Early 2008 saw the original C5 replaced, in a fanfare of publicity, with a car for which there was no doubt about the intended target market.
Launch TV ads in the UK made it very clear, with their ‘Unmistakably German’ tag line, teutonic imagery and Wagner soundtrack – BMW, Mercedes, Audi, watch out.
Sharing the Peugeot 407’s platform – a derivation of the Mk1 C5, but with mutli-link front suspension, rather than MacPherson struts – the car itself had a similar three-box outline to the predecessor, but this time meant it – no tailgate, only a bootlid. Whilst the Mk1 C5 and Xantia had had different suspension systems according to trim level, with variable springing only on upper-spec cars, the Mk2 C5 took this to another level – the lower-spec cars using the same steel springing as the 407. Only upper-spec had hydraulics, albeit Hydractive 3+.
Mechanically, the C5 mixed the old C5 and the C6 – the v6 diesel (shared with Jaguar/Land-Rover) being the only addition. Slow sales of the v6 petrol in the old car meant that the new one didn’t even get that engine for the UK.
