Author —— Kaga User: Cream Flower Roll Jun
Speaking of French cars in the Chinese market, I believe that the concept of the vast majority of people still stays on the 308, 408, Sega and other Peugeot and Citroen models that were more popular in the previous generation, and even many people have ignored the Renault that has withdrawn from China. In the past few years, the performance of French cars in the domestic market has obviously fallen into a vicious circle, sales continue to be sluggish, not to mention, a large part of this unbearable sales volume is from the Peugeot 301 for the online car market such as the very low-end model, which also makes the image of french brands in The country further sink, and the reputation is further lower. When many people once thought that French brands would abandon the Chinese market, Citroën planned to fight to the death, launching the last straw C5 X Versailles, hoping to break the deadlock with this "conscience work that has been silent for many years". So you can see that once Versailles was released, all kinds of extremely fierce publicity and promotion were smashed into various channels that people could imagine, and terms such as "magic carpet suspension", "extreme control", "master chassis", "B-class benchmark" and so on emerged in an endless stream, and the popularity went all the way. From this propaganda momentum, it can indeed be seen that Citroën is breaking the boat and letting go. Friends who know me well know that I like to experience those cars that have been rumored to be amazing, I just want to see how powerful the C5 X Versailles car is, aside from this publicity. Is it really a "benchmark"? Is it really "conscience"? Is it really possible to achieve citroën's salted fish turnover? I will share my in-depth driving experience with you to see if I can try to answer the above questions.
The question of whether Versailles is an A-Class or A-Class has caused widespread discussion on the Internet. My answer to this question is simple, just three words: not important. It is not that it does not matter what level Versailles is, but that the level of A\B\C, which is forcibly classified, is not important in itself. I have always thought that forcing a car to be divided into A, B, C according to size, space or some other indicator is a very meaningless thing, although over the years the market has formed a habit of classifying those models for the mainstream consumer market, but I do not agree with this approach, because in my opinion the market has long been subdivided to the point where it is impossible to roughly classify it with a unified simple standard. Therefore, although I often mention the word level, in my eyes, the level is not A, B, C, but some common features of most of the products you can buy at a certain price point, as well as the approximate average level of product strength indicators in terms of size, space, power and other aspects. I think that only such an evaluation can ensure the fairness of the conclusion, if according to the manufacturer's publicity, the Versailles is defined as B-class, and then force the product strength of versailles in all aspects to be compared with the average level of mainstream products in the domestic B-class market, then there is no doubt that Versailles will not have an advantage in many aspects, or even the bottom, which is unfair to Versailles, therefore, in the next article, my evaluation of Versailles is only based on the evaluation of "a family car priced at 140,000-180,000 yuan". If the same level of products is mentioned, it is naturally such a standard, and has nothing to do with the so-called A, B, C. In addition, although the shape of Versailles is very different from that of traditional cars, due to the manufacturer's publicity orientation and the product form closer to the "crock pot", I personally still prefer to define this car according to the car, not the SUV.
【Exterior design】Citroen C5 X Versailles appearance and the traditional sedan there is a big difference, the use of high chassis hatchback wagon shape, with black plastic surround and wheel eyebrows, to create a certain "off-road" atmosphere, from the overall shape can meet many people's "cross-border" "crossing", "crock pot" and other words of fantasy, I believe that for many consumers including me, Versailles This appearance design will become a very prominent plus.
The exterior of the Citroën C5 X Versailles
[Interior design] Compared with the exterior design, the interior design of the C5 X Versailles is not so eye-catching, but the overall look and feel is still more coordinated and beautiful. Versailles does not use dual screens, large area full LCD instruments, or large vertical central control screens, etc. Popular design, and also retains the physical buttons in the air conditioning operation area, the steering wheel shape is also very characteristic, but the central control screen around and near the center control pole uses a large area of high-gloss plastic panels, which are easy to stain fingerprints and appear somewhat cheap.
Interior of citroën C5 X Versailles
【Static experience】Open the door and sit in the front row, in terms of interior texture, it can be clearly felt that versailles' interior materials are stronger than the Asiatic Lion and Sagitar, but there is still a gap with Lynk & Co 03, Geely Xingrui and even the 11th generation Honda Civic, and the workmanship is relatively poor, the seat folds and jagged stitches of the top model, as well as the hot eye seams in the central armrest box can leave a not very good impression. This performance is at a medium level among products at the same price point, which is not excellent.
