THE figures sound ridiculous - a big estate car with a 2.2-litre engine producing 200bhp that will do 140 miles an hour and yet can still manage 46 miles per gallon.

Yet those are the figures for the latest Citroen C5 Tourer estate at the top of the company's range and it even comes with a standard six speed automatic gearbox.

The engine is smooth and quiet even when pressed, and gearchanges are only just discernable.

But that is a minor consideration compared to the absolutely superb ride. Top models in the C5 range get the company's self-levelling air suspension, which puts comfort above a Mercedes S-Class or a Bentley.

It simply flows over all surfaces at high or low speed, with no noise to speak of, and yet still manages to be great fun through the corners and hugely safe.

It seems to be too soft at times on an undulating road, but this is never a real problem and it takes long journeys easily, leaving the driver as fresh as he's ever going to be.

The range topping Exclusiv comes with a huge range of kit including big screen sat nav, electric heated leather seats, Bluetooth music streaming from your phone, traction and stability control and parking sensors.

The boot is huge and rear legroom likewise, but the dash and switches are quite fiddly and take a lot of learning.

Skoda Octavia estate