2006 Citroën C6 Exclusive HDi

Our C6 is a top-spec Exclusive model powered by the smooth and surprisingly energetic twin-turbo 2.7 diesel. French manufacturers have always been good at building fine diesel engines, and this one – a joint venture with Ford/Jaguar/Land Rover – is no exception. With 201hp, 325lb ft of torque at 1900rpm, and around 30mpg in average use (and up to 44mpg in gentle use), all of it delivered in a cathedral-like hush, even the most ardent anti-dieseller will be impressed.

All the glowplugs have been recently replaced on this car, which has covered 107,000 miles as it sits now at our Abingdon premises. In addition a new windscreen was fitted in January of this year, and the hydraulic fluid was changed in 2019.

Bodywise we would categorise this Citroen as ‘rather good’. There’s the odd blemish, for example a paint scrape on the passenger side rear wheelarch and maybe some very mild denting there, along with a tiny scrape to the edge of the wing section by the nearside front driving light, some very insignificant stone chipping below the grille and some ring-scratches underneath the doorhandles, but overall this is a 14-year-old car that has been used in a normal way and that remains highly useable now. The paint seems thick and smooth and it's not hard to imagine a couple of hours detailing work on this luxury car yielding very satisfying results. The alloys are in excellent order with the exception of light scuffing to two of the spokes on the nearside front.

C6s that have been biffed from behind can often be uneconomic to repair as the bumper section alone costs something in the order of £3000. The fact that this car’s rear bumper is in excellent condition is a big point in its favour. We suspect that this car is going to have a parts value well in excess of the hammer price we expect it to achieve – but with not much more than 100,000 miles on this relaxed big-inch diesel’s bores, there’s no reason to be thinking about doing anything other than enjoying the C6 driving experience for a good while yet.

We haven't tested everything in this Citroen’s cabin, mainly because there is so much kit to test in an Exclusive-spec C6. However, we’re told that all the important stuff like the aircon, big central sat-nav, excellent entertainment system, heated front seats and the electric windows, mirrors and driver’s seat adjustment all definitely work, and we have no reason to believe that that isn't the case for the rest of the equipment, including the passenger seat which is also electrified (but not in a trouser-singeing Blofeld-type way).

The head-up display which projects digital speedo information and direction arrows from the sat-nav onto a virtual point ‘ahead’ of the windscreen is a new unit. HUDs are quite a treat if you’ve never tried one.

An ABS warning light appears intermittently on the largely immaculate dash, but the vendor assures us that the system works fine on the road, suggesting nothing more sinister than a fritzing sensor. Similarly, the ‘service due’ light is on even though a service was carried out in December 2019. There is some dampness in the passenger side footwell which could be condensation – Citroen dealers did recommend keeping the aircon on all the time with these cars – or maybe leaves have blocked a drain near the wiper motor.

The light tan leather seats have a little grime, and there are a couple of marks on the glovebox and a couple of kick marks to the sill covers, just as you’d expect from a car of this mileage. The practical but ultra-stylish half-moon door bins that were roundly applauded by launch journalists in 2005 still look good today, as do the door cappings and the luxuriously thick carpets. And who wouldn’t love to travel in the back of a car that has so much legroom, reclining seats, its own aircon controls and not one but two 12v lighter sockets? Your passengers can pretend to be French diplomats on their way to the British Embassy to discuss fishing quotas while listening to a spot of Debussy on the Clarion 6-disc CD player.

Everything looks sound underneath with no worrying corrosion. Under the bonnet there’s a tiny amount of surface corrosion to the odd bracket.

A quick word about the Hydractive 3+ hydropneumatic suspension that was standard on all C6s and that makes driving one such a wonderful experience. Jeremy Clarkson took a C6 to Towcester horse races and used it as a DS Safari-style camera car to follow the 2.30 from the (very rough) perimeter track. The pictures from the Citroen’s camera were uncannily smooth whereas those from a BMW 5 Series Sport used for the second half of the race were all but unwatchable.

Although we haven’t tested this particular car’s suspension on a variety of roads, the electronically controlled springing and damping system raises and lowers as it’s supposed to and we are told by the owner that its automatic three-mode operation (lowering the car by 15mm above 110km/h on motorways and raising it by 13mm at speeds under 70km/h on poor roads) works as it should. Ownership hassles are greatly diminished on Hydractive 3 cars too as the orange LDS hydraulic fluid they used is much less prone to the absorption of moisture or the inhalation of grit and dust than the green LHM fluid used in earlier hydropneumatic Citroens.

A good service history comes with the car along with an invoice for the new windscreen and a note attesting to the 2019 service and hydraulic fluid change and to the fitment of a new thermostat housing in 2018. The timing, aux and injection pump belts were changed around 8,500 miles ago. There are two keys.

Our C6 went through its MOT test at the end of January 2020, at which point 104,730 miles had been covered. There were advisories on worn front brake discs (under £40 each) and for slight play in the nearside front anti-roll bar joint (under £20 for a new drop link).

The total number of C6s built was equivalent to a little over 3,000 cars a year. That was the number of 5 Series cars BMW was building every week.

That was the C6’s problem really. There was nothing wrong with this classy, comfortable and innovative executive, and there was a great deal that was very right with it. It was simply competing in one of the toughest markets imaginable, where it was up against vast numbers of established ‘safe choice’ cars like the BMW and the E-Class Mercedes.

It’s been said before, but if you share our opinion that true Citroens are defined by quirky innovation and supreme comfort, then you’ll also agree with us that the C6 was the last true Citroen. That surely gives it a certain cachet and a future potential to appreciate. Look what happened to the XM, a car largely ignored in its active lifetime. Today, the few good examples that are around are commanding impressive prices.

With fewer than 500 C6s registered on UK roads right now, rarity is already on your side. At the kind of money we expect this car to make – £2,000 to £4,000 – this black beauty would amount to a lot of car for very little outlay. Once the virus shackles are off we can see this car taking you and your family off to the farthest reaches of Europe in a Zen-like state of blissful calm. This is one of the most relaxing grand touring saloons ever made.

Viewing is always encouraged. This particular car is located at our Abingdon premises. To arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Footman James for classic car insurance Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car and AnyVan for transporting it.

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