Large French cars have never really gone down that well in the UK, but you had to appreciate the bonkers charm of an '80s Citroen. Thankfully some of that offbeat cool we thought lost forever has been rolled out again in the shape of the new luxobarge Citroen C6.
A lull in the '90s was marked by stodgy cars and an off-the-boil design department. The French manufacturer began to adopt a budget supermarket ethos and offered its cars with huge discounts. With its latest offering, however, Citroen desires to be chosen on merit. The C6 is, at first glance, a desirable alternative to the German hegemony - at last a large French car you might see someone other than the French president riding in.
The overall impression here is of luxurious elegance. The styling is certainly striking and sets the car apart from the 'after you, Fritz' homogeneity of the premium German brands Citroen is sending the car up against. The concave rear window is beautiful to look at and that long front snout should show Peugeot how to be attention-seeking without being brash.
The interior is a bit hit-and-miss, but the seats are tremendously comfortable. The dash doesn't show the panache of recent German offerings - buttons are splayed about the centre stack and the whole thing is somewhat lacking in the grace of the exterior. If you do want something that's not a mainstream choice, however, sacrifices will have to be made at some point.
Citroen's Hydractive suspension is designed to smooth the way for a comfortable journey, and the company hasn't lost its touch, but the experience wasn't quite up to Citroen's legacy on our admittedly testing UK roads.
Diesels are the only sensible way to go with the C6 - though admittedly the word sensible doesn't come up too often when describing it. A new buyer will take a massive hit come resale and the company car man will have to get used to expensive tax bills. Citroen doesn't make it easy with this car, you'll really have to not want a BMW or an Audi.
Ultimately though, this car is a limousine-like comfort cruiser, and well up to that job. Throw in the 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel and you've got yourself a formidable (if rather expensive at nearly £40,000) package. Just don't think about what it's costing you when you're driving about...