The Seat folds of the Citroën C5 X Versailles top-of-the-line model and the seams inside the armrest box
The front-row ride experience can give an overall positive review, but there are also some small problems that are difficult to understand and affect the experience. First of all, the versailles seat and steering wheel adjustment range are relatively good, can let me find a low stretch driving sitting posture, it should be noted that may be due to the seat ventilation and heating and other components occupy space, the top Versailles driver's seat basic sitting posture is a little higher than other configuration models, that is, the driver's seat of the non-top model can be adjusted to be lower than the top model, but the gap is not large. The driver's operation screen, gear lever, air conditioning, etc. are also relatively smooth, the steering wheel feels good, but the position of the paddle is relatively inward, the button area is relatively wide, and the driver with a small opponent is not very friendly. The front seats themselves can give praise, C5 X Versailles is equipped with power seats, from the 6-way adjustment seat of the lowest model base to the top seat that supports the 4-way adjustment of the waist support and the tilt adjustment of the cushion are more comfortable, the seat is wide and soft, the distribution of shape and material, the filling is no problem, the length of the cushion is good, the backrest and headrest on the waist, back, shoulders, neck Support and support performance are satisfactory, even people like me who have slightly wider shoulders can be wrapped in place. However, it should be emphasized that the seats of Versailles are not friendly to drivers with a height of less than 170cm, because the base inclination of the cushion is relatively large, and short drivers are prone to discomfort caused by the compression of the cushion behind the knee, and it is likely that they will be forced to move the seat forward to alleviate it.
The advantages said the problem, first of all, the design of the gear shift mechanism makes people feel confused at first, although the electronic gear lever is designed, but the lever can only control R, N, D three gears, P and M need to press the left side of the extremely small size button. In addition, the design of the limit structure of the two front row cup holders I actually experience is not good, may be due to cost control reasons, Versailles front row cup rack limit structure does not use the common spring limiter design, but the use of similar "air bag" hollow rubber bulge, although it can also be a good fixing cup, but due to the material surface friction coefficient and the reason for the pressure deformation of this air bag, it will be very unsmooth when taking and placing a thicker cup, especially when putting in a cup or bottle that is quick to drink. The third problem is the HUD on the top and sub-top models, first of all, the HUD is actually crooked, this is really too bad, followed by the HUD's high and low adjustment range is not large enough, as mentioned above, the driver's seat of the secondary top model can be lower than the top model, but after I adjust the seat to the lowest seat, although it can be very comfortable pedaling, operating the steering wheel, but the HUD even if adjusted to the highest will be blocked a small part below, and the top model due to the highest base sitting posture, Then this problem does not exist. Finally, on the issue of whether the car machine is good or not that everyone discussed, I am very responsible to tell you that the car machine video you can see on the Internet is not the lowest model of the car machine, this car machine is difficult to use to the extreme, and the minimum model of the car machine system, it is much easier to use, the details can see the video I sent before (
https://m.weibo.cn/6175518107/4709627785122096), not much to cover here.
Citroën C5 X Versailles front row, HUD skew (bottom left), sub-top HUD height adjustment range is insufficient (bottom right)
Fixing the front seats to the rear after my comfortable driving position, I can give an overall mid-to-mid-level rating of the rear seating performance. In terms of space, versailles' lateral width performance is not bad, the legroom performance is medium in the same class of models, not cramped but not how abundant, the head space performance is not bad, the height of the central platform in the rear row is relatively low, and the passengers in the central position of the rear row are more friendly and praise. The rear seat as a whole can also give a good evaluation, the seat shape and material distribution are very reasonable, soft while maintaining good support, the backrest angle and headrest performance is also better, can be well fitted, support the human body, the only thing that can be called the seat is that the length of the seat is more general. In addition, the versailles back row I think the biggest problem is that the armrest located on the door is too narrow, it is almost impossible to sit on the seat comfortably and carry the arm on the armrest, when the static experience my arm will slide down, let alone move, this design is incomprehensible, clear criticism (saying that my arm is too thick, I want to say that although I am fit, but after all, the height of 173cm is placed here, and I have not practiced to be as strong as a gorilla, Generally tall boys or some boys with relatively large weight, their arms are thicker than mine, so this thing does not have to be washed, narrow is narrow).
