Citroen C5 Aircross overview
Citroen has given its big and roomy C5 Aircross (not to be confused with the lower, longer, leaner C5 X that was recently launched) a big round of updates for the 2023 model year. You'll be able to tell it apart from the older model thanks to major changes at the front, where there's a slimmer, sleeker grille with new headlights that have a distinctive X-shape in their LED signature. You'll also spot some skid plates under the bumper (as if any owner is actually going to go rock-crawling with their C5 Aircross...) and some new rear lights that have a rather nice 3D effect going on.
There are some more updates on the inside, and some changes to colours and equipment, but otherwise the C5 Aircross continues as before. Is that enough to keep it competitive against younger rivals?
The Citroen C5 Aircross range
The revised C5 Aircross range starts with a Feel Pack version priced from €38,690. That's for the entry-level 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine with 130hp and a six-speed manual gearbox. You can upgrade that to an automatic for €43,320 or you can go for a 130hp 1.5-litre diesel with a manual gearbox for €39,470. That can be fitted with an automatic for €42,190. It's worth noting that those prices are marked as 'while stocks last.'
Standard equipment for Feel Pack models includes 18-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, glossy black roof bars, dark tinted rear glass, LED headlights with auto-on, electric and heated door mirrors, an eight-inch central touchscreen and a 12-inch digital driver's display, Citroen's 'Advanced Comfort' seats, three individual rear seats, active emergency braking, lane departure warning, driver attention monitor, cruise control and a speed limiter, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, keyless entry and ignition and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.
Next up is Flair trim, which will cost you €41,120 for a 1.2 petrol manual or €45,200 for the 1.5 diesel manual. Automatic upgrades for those cost you €45,020 or €44,440, respectively. Flair is also the first trim at which the plug-in hybrid model, based around a turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engine, is available, and it costs €48,500.
Flair models come with dark chrome exterior trim, acoustic laminated windows, a ten-inch touchscreen with online assistance features, front and rear parking sensors, Alcantara and leather upholstery and electric adjustment for the driver's seat.
The range-topping model is the C Series Edition, which starts at €42,990 for the 1.2 petrol, or €48,540 with the eight-speed automatic. If you want a diesel C-Series Edition, you'll spend €42,900 for the manual, or €47,950 for the automatic. The plug-in hybrid model starts at €49,700 in C-Series Edition form.
Standard C-Series equipment includes 19-inch diamond cut alloy wheels, bronze exterior trim inserts, leather upholstery, a 'Highway Driver Assist' function for automatic models, an electric tailgate and a panoramic glass sunroof.
CO2 emissions for C5 Aircross models start from a low of 29g/km for the plug-in hybrids, rising to between 130- and 145g/km for the diesels, or 140- to 151g/km for the petrol versions.
Citroen currently has a PCP offer in place for the C5, with 2.9 per cent interest and monthly repayments starting from €348. Check out the Citroen Ireland website https://www.citroen.ie/buy/offers.html for the most up to date offers.
The Citroen C5 Aircross interior
The C5 Aircross's interior has received some updates to go along with the exterior restyling, but the biggest player here is its sheer practicality. Unlike most rivals, Citroen has squeezed three individual seats into the back of the C5, and although there's no seven-seat option, this alone gives it a useful edge over much of the competition, simply because you can get three people sitting side-by-side in the back. Or, probably more importantly, three child car seats or boosters in side-by-side.
There are some limitations to that. If you've got three adults sitting in the back, then they're going to be a bit squashed together, and those in the outer two seats will find that they're pressed up against the door a little. Equally, it's a little disappointing to note that there are only ISOFIX points in the outer two rear seats, not the centre one (although that's partially made up for by a third ISOFIX point in the front passenger seat).
Those rear seats all slide and fold individually, and when you do fold them down you expand the already-generous 580-litre boot to a very useful 1,630 litres.
Up front, the C5 Aircross is also very practical. In the centre console - if you've gone for the automatic option - you get a big, deep storage tray and another one further forward, tucked under the centre console, which is also home to an optional wireless phone charging pad. You'll also find two USB sockets and a 12-volt connection in there (there's another USB socket in the rear, but only the one, which may cause some fights...).
