Category: Executive 
Price Range: £28,795 to £35,495
Distinctive exterior styling, Citroen heritage, quiet and smooth ride, very French feel
Very expensive for a Citroen; dull cabin design, some quality shortcuts, overlight steering, wallowing suspension. If you're determined not to buy German, the Lexus GS and Jaguar S-Type are similarly priced.
It's not a keen driver's car by any stretch of the imagination, with fit and finish some way off the class leaders: but the C6 has both charm and character. You're going to have to really fall in love with it to justify such an investment, however.
The basic structural components have been tried and tested already in other Peugeot-Citroen models, as have the engines; the 2.7 HDI diesel has also been fitted successfully in the Jaguars S-Type and XJ, too.
Citroen's complex suspension technology is a lot more reliable than it used to be, but both Peugeot and Citroen have had continued problems with their electrical and electronic multiplex wiring systems in recent years - the C6 is fitted with a high level of gizmos and gadgets (though no keyless entry or ignition, items which often cause trouble).
What with the C5 scoring poorly in reliability and customer satisfaction surveys, we can't help but be sceptical. On one positive note, however, the low levels of production should mean attention to detail - it won't be hand-built, as such, but the production line staff can spend more time on one of these than on a C1 or C2.
Though the plainly detailed and tastefully done cabin initially strikes a good impression, there are some quality shortcuts; fixtures such as the glovebox do not have well-damped lids or openings, there are some flimsy plastic items (centre console compartments, some switchgear) and cheap-looking detailing (the "wood" of the front door bins).
The pseudo-grain finish to the plastics is a bit suspect and the leather upholstery is little better than that in many a cheap Far Eastern car these days.
There's no reassuring clunk when the doors close, either and the bootlid (not electronically-activated) feels particularly lightweight.
It's not so much that the C6 seems badly downmarket, just that it simply doesn't feel like a near-£30,000 car, let alone £38,500-worth for the top-spec versions. This is Lexus GS/Jaguar S-Type money, and the C6 does not match up to either of these.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Citroen C6
wrote on 03 01 2008