BY AUSTIN LYNCH

In marketing their new executive saloon, the C5, Citroen have taken the unusual step of running an advertising campaign with the tagline 'Unmistakably German - Made in France'.

Now this is quite obviously the French manufacturer taking the bold step of comparing their new car to vehicles from rival German manufacturers such as Mercedes, BMW and Audi - three of the biggest names in the business.

While being a bold move this also shows great confidence from Citroen as they obviously believe they have a product which is not only comparable to those produced by the Germans but one which, they believe, has a fair chance of winning customers away from these old hands in the executive market.

This is not to say Citroen don't know how to make a good executive car. But with the C5 they are on a collision course with the Mercedes C-class, BMW 3 series and Audi A4 models - three of the most popular compact executives on the market and three cars with incredibly loyal followings.

To see if the Citroen has even 'un peu' of a chance up against such rivals we borrowed a 2.0HDi Exclusive version of the C5 from Donnelly Bros. Citroen, Enniskillen and took it for a spin.

They say you don't get a second chance to make a first impression but Citroen will not be worrying because from whatever way you approach it the C5 it is a good looking car.

From the side the long flowing lines are distinctly Citroen, and remind you of the beautiful Citroen CX from years ago, while looking down its nose the large chrome chevrons with large air intakes flanked by the signature boomerang headlights leave you in no doubt what type of car this is.

Citroen will tell you that the car has a 'contemporary design' to fuel your 'passion for life' but the truth is the French manufacturer has gone back to the drawing board and re-invented the C5.

The new C5 bears little resemblance to the old C5 which - to be honest - wasn't the prettiest kid in the class. And this leads to the obvious question 'why stick with the same name as the outgoing model?'.

The answer to this is that they probably ran out of numbers - there is already a C6 and a C8.

With the new C5 Citroen are hoping to attract a host of new customers, and they hope many of these will be company car drivers.

And, like me, many of these drivers will have no previous experience of Citroens and so will be approaching the new model without any preconceptions.

Once inside the first thing you become aware of is the new fixed centre controls steering wheel in which the hub of the steering wheel, complete with horn, radio controls and cruise control buttons is fixed while the wheel you drive with is located just behind this.

The logic of this is that however you turn the airbag remains in the one position, as do the controls on the wheel. A quirky idea from Citroen and one which will be interesting to see if others car makers adopt.

The two-litre diesel engine (with 138bhp) in the car we drove was smooth and very, very quiet. In fact this engine is so quiet I found myself looking at the rev counter several times to see if the engine was actually still running.

Sitting in the C5 is a very comfortable experience especially as our test car came with the optional leather pack which includes full leather interior with electrically adjustable front seats and rear sun blinds.

The test car also came with a smooth six speed automatic gearbox.

Inside the Citroen feels bigger than it actually is such is the way the cabin is laid out and the amount of space driver and passengers have.

Around town this car is so easy to drive, with the automatic gearbox perfect for moving through traffic. But it is out on the open road that this car comes into its own.

Citroen are hoping to get the company car drivers out of their BMWs, and Audis and into one of these and, as these drivers spend a lot of time on the open road any car wishing to succeed here must be a good cruiser.

The 'Exclusive' model we drove came with Citroen advanced Hydractive 3+ suspension - Citroen's most advanced suspension to date.

As well as Citroen's trademark self-levelling feature which guarantees a constant ride height this suspension constantly monitors speed lowering the car at 70mph to optimise stability and fuel economy.

For me this was the trump card in the C5 package and might just give the Citroen the edge over its competitors.

At 60mph you would hardly know you're moving in the C5 - the car honestly feels like it's floating down the road. There may be bumps and potholes but the Hydractive 3+ isn't going to tell you about them.

You can select 'Sport' if you want to push the car along the twistier roads but I guarantee you'll be back using the Hydractive within minutes.

I did feel the 2 litre diesel in this car was underpowered and even when kicking down to overtake this car never feels fast.

But there are options here with two more highly powered diesels available (a 2.2 HDI with 173bhp and a 2.7 HDi with 208bhp) along with a lower powered one - (the 1.6 HDi with 110bhp). Two petrol engines (a 1.8 litre 127bhp and a 2 litre with 143bhp) complete the range of engines.

A host of innovative technology is available on certain C5 models including Citroen's NaviDrive - which controls communication, navigation and even entertainment - adaptive front-lighting system (AFS) and Citroen's revolutionary Lane Departure Warning System.

One feature we especially liked, on our test car, was the way the wing mirrored folded in when you lock the car with the remote central locking. As well as protecting them from poor drivers this is also a good indication that you have locked your car should be able to see where it's parked.

The new Citroen C5 is a beautifully built car which drives, and rides extremely well.

And while some of the more innovative pieces of kit, like the Hydractive suspension and Navidrive, may be options the new car comes well equipped whatever model you might choose.

Payments for the new Citroen C5 starting at £199 per month (business users only).

For more details on special deals currently available contact your local Citroen dealer, Donnelly Citroen, who will be delighted to provide you with more information.