Traded Back To A Mk2

[seefive]

OK folks - I'm probably the first to have done this (or owned up to it)

 

Having bought a new C5 exclusive saloon last year, I have now got shot of it in favour of a Mk2 ( like I had before!).

 

I tracked down a nice 2006 (55) example - 2.0 hdi exclusive 6 speed auto with sat nav, sunroof and LDWS, low mileage and 2 owners. In deep red mica metallic/grey alcantara. Very happy with that, although no doubt it will need a few things done, with it being so old. Runs very smoothly though - quiter than the Mk 3 which had quite a growl to it. Slightly heavier on fuel, due to it being auto, Also a bit nasty on road tax (£265 v £110 - ouch)

 

There were so many things I missed from the old Mk2..

 

• Xenon lights, with washers and low fluid level warning
• Gas bonnet struts
• Dipping door mirror
• Switchable dipping rear view mirror
• Individual arm rests
• Usable front cupholder
• Another usable front cupholder
• Decent sized door bins, driver glovebox, and door cubby holes
• Rear blind
• The abilty to get in and out without losing your sunglasses/bashing your head. The Mk 3 is way too low, and the sports seats make it even more awkward
• A load more money in my bank account - I have now banked a fair chunk of cash , after selling the Mk3 to a main dealer, and paying peanuts for the old Mk2

There were of course some nice features in the mk 3 . For a start the sat nav didn't require a permanent disc, which means you have to choose between navigation or MP3 music disc. Also nice to have seat memory, but then I start running out of good points (apart from the looks of course, and the fuel consumption/tax) 

 

Hopefully I won't regret this, but for the time being at least, I'm a happy bunny with a load more money!

 

 

[Sixchannel]

Not quite the same thing, seefive, but here is my two penn'orth -

When my second (and last) Xantia wore out after intergalactic mileage, the C5 seemed the logical choice - the C4 being too light for towing my caravan and having an abhorrent dash (IMO) to boot.

I wanted a more modern C5, so a late Mk2 or a Mk3 seemed right. However, the "facelift" on the Mk2 was a horrid job cosmetically (again just my opinion) and the two I tried both had "issues". The styling on the Mk3 is very tasty especially the Tourer and the 160bhp after my Xantias 90 was very welcome.

Maybe I should have got my head out of my backside and looked more closely at the Mk 2 ,say around 2007.

 

Most of all I miss the Hydraulic suspension, only having a VTR+NAV, not an Exclusive. Mk3s are quite choppy on ordinary town roads. Nice on Motorways though.

The front door roof line is low but I'm getting used to ducking now!

Front storage on the Mk3 is absymal compared to the Xantia. Mind you, its made me edit and tidy up all my Gubbins.

Fuel consumption is not a patch on the Xantia but I guess all that Grunt has to come at some cost.

That ridiculous " economy mode" is really getting on my wick, especially when waiting in the car park for Ever Loving to come out of Sainsburys and the radio going off every few minutes. Grr! Is there no way of defeating or deactivating that?

Cheers

Sixchannel

Edited September 9, 2014 by Sixchannel