Citroen unveils its New C5 Aircross - and promises an electric version with 422 miles of range
Citroen has revealed its new flagship model the C5 Aircross, and it will take on Europe's growing mid-sized SUV market.
The second-generation C5 Aircross builds on the concept unveiled at Paris Motor Show last autumn and will come in electrified powertrains versions; a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid, and fully-electric.
Citroen says the selection between the C5 Aircross Hybrid 145, the C5 Aircross Plug-in Hybrid 195 and the e-C5 Aircross means buyers are 'free to make their own choices [...] at their own pace in their transition to electrification'.
If drivers choose the Extended Range e-C5 option, the French maker promises an impressive 422 miles of range - but we can't tell you whether that's fact or fiction until we test it on the roads.
The new Aircross will aim to improve on the outgoing model, and Citroen promises this will be the case across the board.
Prices aren't set yet but it's likely to start from under the £30k affordability ceiling.
The new C5 Aircross design
Citroen's designers have changed the old C5's curvy shapes into sharper, more angular, tauter lines and wider haunches, which fit in with Citroen's new design language.
Sitting on the STLA-M platform, the New C5 Aircross is 1.66m high with a simple silhouette which prioritises efficiency, with a plunging nose, sloping roofline and a side edge line that travels from grille to tailgate.
As a result, the New C5 Aircross has an improved drag coefficient - improved to 0.75 from the 0.84 SCx of the old model.
It's not just aerodynamic improvements though; the New C5 Aircross has a new light Light Wings signature; a horizontal gloss black facade at the rear, gloss black side skirts, chunky cladding and Citroen's new C-shaped headlights.
Practicality and interior
As a mid-sized SUV, the new C5 Aircross will need to deliver for all family needs in order to compete against the competition.
A large part of the upgrade on the old model is tailored towards this; at 2,785mm the wheelbase is 600mm more than the old model (almost all of which Citroen says is available rear legroom), there's an additional 150mm in length (now 4,652mm) and it's 1,902mm wide.
This makes it bigger than the Peugeot e-3008, but slightly shorter in length than the Skoda Kodiaq, albeit wider.
And even rear passengers will have the same knee room identical to that of the C5 X and 51mm longer than that of the previous C5 Aircross.
Tall passengers get 68mm of additional headroom in row two compared to the previous model as well. And the seats can be between 21° and 33°, which makes it far more comfortable for rear passengers.
The 651-litre boot is a segment leader, and impressively there's no loss of boot space in the plug-in hybrid or electric versions either. It's significantly bigger than the Peugeot e-3008's 520-litre boot but less than the Skoda Kodiaq's 765 litres.
There's additional storage space in a compartment under the boot floor which can be adjusted to two different heights, and there's 40 litres of extra storage throughout the cabin too.
The interior- what's new?
Citroen's going hard on the innovations the New C5 Aircross interior.
It's said to have been designed using the precepts of the Citroen 'C-Zen Lounge' architecture, which is supposed to make driver and passengers feel like (no prizes for guessing) they're in a living room.
This includes a 'Sofa Design' dashboard which is 'designed like a piece of living room furniture' and uses a 'high-quality foam fabric' to feel like a 'real cocoon'.
We're not sure about you, but to us it looks like a conventional modern-day car interior rather than a lavish living space.
The Advanced Comfort seats indeed look very plush. But, while we appreciate that the front seats are 10-way adjustable, heated and ventilated, and come with five different massage functions, and the rear seats are both reclining and heated on higher trims, we're not buying this is any more 'living room' in feel than any other mid-sized mid-priced SUV.
But we will give a round of applause for Citroen using 160kg of recycled metals and 47kg of recycled or bio-sourced plastics in the Aircross - and 20 per cent in its tyres.
The C5 Aircross also becomes the first car in the world to use vine shoots: the clear plastics in the console and doors are made from 20 per cent vine shoots sourced from organic vineyards in Burgundy.
The large 1,069mm by 720mm panoramic roof, which can be opened electronically at the front, provides lots of natural light into the cabin and we think you can't go wrong with a panoramic roof.
C5 Aircross tech
Citroen's other big interior pull is the new 'Cascade' touchscreen, which is the largest central HD display ever offered by a Stellantis brand (also including the likes of Fiat, Peugeot and Vauxhall).
The floating touchscreen has fully customisable and fixed sections for easy function; there's a fixed control bar for car settings, home page and phone, as well as driver's and passenger climate control, but you can also select 16 widgets per page for other functions like infotainment.
Using the latest generation of Citroen's infotainment eight drivers can create personalised profiles. There's also wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a wireless charging pad, as well as 'Hello Citroen; voice recognition and ChatGPT too.
Driver's get a 10-inch digital instrument cluster with a 30 per cent larger Head-Up display than on the C5 X which is customisable.
Which powertrain options are available?
As we've mentioned there are three powertrain options to suit all levels of electric enthusiasm.
The C5 Aircross Hybrid 145 has a generous combined range of 559 miles and requires no recharging.
It combines a 136hp three-cylinder 1.2-litre turbo engine with a 12hp electric motor, and the 0.9kWh battery is automatically recharged during deceleration.
The Hybrid 145 limits its fuel consumption to around 15 per cent less than a non-hybrid petrol model and, thanks also to its aerodynamics, four per cent less than the previous generation C5 Aircross Hybrid 145.
The Plug-In Hybrid 195 offers an electric range of 53 miles – a 33 per cent improvement on the old model. In town this should stretch to 62 miles of EV range Citroen says.
The PHEV combines a 150bhp four-cylinder 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine with a 125bhp electric motor and a 21kWh battery; the two engines cna operate together or separately depending on what the driver wants or conditions call for.
Charging on a 7.4kW charger is completed in two hours and 55 minutes.
The all-electric e-C5 Aircross comes in two options: the 210 Standard Range and the 330hp Extended Range.
The 210 has a useable 73kWh battery offering 323 miles or range, while the 230 Extended Range has a usebale battery with a range of 422 miles. And both come with three driving modes - Eco, Normal and Sport- as well as three-stage regenerative braking.
The e-C5 is also fitted with a heat pump as standard.
The 210 Standard Range will charge in six hours 45 minutes from a 7.4kW single-phase AC charger, four hours 30 minutes from an 11kW three-phase AC charger, and 30 minutes on a 160kW DC rapid charger.
The 230 Extended Range will take a bit longer, charging in eight hours 55 minutes from a 7.4 kW single-phase AC charger, six hours 30 minutes from an 11kW three-phase AC charger, but just 27 minutes from a 160kW DC rapid charger.
From 2026 the e-C5 Aircross will come with Vehicle-to-Load tech too, so you can charge your appliances or house from the car.
When's it available and how much will the C5 Aircross cost?
We don't know pricing yet, but it is likely the cheapest version will cost less than £30,000 (hopefully).
Developed and assembled in France, we do know that the New C5 Aircross will go on sale in the main European markets in the second half of this year.
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