Used Citroën Diesel: A Compelling Choice?

Between 2008 and 2015, Volkswagen was found to be cheating in emissions testing procedures with “defeat devices”, causing a scandal that is still impacting the perception of diesel 10 years on.

After the VW Dieselgate debacle in North America, passenger cars with diesel engines have largely fallen out of favour. In Europe, as of September 2025, a significant trial is happening involving several manufacturers, including Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Renault, Peugeot/Citroën, and Ford. It will examine whether these companies used prohibited defeat devices in their diesel vehicles, which would have allowed them to pass emissions tests while emitting pollutants at levels far exceeding legal limits. With the push on for EVs, diesel cars that were once a very popular choice are being legislated off the roads by means that have some questioning motivation.

Case in point: Citroënvie member Geoff FitzGibbon has friends Roy and Anna in the UK, who just opted for a diesel powered Citroën. Roy made the following observation:

^{As a matter of interest, although I am ’neutral’ on the climate change debate, I have just bought a new 2024 model C5 Aircross 1.5 Diesel. I have been dithering about buying a new car for at least the last three years.} 

^{We already have a Ford Kuga 2.0 Diesel AWD that is a great car, although now seven years old. I tried the new Kuga as a 2.5 petrol Hybrid, (same as the Escape Hybrid in Canada and the USA) but they have changed the design of the rear suspension, and in my view, as well as Annie’s, they have spoiled the ride. In any case, the spec I wanted on the Kuga to include AWD was about £45,000.}

^{I considered a variety of cars from the new C3 Aircross Electric for about £25,000 to the Volvo XC60 or Mercedes GLC for about £65,000. The new C3 is a great little car, and if we had gone for this, it would have been the petrol hybrid auto, which is not yet available to drive.}

^{While we were in the Citroën dealership compound looking at colours on the C3 Aircross, we came across what is now last year’s model C5 Aircross. I told the young sales chap to stick the trade plates on it so we could take it for a ‘punt round the block’ as an old colleague of ours was fond of saying. Being a Citroën, the ride was first class, the suspension ironed out the bumps, the build quality felt good, but what impressed me the most was the little diesel engine.} 

^{When I started selling diesels seriously around 1975, and we won awards, including a new Peugeot 104ZS coupe as Peugeot’s selling champions for three years running, they were a bit of a joke. I remember being at a Peugeot dealer meeting where we received one of the awards when David Salmon, the dealer from Chelmsford, stood up and said, “Well, I have to give it to the boy for selling that many, because I could not give the fucking things away!” They were noisy, harsh, dirty, top speed of about 65mph, needing pre-heating to start. We called them “Irish bank robbers’ cars”!}

^{The latest diesels are tremendously efficient, with performance to equal the petrol alternatives, with superb low-speed torque and with very low emissions. MOT testers tell me that often when they test them for emissions, they detect nothing, and one guy said he resorts to lighting a cigarette and wafting across the detector to get it started to make sure it is working. It seems a crying shame to me that technology of this quality is being abandoned, in my opinion, for very dubious reasons.}

^{The real winners in this scenario are, without doubt, the Chinese auto industry. They are well in control of the electric car and battery building market. The European and North American auto manufacturers are under pressure.}

^{Why we don’t have diesel hybrids here? It would seem logical but logic rules over political posturing only rarely.}

The Government of Canada says it does not want to force Canadians to buy electric vehicles but it wants “to build the cars of tomorrow.” It has provided support to electric vehicle (EV manufacturers estimated at around $31.5 billion by the Parliamentary Budget Office while the provinces have contributed a further $21.5 billion. All this while the federal government imposed a 100 per cent surtax on Chinese cars to protect the home market.

Then there is the USA where the former Biden administration invested approximately $198 billion in EV production and infrastructure with a now reversal in policy under Donald Trump who’s stance is that “the electric vehicle hoax” is the result of a conspiracy of “radical left fascists, Marxists and communists” and to rule that automakers no longer need to measure or control emissions.

EV sales globally are still rising, but that is largely because the Chinese are determined to flood the world with low cost vehicles.

In Great Britain, new research has found that diesel cars are more unpopular than ever, with the fuel type making up just one in 17 new cars, despite being one in every two just a decade ago.i

Sales forecasts suggest that the number of new diesel cars on the road could continue to fall, with data showing that diesel could have a market share of just two per cent by 2028.

Manufacturers are also taking note of the declining interest in the fuel type, with just 91 new diesel models available on the market, compared to 240 options 10 years ago.

This brings up an interesting opportunity for Citroën diesel ownership here in North America. Canadians have the advantage of being able to bring in vehicles over 15 years of age or older while in the USA the age limit is 25 years or older. Either way, as older diesel Citroëns are becoming harder to sell in Europe, low cost and availability of some well sorted examples make importation an affordable option.

Citroënvie member Ken McGuinness in Toronto, saved the importation process by recently purchasing a 2007 Citroën C6 that had been imported from Japan and offered for sale in Ontario. A a left-hand drive 2.7-liter 6-cylinder diesel with 102,000 kilometers on the odometer. Prior to Japan, it was originally sold in Italy. Everything was working on the car and the only issue was a sagging headliner. Naturally the C6 gets a lot of attention so far is proving to be reliable.

While many may not be quite so adventurous as to own and attempt to maintain a C6, there are full range of used diesel Citroën models available overseas. Now could be the time to enjoy one as a daily driver (if not a future collectable) while the North American car buying public wrestle between the choices of gas, EV or HEV (hybrid electric) vehicles. Perhaps even go to Europe, Japan or elsewhere to source one. Even with the trip expense and importation cost, you could enjoy driving a diesel Citroën for a fraction of the cost of any new car here!