Words: Jason Round

Turbo-diesels are finally taking off in this country, and leading the way is Citroen with a world-first sequential twin-turbo set-up in the latest C5.

Although the 125kW the four puts out is nothing amazing in the scheme of things, the 370Nm of torque available from just 1500rpm (!) makes it perfect for zipping around town and/or pulling tree stumps – if that’s what tickles your fancy.

Your hip-pocket will thank you too, because the C5 consumes just 5L/100km. Of course, that goes hand in hand with a whole bunch of tree-lovin’, hippie stuff, but we’re concerned with the performance, which isn’t looking toooo bad at 9.3sec for the 0–100 sprint. Apparently, the second turbocharger kicks in at 2,700rpm, so there should be ample midrange there as well.

The C5 will also use a highly complex automatic gear train incorporating a six-speed trans with a high-torque engine placed transversely in the enegine bay. It will use the gear-ratio combinations of two epicyclical gear trains, one single and one double to deliver shifting that Citroen promises will be ‘slick’. There will also be adaptive sport, snow and auto modes.

RRP on the C5 is set at $53,990, which though on the steep side, ain’t too bad for the kind of engineering and luxury on offer here. We’d have to do something about that boring-ass exterior, though...