Citroen C5 X Versailles back row
The rear armrests of the Citroën C5 X Versailles are very narrow
Trunk performance as a whole can give praise, with good loading capacity and practicality, the tailgate opening height performance is very good, the internal shape is regular, the main advantage is the vertical height, although not as good as the same price SUV, but compared to the general sedan is still better, the depth performance is also relatively good, the rear seat can be further expanded after the space is receded, but the horizontal width performance is more general, which is lower than my expectations.
The trunk of the Citroën C5 X Versailles
Regarding static, finally, let's discuss a hot topic, that is, whether the threshold of Versailles is easy to rub dirty pants legs. Putting the conclusion first, yes, the threshold of Versailles is that it is very, very easy to rub dirty trouser legs. First of all, due to the design of the model, the threshold of Versailles is high and wide, and people with a height of less than 175 are almost impossible to get on and off the car if the calf is not attached to the threshold, and it is precisely because of this that the probability of being dirty near the sole of the shoe during the process of getting on and off the car will be greatly improved. In other words, the Versailles threshold is easy to rub dirty pants legs and whether it is an all-inclusive car door has nothing to do with it, there are many kinds of dirty ways, is the threshold dirty by the muddy water outside, is it not dirty when the soles of the feet are dirty? Therefore, those on the Internet who use versailles to run a circle in the mud and then the muddy water does not enter the threshold to argue that Versailles cannot rub dirty pants legs, one of them is using "the dirt of the muddy water is dirty, the sole of the shoe is not dirty" to paralyze themselves, properly deceiving themselves. In addition, although Versailles adopts an all-inclusive door design, it can be seen from the figure that the all-inclusive is not equal to sealing, even if it can block most of the muddy water, but it is not completely isolated, after the wet and slippery section of the sprinkler truck passes, the interior of the door bag still has traces of muddy water.
Citroen C5 X Threshold of Versailles (screenshot of my own video, which affects sharpness due to focus problems)
[Powertrain / brake foot feeling] First of all, I need to emphasize that there are two Versa i have driven, one is the second top test drive provided by the manufacturer, as early as the Versailles market has arrived at the store, and the other is a full range of the lowest-equipped commercial car, purchased in the 4S store, because I can not determine whether there will be any difference between the vehicle that has been manufactured for test driving before the listing and the commercial car, so all the following experiences are mainly commercial vehicles.
Citroën Versailles is equipped with a 1.6T turbo engine and an 8AT gearbox, the nominal power is 175Ps, the actual experience, the absolute power of the performance feels a little bit different from the nominal data, and it is not as fast as imagined, not much more than abundant, of course, it is definitely more than enough level. The power response performance of daily driving can give a good review, the size of the power request instruction execution is relatively fast, when you press the kick down button, the gearbox will also actively drop directly to 2 gears to speed up, but it is a pity that the gear shift speed itself is relatively slow, but it is not enough to slow down the rhythm of acceleration overtaking. The smoothness can not give praise, first of all, the action of shifting gears is very obvious, and each shift action can be perceived by the driver, especially the frustration and drag caused by the lifting gear between 1-2 and 2-3 are more obvious, and there will also be a certain probability of a more obvious setback when starting. In addition, the brake conditions will also cause some significant negative impact on the smoothness, Versailles' brake foot feeling is really not very good, the main problems are three, one is that the initial section of the brake pedal has a strong sense of paragraph, like stepping on a switch, and the braking force released in the initial section is obviously insufficient; the second is that the global braking force output is not linear, even if the same brake pedaling depth is unchanged, the gearbox in the process of downshifting, the deceleration of different gears will have a significant difference, So in the working condition of maintaining a light brake and continuing to slow down for a long distance, you will feel that the car will drop for a while faster and slower with the gear; the third is that when the car is on the verge of braking, there will be two shakes, once due to the brake nod caused by the poor performance of the body attitude inhibition, and the other time is the obvious front and rear shaking of the car that appears immediately after, I personally speculate that the gearbox of this car is likely to have the Neuteral Idle function, and the clutch will be very active when the brake is just stopped. Quickly entering the Partially Disengagement state, the transmission system vibration caused by the torque change is not well suppressed, resulting in a significant shaking of the vehicle at the moment of braking. Therefore, under the conditions of continuous congestion and creeping, versailles' smooth performance is not very good, even close to some models equipped with dual-clutch transmissions.
