With Citroën promising a slew of new announcements in 2020, speculation is increasing on when it will introduce an all-new, third-generation C5 sedan. The company axed the previous C5 in Europe last June, with former CEO, Linda Jackson, confirming a C5 successor at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show.
Rumoured to look similar to the above renderings, the new C5 will reportedly draw heavily on the CXPERIENCE concept car, Citroën first showed at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. (Read Citroënvie’s report on the CXPERIENCE here.)
At the time Jackson said that spinning off DS as a standalone premium brand back in 2014 created some gaps in Citroen’s range, gaps that are now going to filled following PSA Group’s recent plan for eight different body variations in passenger and light commercial vehicles.
As with the C5 Aircross and the C4 Cactus Hatch, the C5 will ride on Citroën’s new ‘Progressive Hydraulic Cushions’ suspension system, where the springs and shock absorbers work together to control vertical movement and deliver a “flying carpet” effect, over any bumps and dips in the road. The springs and shock absorbers work with the two hydraulic compression and rebound stops, gradually slowing down the movement to avoid sudden jolts at the end of travel. Unlike a conventional mechanical stop, which absorbs the energy then partially returns it, the hydraulic stop absorbs and dissipates the energy. As a result, there is no rebound and is designed to emulate Citroën’s previous and more complex and hydropneumatic suspension.
The forthcoming next-generation C6 that Jackson confirmed was in the works at Citroën’s Centenary Celebration, held at La Ferté-Vidame last July, is also expected to also use the Progressive Hydraulic Cushions suspension system.