Beijing 2016: Citroën C6 is better inside than out

At first glance,this was a disappointing debut. Given Citroën’s recent production cars, the C6 nameplate and the brand’s big-car history — the new C6 is an inoffensive large sedan that’s made for the Chinese market, and features a very Volkswagen-like DRG. This is a badge engineering exercise, and so the doors and windows of Peugeot’s 508 carry over into this car.

We understand the need for restraint in this market and at this level, but this flies in the face of everything previous big Citroëns have stood for. It doesn’t differentiate the brand. It doesn’t advance the big car cause.

And the timing is unfortunate — consumers in Chinese Tier 1 cities increasingly do want to stand out, and the local brands have reached a design standard that puts cars like this on notice. It’s sad the designers clearly weren’t given the opportunity to challenge the status quo.

The interior is a slightly different matter. Citroën’s designers have managed to carry some of the Cactus’s spirit into this interior — with a squared-off lozenge (née airbump) shape, that’s used across the IP section, door card details (including door pulls), the switchgear islands and the digital cluster.

The laser-etched brown leather gives the interior a premium feel, set off by straps at key points. Meanwhile the digital cluster particularly impressed us for its clarity and simplicity — the display has multiple modes, but they all look fresh and are easy to read. The most impressive thing about it is the way the digital elements of the design share the theme from the interior and thus the two feel like they were designed by the same hand.