Citroen is owned by Stellantis, a massive automotive group that was formed in 2021. Stellantis came about through the merger of the PSA Group (which included Citroen) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. So, while Citroen started off as a French brand, it's now part of a global company.

Yes, Citroen is definitely French and proud of its heritage! The brand was founded in 1919 by André Citroen in Paris. Even though it's now part of a larger global group (Stellantis), Citroen's roots and much of its design flair still scream French.

You may remember that in the past, Citroen cars had a bit of a mixed reputation for reliability. In recent years, Citroen and all the other French brands have worked hard to improve quality, and newer models are much more reliable than older ones. In fact, Citroen regularly performs well in customer satisfaction surveys.

DS started as a luxury sub-brand of Citroen, but it's now its own separate brand, in a similar way that Lexus is the upmarket arm of Toyota. Originally, DS models were premium versions of Citroens and were named as such, with cars like the Citroen DS3. However, since 2015, DS Automobiles has been doing its own thing, focusing on luxury cars with a bit of French flair and dropping the Citroen portion of their names.

Citroen’s automatic gearboxes have improved massively over the years, as have those of many car brands. The latest models feature more advanced and reliable automatics that are smooth and economical. It's worth doing a bit of research on the specific model you’re considering to make sure you're getting a gearbox that works with your lifestyle.