overkeen on the quirky, typically French interior. My wife thinks it is stylish, however, and the kids love the space.

On the road it handles well for such a big and heavy car, although it does feel big to begin with. The 2.0-litre deisel engine is not the quickest in a sprint but it has loads of torque and is like a steam train pulling up hills. It never really feels underpowered, even when fully laden, but at the same time it's not a GTI.

All-round visibilty is excellent and the level of comfort is good. I am particularly impressed with the level of refinement on motorways where it is very quiet, although this may be helped by the clever stereo sytem, which automatically increases and decreases the volume according to road speed.

Overall, I am happy with the C8 and it does everything I expected of it. It has been 100% reliable for the 24,000 miles I have driven it. It seams to have a character of its own and always receives a comment from new passengers, such as: "What is that for?" or "Why did they bother with a parcel shelf?"

Take it for a test drive, and you will see what I mean.

My car

We bought the C8 2.0LX and, on the whole, it is a functional car. The finish is not the best when you compare it with the competition but, for the price, I can't complain.

The 2.0 petrol drinks fuel, so we wished we had saved up a few more pennies and got the diesel.

If you are thinking of buying this car, try to opt for the SX version with electric side doors. The doors are very heavy and the kids have trouble shutting our manual version.

The air-conditioned drinks-can storage is a good feature. The best feature is the automatic child-lock function. As soon as the vehicle is in motion, it will lock the back doors. You can of course turn this off if you wish.

We have had no trouble with the car.

My car

My motivation to purchase this car (beside the family aspect) was that it's the first MPV with five stars in EuroNCAP crash tests (directly followed by Renault's Espace).

The suspension is not as soft as the Citroën Evasion's (which the C8 replaces). I owned the Fiat Ulysse version of that model, which gave much more suspension comfort. On the other hand, this firm suspension on the C8 gives very good ride and handling on the highway - but on secondary roads it can be bumpy and absolutely uncomfortable.

The 2.0 HDi 109hp engine is very quiet, but performance of the 2.2 HDi 128hp of course is better (tested with the Peugeot 807 2.2 HDi of my brother-in-law).

There have been a lot of little problems repaired (parts replaced) under warranty, but the total first impression of quality is absolutely not very good - although replaced parts stay good and don't break down again.

I have chosen for a car with the HDi motor (JTD on the Ulysse was an HDi, too), but my next car will be a product of the VAG group again (althouth the TDis aren't that quiet - the build quality is so much better - I'm very sorry PSA manufacturers.