Car review: Citroen C5 Aircross PureTech 130 S+S Flair

The car’s ability to smooth out huge ruts which would qualify as road accidents in some other cars is amazing, says Mike Stone
Mike Stone30 November 2018

When it comes to comfortable suspension, Citroen has form. In the mid-Fifties its DS models created previously unheard-of standards of ride with its iconic DS model’s hydropneumatic system, which enabled the car to rise and fall like a magic carpet.

There have been many highs and lows – in all senses – since then, and its latest model, the C5 Aircross, features the company’s new suspension system called Progressive Hydraulic Cushions throughout the range, and it’s a revelation.

First, what is this car for? It’s a mid-sized SUV, which like its smaller sibling the C3 Aircross has a slab front , high bonnet line and all the usual attractive and unaggressive Citroen styling cues.

This is a very popular car category in which sales have doubled between 2012 and 2017. But buyers complained about the vehicles’ boots being too small, so Citroen has given the C5 Aircross plenty of loadspace - 720 litres with the seats in place and 1,630 with the rear seats lowered.

Unusually, the rear seats are split into three equal sizes which can recline and slide back and forth independently. They are comfortable, too.

To say one car is based on the underpinnings of another can sound worrying, as if it is just a rebadged and re-panelled version of something else and not a model in its own right. But if the underpinnings belong to the multi award-winning Peugeot 3008 SUV, this can only be a good thing.

Also, the Citroen’s personality is very different to the Peugeot’s, with more emphasis on comfort than sportiness, and it is also cheaper.

Power comes from 130 and 180 PS petrol and diesel engines, which have already collected quite a few gongs powering other models. Both versions are powerful and smooth, but the torquey diesel engine was the perfect choice when we tested the car’s handling and suspension on a famously tricky road over the Atlas Mountains during the Citroen’s international launch in Morocco.

I had driven this road before and although improvements had made it marginally less dangerous than it used to be, it is still a very good test of a car. Recent torrential rain had carved channels through the rocky slopes by the road, raining mud and rocks into bumpy gullies on the surface as the debris coursed thousands of feet down the mountains.

You approach these obstacles very slowly, bracing yourself in the knowledge that this is going to hurt. Only it doesn’t in this Citroen. The car’s ability to smooth out huge ruts which would qualify as road accidents in some other cars is amazing. It also did it very easily, as if stifling a yawn.

There are 20 driving aids available including a level two autonomous driving system and Citroen’s impressive Grip Control is available as an option on all EAT8 Automatic models. It is also reassuring to know that any early teething problems have been sorted out, because the C5 Aircross has already been available on the Chinese market for a year.

Priced at between £23,225 and £32,725 and available in Feel, Flair and Flair Plus trim, the Citroen offers a stylish, practical and comfortable package. It should do well.

Citroen C5 Aircross PureTech 130 S+S Flair

Top speed: 134mph

Combined mpg: 49.6

CO2: 121g/km

Price: £25,325

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