Famous French car brand Citroen is finding its own niche in the battle with an onslaught of cheap Chinese rivals – relaxation.
The new Citroen C5 Aircross claims to be the most comfortable electric mid-size family SUV you can buy, with a focus on wellbeing and a new ‘advanced comfort zen lounge’ interior.
The cabin features Citroen’s ‘sofa design’ with a dashboard that’s been designed like a piece of living room furniture. The lower part of the dash has a piece of foam-backed fabric stretching all the way across the dash and onto the door panels. Ambient lighting is also customisable to give the interior a welcoming feel.
Big squishy seats feature thick, textured foam elements with the upper part said to surround passengers’ shoulders like a shawl. The side bolsters can be adjusted electrically, while heating and ventilation for the seats is also available.
The rear seats get a similar treatment, can also be heated and recline for added relaxation. Citroen claims best-in-class rear space too, with 51mm more knee room than in the previous C5 Aircross and 68mm more headroom. Rear passengers also get smartphone charging via USB-C sockets and benefit from a large panoramic sunroof that opens to bring fresh air inside.
Further back, Citroen claims to have the biggest boot space in the class with a huge 651 litres of capacity and an extra 40 litres of space dotted around the cabin.
Citroen has worked to reduce driver stress by optimising the ergonomics of the new C5 Aircross with a customisable 10in digital driver display and optional full-colour head-up display that beams information onto the windscreen in the driver’s eyeline, while matrix-beam LED headlights give a greater view of the road ahead in darkness.
The central portrait-style infotainment screen is the biggest ever in a Stellantis-family model. It’s customisable and features some fixed keys for easier access to important functions, while there are separate climate control buttons neatly integrated into the bottom of the screen. Citroen calls it a ‘cascade touchscreen’ due to the way the screen flows down towards the centre console where there’s wireless smartphone charging plus gear and drive mode selectors. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard.
If you want to use voice control, ‘Hello Citroen’ will control many of the car’s functions, while ChatGPT is also integrated to answer more difficult questions.
The wellbeing mantra should extend to the way the car drives. The new C5 Aircross gets progressive hydraulic cushions in the suspension to offer what Citroen claims feels like a ‘magic carpet ride’. These fancy shock absorbers work well in other latest-generation Citroens so we’d have high hopes for the bigger C5 Aircross, even on the biggest 20-inch wheels, another first for Citroen.
The latest Stellantis group STLA-M technology underneath the new C5 Aircross is a multi-energy platform meaning the car is available with fully electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid power.
The plug-in hybrid offers an electric-only range of up to 53 miles (more in town) alongside a 1.6 litre turbo petrol engine giving a total possible range of 403 miles. The all-electric e-C5 Aircross will be available with either a 73kWh battery with a potential range of 323 miles or a 97kWh battery with a maximum claimed range of 422 miles. A heat pump to boost cold-weather efficiency isn’t standard on all models, though.
The maximum charging speed with either battery is 160kW, meaning a 20 to 80 per cent charge of between 27 and 30 minutes depending on battery capacity. Next year, the C5 Aircross will get faster charging and vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability, enabling the car to power external devices.
The usual array of driver assistance and safety features are all on board, such as adaptive cruise control that also features semi-automatic lane changing, which moves the car into a clear lane once the driver has clicked the OK button on the steering wheel.
The look of the new C5 Aircross favours bold, chunky lines rather than the curves of its predecessor, and features Citroen’s new three-point lighting signature. Despite the bigger proportions and squarer lines, the car boasts excellent aerodynamics and can be personalised with interchangeable colour clips on the front and sides of the car to give a unique look.
The new C5 Aircross is expected in UK showrooms towards October this year, with prices likely to start at under £38,000 for the all-electric model and £36,000 for the plug-in hybrid.