【Steering feel/daily control】 Versailles' steering feel gives a middle rating, the overall is relatively light, the steering angle gain and the gain with the speed of the positive torque are relatively linear, but the gain amplitude is not large, and there is no damping in the whole area, so the sense of centering in the form at a higher speed and the sense of stability when giving the steering input are not very good, and the strong driving makes people feel that the control confidence is insufficient.
Daily control can not give praise, first of all, the body of the following is more general, after giving the steering input, the front of the car's offset speed is slower than half a beat, the rear of the car is slower than the front of the car and then half a beat, not at all biased to the movement or control orientation, but there is a saying, far from the degree of procrastination, this performance is significantly stronger than the BYD Song Plus DM-i I drove some time ago. The most important problem in terms of handling is the inhibition of the body attitude, Versailles gives me the feeling that the suspension stroke is very long and the compression damping of the shock absorber is very small, the roll of the body is very obvious when turning fast and turning, and the body action cannot be quickly converged, the excess swing and shaking are more, in addition, when accelerating sharply, the rear axle will directly and significantly compress the vehicle, causing the vehicle to look up sharply, and it feels more awkward to drive.
[NVH / chassis filter] Versailles quiet performance I think at this level is still very good performance, put forward clear praise, the tire noise and the isolation of the external ambient sound is in place, high-speed working conditions under the wind noise will be slightly larger, although the engine noise is more difficult to hear, but fortunately in the suppression of good. However, NVH as a whole can not give praise, because the versailles powertrain transmission to the car vibration can be described as "exaggerated", the whole car will shake violently when accelerating, especially the high-speed acceleration of 80kph to 120kph, the steering wheel and pedals are shaking to make me doubt life.
The vibration filter performance of Versailles gives a mid-rating, the advantage is that the texture of the vibration is good, and the impact of the large and small vibrations will be processed more softly, and will not be transmitted to the car very stiffly. There are two main disadvantages, one is that although the texture of the vibration of the road surface transmitted to the car is good, the absorption and erasure ability of Versailles for small vibrations is still relatively weak, and the road sense is too clear, even if it is pressed through the zebra crossing and other road markings, it can be perceived by the occupants of the car. Second, the tremor of the front axle will be more obvious when crossing the obstacle, and the action is very unsophisticated, there will be excess aftershocks and continuous body shaking, when passing through the road section that is not in good condition, the body shaking will be aggravated a lot, and the rear row is more obvious than the front row.
【Summary】 After actual experience, as I expected, like other cars that have been blown to the gods, the actual product performance of Citroën C5 X Versailles is far from reaching the so-called "god car" and "benchmark", and the "master chassis" that has been blown into the sky is neither comfortable nor controlled. My wife's summary of the car after a few tens of kilometers is that "the seat is comfortable, but it is shaky and upside down."
In general, Citroën Versailles is a family car with no outrageous hard injuries at the product strength level, nor any obvious highlights, I think Citroen wants to achieve the turnaround of the French brand in the domestic market through this car is more difficult, first of all, the shape of this car is not in line with the public aesthetics of the mainstream market, and secondly, from the actual performance of the product, the product strength of this car has almost no advantage compared with the cheaper Geely Xingrui and Geely Xingyue L. Even some aspects, including shock filtering and control, are not as good as these two independent brand competitors, the price range of 140,000-180,000 yuan is really not worth it, and the terminal discount reaches 30,000 yuan to be more reasonable, otherwise the current seemingly good sales are likely to be difficult to maintain. In addition, exaggerated publicity will also cause consumers to resent and bring about a lot of negative effects, and there is a possibility that they will kill themselves. In short, judging from the current product status of Versailles, the salted fish sticky pan is more likely than turning over.