Under the 'butterfly' style armrest there's a massive storage box, deep enough to fit your whole arm in up to the shoulder, and it extends quite a way forwards under the centre console. The door bins are also usefully big and there are two cupholders just in front of the armrest.
The touchscreen is a new one, angled off to one side for a little visual drama, and it looks smart, but the downside is that it's still running the old PSA Group software, which is both confusing and somewhat short on features. There are some shortcut buttons both for the on-screen menu and for the heating and air conditioning, but these can only do so much - it really needs an upgrade to the new software used by the likes of the Peugeot 308 and DS 4. At least Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard.
The main instrument display is laid out in three blocks of graphics, and you can adapt and personalise these to an extent, although the layout never changes all that much. It's not what you'd call a cutting-edge setup, but it's clear enough and easy to use.
Citroen likes to boast about its 'Advanced Comfort' seats that make use of different layers and types of foam padding to provide armchair-like comfort on the move. These have been updated for the new C5 Aircross with a new slab of memory foam. For the most part, they live up to their billing and are wonderfully soft and squidgy, but there is an issue with them - the centre cushion of the driver's seat is so soft that it can leave you feeling a little unsupported, and I've found that a touch of backache can creep in on very long journeys. You may well feel different, of course - all body types will have a different experience with these seats.
Overall quality has taken a step up, but there are still a few too many cheaper plastics that are all-too visible. They don't detract from the actual quality of build, but they don't look nice, especially in a car with a price tag nudging up close to €50,000.
The Citroen C5 Aircross driving experience
As with the interior, the C5 Aircross driving experience is dominated by comfort. As standard, the Aircross gets Citroen's 'Progressive Hydraulic Cushion' suspension - essentially the old rubber bump-stops have been replaced by reservoirs of hydraulic fluid that slow the suspension down at maximum travel, rather than stopping it abruptly - which do give the car an excellent ride quality. Even with the optional 19-inch wheels of our test car, the C5 Aircross rolls across the landscape like spilled pillows. Speed bumps? Pah! It laughs in the face of speed bumps, and now so do you as only the sharpest and largest humps and lumps will intrude upon your driving day. While the Hydraulic Cushion suspension can't match the ethereal grace of Citroen's old (and expensive, and frequently unreliable) Hydragas suspension, it's the next best thing. Short version: this is an exceptionally comfortable car.
Oddly, comfortable doesn't mean floppy nor dynamically inept. Yes, the C5 Aircross leans in corners, and it's true that the steering is lacking in feedback, but it's also surprisingly accurate and there's enough grip on offer that you can turn in, let it lean to the side and cling on around even very brisk corners. It's actually something of a rewarding car on a tricky and twisty road as that soft suspension gives you the confidence that it's not going to bottom-out nor jolt you out of your seat, and the chassis has enough conviction in it that corners are not the chore you might expect them to be.
The weak link here is the engine. Once upon a time, the 1.5 diesel would have been the default engine choice for the C5, but no longer. Although it has good torque on offer (300Nm) performance is pretty leisurely and when you try to add speed at a motorway cruise, you'll soon find that the engine gets rather breathless and wheezy. Fuel economy, on the other hand, is excellent - the C5 Aircross never exceeded a very-respectable 5.7 litres per 100km during our test, and you should be able to put 1,000km between refills.
Our verdict on the Citroen C5 Aircross
As a mid-life update, the work Citroen has done on the C5 Aircross has been broadly successful. We'd like to see a major upgrade of the infotainment system, and the 1.5 diesel engine is a weak link, but otherwise this is a hugely practical and enormously comfortable family car.
What do the rest of the team think?
The C5 Aircross isn't very common on our roads, and I do wonder why. It's a good-looking SUV priced keenly against the best-selling cars in the country. The update makes it look sharper, too, though I feel that the rather loud diesel engine doesn't show it at its best. Regardless of what's under the bonnet, the C5 Aircross impresses with a comfortable and notably spacious interior. As Neil mentioned, there are three individual seats in the rear, making this car one of the few in the sector to easily accommodate three child seats back there. That's reason alone for it to be a bigger success than it is.
Shane O' Donoghue - Editor
