Citroën C5 Aircross

What is it?

With rounded corners and signature ‘Airbumps’, the C5 Aircross takes a step away from the typical SUV norm and focusses more on comfort than sportiness - imagine the difference between a pair of football boots and your favourite slippers, that’s the C5 Aircross.

On the road

As I’ve already eluded to, the C5 Aircross wafts you along in typical Citroën fashion.

Years ago Citroën was famed for using hydropneumatic suspension that simply ironed out the worst potholes, the C5 Aircross now has a new Progressive Hydraulic Cushion suspension system fitted that works really quite well, though it can still succumb to low speed thumps, but I’m fine with that.

This model was the 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder petrol and after 7 days of mixed driving averaged 48mpg. The 8-speed automatic gearbox is as smooth as they come and added to the overall comfort and relaxed feel. It can be a bit vocal when you plant your right foot, but again I’m fine with that.

The majority of my week with the C5 was spent driving to and from easy green lanes, which meant quite a lot of country lanes. Now some would argue that a drawback of the relaxed suspension is that it leans around corners, which is fair enough, but I would counter that argument by saying that not everyone wants a sporty SUV. Some of us are quite happy to compromise a little wallowing for overall comfort, and I’m confident your passengers would be appreciative, too.

The only negative thing I have to say about it is that like a lot of vehicles these days, the stop/start system doesn’t work properly - when you stop at a junction and engage the handbrake (releasing the foot brake so not to blind the poor driver behind you), the engine fires up again.

This isn’t just a C5 Aircross thing, it’s pretty much across the board.

Off road

Yes, it’s 2WD, but when has that ever stopped me from venturing off the beaten path?

With half decent approach, departure and ground clearance I figured I’d take it along a few flat, yet scenic lanes near Southport.

Exploring TW2 ref; SD4416-07, or ATUK; LA-4528, traction is never usually an issue. Having said that, at the northern end just before the forest, a large muddy hole has formed, enough to swallow, lets say, a Citroën C5 Aircross. Fortunately I just managed to skirt around it with minimal loss of traction.

A little further south and you have to contend with a high centre point that is both grass and cobbled, so if you’re not careful you can find yourself badly scraping your nether regions, and no one wants that.

On these sections I found it prudent to drive slightly off centre, but doing this you need to be careful as there are deep ditches on either side of the track. Thankfully finding traction in the C5 Aircross was never a problem, even at the end of the lane when I reached the large puddles. After quite a bit of rain they were deeper than normal, just over a foot I’d guess, but with a steady throttle we emerged at the other side without drama.

Interior

As soon as you step inside you are greeted with comfortable cabin that’s light and airy. The front seats are very comfortable, though they don’t offer much lateral grip, but if you’re not taking corners like a hooligan it doesn’t matter. There are lots of decent cubby areas - you can even fit a small child in the centre cubby box, though that’s not recommended, apparently.

Yes there are some scratchy plastics around, but they’re not something you immediately notice, unless you enjoy caressing your dashboard in secret.

Tall rear seat passengers may find legroom a little cramped, but the three individual rear seats can be reclined, and slide backwards and forwards to aid this. With the rear seats in situ the boot has up to 720 litres of usable space. If you require more space the rear seats fold almost flat.

After a week of driving to work, shopping and finding myself on a muddy and flooded green lanes, the only aspect to the C5 Aircross I didn’t like was that the heater controls are on the centre screen. If you’re a regular reader you’ll know it’s a pet hate of mine. I know it’s cost effective for the manufacturers to do this, but you will never convince me it’s safe.

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should - please revert to simple dials! On the subject of the 8" touchscreen, it isn’t the most intuitive to use, but I guess if you live with it long enough you’ll get used to it.

Engine ’n’ transmission

The C5 Aircross is available with this, the 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine with either an 8-speed auto or 6-speed manual. A 2.0 litre diesel, again with the option of an 8-speed auto or 6-speed manual and a plug-in hybrid for both petrol and diesel models.

Conclusion

Apart from the silly heating controls I can’t think of anything I didn’t like about the C5 Aircross, it’s comfortable, spacious and fairly frugal, and a car I would certainly recommend to friends and family. price including options: £31,985 more at » citroën.co.uk