Something rather wonderful in Copenhagen
The recent announcement of the CXPERIENCE (Auto Express wrote it thus in capitals, who am I to argue?) and the various speculative articles about the future or otherwise of a car like it to fill the gap being left by the C5 (assuming it is still being produced?), reminded me that I had ‘snapped’ this recently.
This year we had what was for us a different type of summer holiday, which included spending 4 nights in Copenhagen. This we enjoyed immensely, doing the things that tourists do, and also attending a Europa League qualifying match between Brondby IF and Hertha Berlin (my son is nuts about football and never walks past an opportunity to see an overseas match).
Wandering through the streets near the Kastellet on a damp Wednesday, we came across this very presentable and clearly functioning version of the admirable CX. Personally, I find the stretch applied to the rear section of this version of the car does not suit the overall proportions, but I’d still welcome it onto my drive at home any time, thank you very much.
It’s uncanny how one notices new details and features when one hasn’t seen a car for a while (it has been years since I have seen a saloon version of the CX without the plastic moulding gubbins present on the later cars). So, the ‘3D’ treatment of the shallow grille is not at all what I had held in my mind’s eye, and is very reminiscent of the arrangement on the current Passat. Also, the hinge in the chrome trim leading down from the rear window-frame onto the boot-lid is something I had not appreciated before.
My final thought is how right the basic shape still is and, given the excellent state of the body and paintwork, this car looks no older and (in certain respects) less dated than my C6. Furthermore, any future large Citroën has a lot up to which it has to live, and, from what I have seen of it, the CXPERIENCE offers very little in this respect.
I’ve never actually travelled in the back of a Prestige, but sitting in the back of my Dad’s on his drive is the only time I thought it would be rather nice to have a chauffeur rather than drive myself. The black suits it since it doesn’t emphasise the vinyl roof – possibly even less appropriate to a Citroen than a Jaguar Mark 2. The slight rise in the line over the DLO caused by the higher roof only jars because the rest is so well thought out. Does Alexandre Malval not look at this and weep?
Funny that you mention two of my favourite details on the CX no one seems to notice: the bootlid hinges and the grille. Later grilles that are flush to the surrounding components takt away a lot of the charm the CX front end has.
I think the reason I had not seen them before, and perhaps why we like them, is that they are unexpected. The grille in particular shouldn’t be like that, but it is, and it works to the extent that it enhances the overall look of the car. But, neither is it just a trick piece of styling for the sake of it.