Should you buy a used Citroen C6?

No. It’s a terrible idea, and there are better options for an early-2000s comfortable cruiser, more cohesive choices for a car with that unique Citroen character, and better ways to dispose of large amounts of cash for ultimate disappointment. Like the lottery.

Yet, somehow, like the lottery the idea that you might win and the resulting lifestyle that goes with it captivates many people – and the striking arc of the C6’s bold profile, the distinctive, unfussy interior and promise of exceptional long-distance comfort is hard to let go of. Particularly if you’ve grown up with big Citroens.

So we can understand if the lure of the C6 is hard to shake, when so many cheap used examples are on the market. If you can justify the eye-watering tax rates, have a good specialist on hand, and find the perfect C6 of your dreams they can be cheap enough to make a year’s worth of luxury worth losing a bit of money on.

We would only buy a C6 if you are already in love with the idea of the car’s looks and image, and a long test drive doesn’t dissuade you. Otherwise, a Jaguar XJ X350 (2003-2009) offers a better vision of classically-styled comfort – with genuinely clever engineering, and a late Citroen C5 Mk2 can be found with ‘proper’ suspension, a clever fixed-hub wheel, and much nicer infotainment and seats than the C6 ever offered. It’s the true final flourish for Citroen, even though the C6 gets all the attention.

What we like about the Citroen C6

When it all works, it’s economical, refined and confidence-inspiring, yet calming and feels special. It looks like nothing else, a trait shared with the DS, CX and XM before it, and it gets the right sort of attention from everyone. Except, it seems, Citroen mechanics.

What we don’t like

Bad maintenance, bodges and poor parts availability spoils the experience of what a C6 can be, while compromised Peugeot-sourced engineering and cost-cutting spoiled the experience of what the C6 should be. Long overhangs, remote-feeling vague steering and brakes, and just a general sense that this car should have been better holds even the best examples back from greatness.